EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo welcomed his roster of players back from their bye-week break with a few quick meetings, an hour-long jog-thru practice Monday and a message to flush the 1-6 start to the 2016 season and focus on the remaining nine games that lie ahead starting this Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
In speaking about the mood of his team, a team that many preseason forecasts had as a Super Bowl contender, McAdoo was asked if he agreed with the statements made last week by general manager Jerry Reese about the team buying into the hype that surrounded them.
"You go back again and look at the first half of the season and I don't think you can point to just one thing," McAdoo said Monday after practice when asked about the hype train being the reason for the team's collapse.
"Were we a hungry enough football team? You can make a case we weren't. That's just part of it."
Most of the players who spoke to the media Monday agreed that perhaps the team let their glowing preseason press clippings go to their heads.
"You can look back at what I said; I said I thought this was the best team we had on paper," said offensive lineman Justin Pugh, adding, "but that doesn't win games for you, and obviously that didn't win games for us. So I'm guilty of that because I said it publicly."
"I say yes because of the record," said linebacker Jonathan Casillas. "I think in spurts throughout this 1-6 start, you have seen signs. But, I don't think it has been consistent. At year's end, you'll look back and see if we were a good team or a bad team and as of right now, I don't think we've played up to being a good team."
Wide receiver Sterling Shepard disagreed. "Some would say that," he said, adding, "I don't know if I would say that."
Regardless, the onus is now on McAdoo and the players to get things figured out and right the sinking ship.
"One thing I wanted them to keep in mind is don't forget how badly you once wanted what you now have," McAdoo said in revealing his message to his players.
"We have to flush the first half and move on in the second half. It's important for us to get better as a football team and the thing I asked of these guys is to take it one play at a time, one game at a time. Don't hold on to what we did in the first half, and let's go out there and be the best team we can in the second half of the season."
Pugh believes the lesson has been well received. He said, "I think in this league if you ever get too high this league will humble you really quick. That's something you can take as an individual and as a team. You want to remain at a medium and be consistent because this league will beat you up if you ever think you're too good. We're at a low point now at 1-6, so we have a lot to prove."
--After a 1-6 start, Giants fans want changes and they want them made yesterday.
Unfortunately, there are only so many changes that the team can make moving forward for these last nine games of the season, and there is no guarantee that the changes the coaching staff is going to make will produce the desired results.
Still, head coach Ben McAdoo isn't oblivious to the fact that tweaks to his program need to be made, though he reminded reporters that the roster is what it is and that there is only so much that he and the coaching staff can do.
"There will be some subtle changes, but, again, our players are our players," he said. "We have good players. We have to put them in a position to be successful on Sunday."
The first thing McAdoo said the coaches looked at is how they've deployed their personnel.
"We wanted to make sure we were using our players the right way," McAdoo said. "Is there an opportunity moving forward to interject some younger or maybe some veteran players into different roles that we haven't been using them?"
There probably is. One such change that could be coming is for the Giants, who kept four tight ends on their roster, but have made heaviest usage of Evan Engram, to get others from that position group involved in the passing game.
While the rookie has delivered the goods -- he leads the team with 342 yards on 30 receptions -- with the Giants' receiving corps trying to find their footing, it's probably just a matter of time before opponents start to hone in on limiting Engram's impact in the game.
To combat that, one possible forthcoming change could see veteran Rhett Ellison, who has six receptions for 50 yards, get more involved in the receiving game. Per Pro Football Focus, Ellison has run 87 pass routes this year, but has been targeted just eight times.
The personnel usage will also affect the scheme, which was another area McAdoo said the coaching staff looked at.
"We wanted to take a look at things schematically; the schemes that have been working, and what hasn't been working and those that haven't been working, either throw them out or is it a quick fix we can fix over the second half of the year."
There are a few things the Giants might be planning to adjust here as well. One of the biggest might be to send more running plays to the right side of their formation behind the current right-side configuration of D.J. Fluker at right guard and Justin Pugh at right tackle.
The Giants, who have run 14 plays (26th in the NFL) behind the right guard, are averaging 3.0 yards per carry; they are averaging 5.53 yards per carry when running behind the right tackle, and 5.45 yards per carry on running plays to the right end.
