New York Giants GM Jerry Reese Has Worn Out His Welcome
By Erik Lambert
New York Giants GM Jerry Reese has two Super Bowl rings. Yet it’s fair at this point to ask how much of that success was actually his doing.
Since 2007 it’s been evident that the Giants have gone on a steady decline interrupted by brief spurts of success. He inherited a roster build by predecessor Ernie Accorsi that was set up for years to come. This thanks in large part to the presence of Eli Manning and a rock solid offensive line. Reese was able to keep the train on the track for the first few years. His drafts weren’t great but he did come away with key contributors. Names like Ahmad Bradshaw, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Jason PIerre-Paul.
Since 2011 though his hit rate took a serious downturn. Only players like Odell Beckham and Landon Collins stand out from a sea of average. It got so bad that the team had to spend heavily in 2016 to compensate for it. That patched the dam for a year but hasn’t stopped the cracks from continuing to form. Now the team might be the worst in the NFL, which is hard to imagine.
His willingness to fire Tom Coughlin in favor of Ben McAdoo is also not doing the organization many favors.
Calls growing for Reese to surrender his job
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, a respected draft analyst believes Reese has failed at his duty of keeping the Giants roster stocked properly.
"“Reese is a good judge of defensive talent and has landed guys like Johnathan Hankins (2013), Landon Collins (2015) and Dalvin Tomlinson (2017), but he was handed the hardest position to scout (quarterback) and the team has regressed on his watch. Despite spending big money in free agency last season to land Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison and Janoris Jenkins, the team remains winless. You can’t blame all of that on injuries at wide receiver.Reese’s inability to properly evaluate offensive linemen—misses like Ereck Flowers are killing the line—or valuate linebackers has put the team in a desperate situation. Missing on Flowers, who I had a late third-round grade on, and what appears like a serious reach for Eli Apple at pick No. 10 overall in the 2016 draft (he was ranked No. 35 on my board) is why the Giants are 0-5 right now.”"
With the injury woes at wide receiver, the poor situation on the offensive line and continued decline of Manning as a top passer it’s fair to say the Giants are done for 2017. Most see them locking up the #1 pick. Even over the hopeless Cleveland Browns. This should put them in position to draft a quarterback of the future. That feels like the perfect opportunity for them to also get a fresh start at general manager.
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Reese had a productive run but over time it’s become clear he’s average at this job. The Giants cannot and should not accept average.