Coughlin calls effort by Giants offense pathetic
Tom Coughlin has had enough with the New York Giants’ offense,
and he didn’t pull any punches.
”Pathetic” was the word Coughlin used after the Giants (5-9)
were limited to 181 total yards by the NFL’s top-ranked defense in
a 23-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks (12-2) Sunday.
Eli Manning threw a career-high five interceptions in pushing
his pick total to 25 – tying his career high -and New York didn’t
cross into Seattle territory until midway the fourth quarter.
What made the loss so bitter for the 67-year-old Coughlin was
that he wanted his team to bounce back after being eliminated from
playoff contention last weekend for the fourth time in five
years.
His defense and special teams were outstanding. The offense
struggled in guaranteeing the Giants’ first losing season since
2004, Coughlin’s first season.
”Offensively, there is no way to sugarcoat it, it was a
pathetic offensive performance,” Coughlin said. ”We didn’t block
anybody. We didn’t make any plays. We didn’t create any opportunity
for ourselves. I told the players that prepared that I appreciated
what they did. I told those that are obvious that they had not, and
I felt sorry for them because they are missing the whole
thing.”
Coughlin apologized to his players after the game in taking the
blame, but they interrupted him and told him it was their
fault.
Manning and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will take the
heat, but they had plenty of help from the line and the
receivers.
The play that summed up the day for New York was a
fourth-quarter interception by Earl Thomas. Manning threw a fade to
Hakeem Nicks and he was out jumped by Richard Sherman and Thomas
caught the tipped ball.
It was a chance for an offensive player to go up and make a play
and he failed. That’s been the case the past two weeks as New York
has scored 14 points.
”It’s not fun when you get down like that and you get beat and
you can’t get anything going on offense, and you have interceptions
and bad plays,” said Manning, who finished 18 of 31 for 156 yards
and 31.9 quarterback rating. ”That’s not enjoyable and tough to
deal with.”
Making the day even worse, the Giants lost top receiver Victor
Cruz to a concussion in the fourth quarter. Cruz is 2 yards short
of his third straight 1,000-yard season.
Seattle dominated this one.
Sherman and Byron Maxwell had two interceptions apiece, Marshawn
Lynch scored on a twisting, triple-effort 2-yard run, and Steven
Hauschka kicked three field goals.
Russell Wilson toyed with New York’s defense, running for 50
yards and throwing for 206 and a touchdown before sitting out the
last few minutes.
The Seahawks are closing in on the NFC West title and their best
overall record; they went 13-3 in 2005 before losing to Pittsburgh
in the Super Bowl.
This season’s Super Bowl will be played at MetLife Stadium and
unless they collapse in their final two games at home, where they
are undefeated, the Seahawks will be the NFC favorite to reach the
first outdoor Super Bowl in a cold weather city.
It was Seattle’s first shutout since a 58-0 romp over Arizona on
Dec. 9 last year. The Giants lost 38-0 to Carolina in Week 3.
”It’s great to have a win and a shutout,” Thomas said. ”It’s
our best game all year. Now, we’ll keep this tunnel-vision that we
have, keep this chip on our shoulder, keep this feeling like we
lost.”
Hauschka, who is clutch from long distance (14 for 15 from
beyond 40 yards), made 49- and 44-yarders, plus a 24-yard field
goal.
Sherman’s first pick led to Lynch’s brilliant short run for a
10-0 lead. Lynch seemed to be going down several times, but went
into full Beast Mode to power into the end zone.
Hauschka’s 44-yarder made it 13-0 at halftime, then Sherman got
his sixth interception of the season.
Maxwell’s second pick led to Wilson’s 12-yard TD pass to Doug
Baldwin, the 17th touchdown New York has yielded off a
turnover.
Lynch actually was most effective as a receiver with six catches
for 73 yards. He rushed for 47.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org