McAdoo wouldn't say what changes were coming, only hinting that they would be subtle. And while there are changes coming, there is no guarantee those will cure what ails this team.
"We need to move onto the second half. It's important for us to get better as a football team and the thing I asked of these guys is just take it one game at a time and one play at a time. Don't hold onto what we did the first half, but let's go out here and be the best team we can be in the second half of the season."
--The NFL trading deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and while the Giants are unlikely to be active participants -- they've only done so twice in-season since 1986, trading for running back Ottis Anderson from the then St. Louis Cardinals, and then in 2013 when they acquired linebacker Jon Beason from Carolina -- this year the Giants have some options if they should want to start tearing down a 1-6, injury filled team and getting it ready for next year.
The most obvious and frequently mentioned player is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
The veteran cornerback has one year remaining on his contract, and is unlikely to be back with the Giants after this year anyway. Toss in the fact that Rodgers-Cromartie is coming off a fresh feud with head coach Ben McAdoo that resulted in a suspension, and it certainly would make a lot of sense for the Giants to see if a team that's poised to be a contender could use a player of Rodgers-Cromartie's status.
According to some unconfirmed reports, Rodgers-Cromartie has been wanting out from the Giants ever since his run-in with McAdoo a few weeks ago.
The veteran cornerback, who was suspended for leaving the bench area in a loss against the Chargers in Week 5, denied Monday that he wants out.
"A trade ain't on my mind," said Rodgers-Cromartie, adding, "Where am I going to go? I ain't packed up."
Another player who could have value on the market is linebacker and team defensive captain Jonathan Casillas. Casillas, who returned to practice Monday after being sidelined the last two games with a neck injury, is the only one of the Giants involved in an in-season trade before, that coming in October, 2014, when the Bucs traded him to the Patriots for New England's fifth- and sixth-round picks the following year.
But Casillas, who is in the final year of his contract, isn't interested in going through that experience again, even if a potential landing destination is the Patriots, who lost inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower to a pectoral injury.
"I've been a part of a trade and I don't want to be a part of a trade and leave this team," he said. "I wouldn't trade this locker room, these group of guys for anyone in the world. And, I've been a part of two Super Bowl teams and I've left a team who had a similar record to go to a Super Bowl team. So, I've been there. I don't want to do it - not with this team. Never."
Running back Shane Vereen, who is in the final year of his contract, is another plausible option who could be on the trading block. The Giants have reduced the number of snaps they've given to Vereen, who in Week 1 took a season-high 31 snaps on offense, but who in the last two weeks has received 12 and 16 snaps respectively.
"I'm excited to be here, ready to be here," Vereen said. "It's a business, I understand it. If something happens it happens. But I want to finish what I started here."
Head coach Ben McAdoo, when asked how he was planning to approach the trade deadline, said he would evaluate those players the front office asked him to look at and give his input. Otherwise, "We need to get our team ready to go on Sunday."
NOTES: C Weston Richburg (concussion) remains in the league's protocol. Richburg, who has missed the last three games, is unlikely to play Sunday. ... RT Justin Pugh (back) did not practice Monday. Pugh worked on a side field with a trainer, where he did light jogging. His status for Sunday will be updated later in the week. ... DE Olivier Vernon (ankle) did not practice Monday. Vernon, who remained in East Rutherford over the bye week to get treatment on his balky ankle, did some light straight-ahead jogging on an outside field under the watchful eye of a trainer. Vernon said he felt good Monday and described himself as being "day-to-day." ... LB B.J. Goodson (ankle) did not practice Monday. Goodson had been in a walking boot since suffering his ankle injury two weeks ago. ... WR Sterling Shepard (ankle) did some light work on the side. Shepard said before the bye week that he was hoping to be ready to return to action this week. ...
