Cantankerous Coughlin takes responsiblity

Three days after their troubling loss to the Chargers, during a press conference, Coughlin puts on a damage control performance.

Coughlin admits he is to blame for the Giants loss to the Chargers. “It is my responsibility, and that is where it stops — right here,” Coughlin said. “Nobody else is to blame. So let’s not continue to (feel) around trying to figure that situation out.”

Coughlin did not guarantee a playoff berth like former head coach Jim Fassel did in 2000. Recall, Fassel exclaimed, “I am raising the stakes right now, ... If this is a poker game, I am shoving my chips right in the middle of the table. I am raising the ante. Anybody who wants out, can get out. This team is going to the playoffs. OK? This team is going to the playoffs.”

This press conference was necessary to clean up the mess left over from the game and the post game. Coughlin goes on, “I’m responsible for all of the decisions that are made with our football team,” Coughlin said. “The green zone decisions are my responsibility. They are nobody else’s. No one else made a mistake. The quarterback did not make a mistake. The decision was mine.”

His complete dereliction of duty for not attacking the end zone is inexcusable. Giants cornerback and my favorite defensive player Terrell Thomas gave the Giants a golden opportunity to put the game away. Although a holding penalty put the ball on the 14 yard line, the Giants did not attempt to throw the ball into the end zone.

After the game, Coughlin was asked this question. Q. After Terrell Thomas's interception there were no plays that took a shot at the end zone. Was that by design?

A. It wasn't that. It was the idea that we had the penalty, so we were behind the eight ball and we took our loss and they stuck back and defended the goal line. We didn't want to turn the ball over, obviously. We didn't want to be in a position like that. You can second-guess it all you want. Field goal at that point in time forced them to have a touchdown and score a touchdown. There was plenty of time, over two minutes. But, we just had a couple of really good series defensively. We forced them into bad situations and we had a lot of momentum with our touchdown. We felt good about the situation we were in. We let them off the hook.

This is not a good answer. He is leading us to believe he does not trust his quarterback.

Subsequently, the next day, Coughlin is asked about the team's decision not to go for a touchdown. Asked if at least one more pass was warranted, Coughlin said: "I wouldn't argue with that at all."

Then, Eli Manning weighed in, A lot of times we have a couple of plays called, it depends on what the defense is doing," Manning said. "If they're playing coverage we're going to run it and be smart and not force anything.



Who made the call to run the ball two consecutive times? Was it Gilbride?

Here is Gilbride in his own words. “I think if you throw it into the end zone, it is probably picked off and brought back the other way,” Gilbride said. “And that wouldn’t have been real smart, either. Because then all they had to do was drive it down and kick a field goal. But there are still other things that you can do. And in retrospect, you wish you had done them.” Gilbride defending the indefensible makes me want to retch.

Hey, Gilbride, how come you do not call play action passes in the red zone? Play action is a great equalizer especially in the compressed red zone area.

In the end, Coughlin had to put this sad saga to bed. However, he has to look at the facts. Since 2007, the Giants have gotten progressively worse in the red zone area.

Red zone touchdown percentage

2007 12th in NFL

2008 20th in NFL

2009 28th in NFL

I would ask Coughlin, what is it going to take to improve in the red zone?