New year, new drama for the New York Giants. What was once of the more squeaky clean organizations in sports has suffered through a monsoon of me-first personalities, legal issues and players whining to the media in the last few years. The latest distraction came last night when RB Brandon Jacobs voiced his growing displeasure to an ESPN reporter.
Following last night’s preseason finale in which he didn’t get a single carry, Jacobs made his discontent very clear.
"No question," Jacobs said. "To be in this business you have to know that. No one's your friend in this business. This is a cutthroat, backstabbing business. That's just the way it goes. It's been like that before me. If you expect anything else out of a business like this you're crazy."
Jacobs has obviously been leapfrogged in the backfield rotation by third-year pro Ahmad Bradshaw. It’s understandable that Jacobs would be disappointed in his demotion, but the reasons are clear. Jacobs was awful last year and has been unable to return to form following a string of injuries. Anyone who watches the Giants would agree that Bradshaw is simply the better player right now. Jacobs can whine all he wants, but it’s the truth.
The problem is that the Jacobs situation seems well on its way to becoming a major distraction, the latest in a run of recent off-the-field issues the G-men have endured.
It’s hard to pinpoint when this all began, but Jeremy Shockey’s rookie season is a good place to start. The electrifying tight end thrilled the team on the field where he frequently bowled over opponents and sought physical play every time he touched the ball. But Shockey couldn’t limit his devil-may-care attitude to the field and frequently called out members of the organization to the media and made more than a few eyebrow raising comments about lifestyles---his own, and others’.
Next Tiki Barber, once the poster-boy of New York sports, made comments following a 2005 playoff game about how the Giants (and Tom Coughlin) had been out-coached by John Fox and the Panthers. Barber turned into more and more of a dissenting personality from that point on and was a constant critic of Eli Manning upon his retirement in 2006.
Everyone knows about the Plaxico Burress incident in 2008 when he shot himself in the league. Without Burress, the Giants were upset by the Eagles in the playoffs despite having a first-round-bye.
And last year, Osi Umenyiora turned to the media when he lost his starting job and made his frustration with the organization very clear. Umenyiora indicated that he’d rather retire than be a second-stringer.
Though none of these issues have really destroyed the Giants, and they’re certainly minor compared to the actions of some NFL players, they are part of a disturbing trend. Big Blue gets enough attention simply because of the team’s location and history. Though the team has had plenty of success this decade in spite of distractions, it hasn’t been the same since the Burress incident. And last year, the G-men had one of the worst defensive performances in team history.
In 2010, the Giants are mostly healthy and have plenty of reinforcements. Last season’s embarrassment should be fresh in the players’ minds and barring injury, they should be ready to compete for a division title again. Hopefully that’s the case, but Jacobs’ me-first attitude is exactly what the Giants don’t need. One would hope that Jacobs and the rest of the Giants would have learned their lesson about staying in line. But Jacobs' ego is obviously greater than the team.
Maybe this won’t turn into a season-long issue, and maybe it will. The problem is that there shouldn’t be trouble in the first place. The ball is in Jacobs’ court. Perform, and you’ll play. The Giants have made that very clear. So instead of crying to the media, Jacobs should get himself back into elite form and show the coaches why he should be the starter. It’ll be up to Jacobs and the rest of the team to show some maturity and recognize that one player can, and has, disrupted the team’s chemistry and momentum. If Jacobs has paid any attention to recent history, he’d know that. Tom Coughlin better shut Jacobs up, because the Giants season could well hinge on whether the organization can avoid distractions like Jacobs.
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