DE/OLB Cap Capi (hamstring) did not practice Monday. His status will be updated later in the week. ... LB Jonathan Casillas (neck) was back at practice after missing a couple of weeks. Casillas told reporters that he feels much better. ... RB Paul Perkins (ribs) was not seen at practice during the part open to the media. Perkins was excused by head coach Ben McAdoo for personal reasons and is expected back at work Wednesday. ... CB Eli Apple was not at Monday's practice. Apple, who had traveled out of the area for the bye week, was reportedly delayed in his return to New Jersey Sunday due to inclement weather that caused turmoil at area airports. ... CB Janoris Jenkins was excused by head coach Ben McAdoo from Monday's practice due to what the coach said were personal reasons. ... LB Calvin Munson (quad), who was inactive for the last game, returned to practice Monday.
REPORT CARD AFTER 7 GAMES
--PASSING OFFENSE: D - People will point to the injuries suffered at receiver; Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris were all done for the season after five weeks, replaced by guys who were with the team in the summer but deemed not good enough for the 53-man roster nor deemed good enough to be picked up elsewhere. However, the losses at receiver are only part of the problems of a passing offense that has seen quarterback Eli Manning miss on some of his throws, an offensive line that seem to spring leaks in protection at random, drops, poor route-running and a somewhat limited passing attack that is based on getting rid of the ball quickly. Rookie tight end Evan Engram, who is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with three (with Beckham) has been a bright spot in this unit
--RUSHING OFFENSE: C - It took injuries to starting running back Paul Perkins, and offensive linemen Weston Richburg and Bobby Hart for the running game to finally hit its stride. In a lost season, the running game, which is currently averaging 3.9 yards per carry, has actually been a bright spot for an offense which, for the second year in a row, is struggling to find yards, points and consistency. Orleans Darkwa (5.4 yards per carry) and rookie Wayne Gallman (3.9 yards per carry) have given the running game a shot of adrenaline, but the team needs to do more to help this unit out in the second half of the season.
--PASS DEFENSE: C-minus - Between a lethargic pass rush that has struggled to at least disrupt opposing quarterbacks, and a back seven that has allowed more big pass plays this year than they did at this point last year, the Giants have had some problems. Injuries certainly haven't helped. The Giants don't have a viable third defensive end to fill in for the injured Olivier Vernon; nickel linebacker Keenan Robinson and Jonathan Casillas have both suddenly started to look like they're on the back nine of their respective careers, and opponents have had success attacking cornerback Janoris Jenkins deep down the field. A glaring issue for the pass defense has been their inability to corral opposing tight ends, who have scored at times in seven games this season while either a linebacker or safety is often left trailing in pursuit.
--RUSH DEFENSE: D - After being so stout against the run last year, the run defense is allowing opponents an average of 4.2 yards per carry and has managed to hold opposing rushing attacks to under 100 yards on the ground just once this season (vs. the Broncos). Defensive tackle Damon Harrison is still playing solid run defense, but the Giants are clearly missing the contributions of defensive end Olivier Vernon on the edge, and have been inconsistent with shedding blocks and filling holes, something they did regularly last year.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: F - Last year, the special teams were a big part of the solution. This year, the unit has yet to make any game-defining plays to help the team win. Instead, there have been numerous big returns allowed by both the kickoff and punt coverage units, including a punt return for a touchdown allowed in Week 2. The kicking game has also struggled; punter Brad Wing, who was money last year, put together a nearly month-long stretch in which his kicking was all over the place while rookie Aldrick Rosas closed out the weekend before the bye with at least one miss in his last three games (including one blocked field goal).
--COACHING: F - Head coach Ben McAdoo's inexperience in key intangibles such as communication and flexibility have been among the biggest issues with this coaching staff. It took him five weeks to delegate the play-calling, for example. Also, his tendency to give up on the running game prematurely in favor of the pass even in close games has been troublesome. And save for the win against Denver, McAdoo has struggled to connect with his players as he did last year. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's group has taken a major step backward from last year, when they looked like a championship caliber defense. Part of the problem has been injuries, especially to defensive end Olivier Vernon, but the regression of guys like cornerback Eli Apple and the linebackers, and the struggles of Darian Thompson haven't helped matters. Special teams coordinator Tom Quinn's unit has been more of a hinderance through the first seven games than a help.
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