motown madness

Following the fifth blown 10-point lead on the road, the Giants finally decided early this morning to part ways with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. This move should’ve happened back in Week 3 or 4, but at least the Giants are finally starting to open their eyes and make some much-needed changes.

That said,  I thought the Giants did an OK job on defense yesterday, all things considered. Even with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Paulson Adebo sidelined, the Giants were still able to get to Jared Goff early and rattle him enough to knock him out of rhythm.

Big Blue also did a nice job containing Jahmyr Gibbs on the early drives, the problem was it didn’t last long. In the second half, Gibbs ran in two touchdowns, including the game-sealer. He finished with a monster stat line: 219 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

(image via Getty Images)

In the end, continuously playing this “prevent” style of defense every single week when the Giants had gotten the lead and blowing it literally every single time is just absolutely unacceptable, and the reason Bowen was relieved of his duties.

But even before I heard the news, I actually woke up feeling pretty positive about yesterday's game. The Giants went on the road against arguably the most talented team in the NFC, without their top two offensive weapons and without their starting quarterback, and were still able to take a fully healthy Lions team all the way to overtime.

As much as I can't stand to admit it, a lot of that credit goes to interim head coach Mike Kafka. I thought Kafka called his best game of the season by far, putting together a more creative offensive game plan than Dan Campbell, something that is nearly impossible. Selfishly, as a die-hard Jameis Winston fan, I thought the flea flicker to Robinson and the Winston receiving touchdown were two of the best plays I've seen across the league this year.

On a serious note, Kafka has shown he might have what it takes to be an NFL head coach, just hopefully not in New York. Even though it’s only been two weeks with him running the show, he looks and sounds like a legitimate leader.

With that said, he made a few questionable calls late in the game that prove to me he's not the long-term answer. And it appears I'm not the only one who feels this way. Giant's star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who is currently recovering from a torn ACL,  took to social media to voice his displeasure with the coaching. 

In a post that has since been deleted, Nabers said, "Sometimes I think they b makin us lose on purpose! Cause it's no way, bro you throw the ball instead of runnin it to make em burn 2 timeouts?? then you dnt kick the field goal.??? Then they have to go down and score!!! Football common sense!!!! Am I missing something?"

Now I don't necessarily agree with taking these grievances to social media, but Nabers isn't wrong. All season long, questionable coaching decisions have cost the Giants in big-time moments, and Malik, like most Giants fans, is fed up.

In all likelihood, the Giants will look outside the organization for their next head coach, but that decision won't be made until January or February.

But we have a good chunk of season left and a young quarterback to develop, and the best (and most entertaining) backup QB in the league behind him. 

We're ever so slowly coming out of the darkness.

Giants are back in the primetime slot next Monday Night, in New England against the 10-2 Patriots.