Jerry Reese's Free Pass Is Running Out

Despite a train wreck of an offseason, some media and fans are cutting New York Giants GM Jerry Reese some slack. Many insist that since the leader of Big Blue’s front office was at the helm just three years ago when the Giants won the Super Bowl, one sloppy summer isn’t justification for crucifixion.

While it’s true that Reese was presiding over the organization at the time of Super Bowl XLII, it’s not fair to give him all the credit for the team’s victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

Reese succeeded long-time GM Ernie Accorsi - who retired after nine years in the position - just 13 months before the Super Bowl. He began working with the organization in 1994 and had served as director of player personnel for the previous four seasons, but Reese only became the true head-man of the front office in January 2007.

In his first offseason as the man solely responsible for transactions Reese drafted Aaron Ross, Steve Smith, Jay Alford, Zak DeOssie, Kevin Boss, Adam Koets, Michael Johnson and Ahmad Bradshaw, signed Kawika Mitchell and traded for Reuben Droughns and Lawrence Tynes. Reese also added Madison Hedgecock and Domenik Hixon during the season.

But Accorsi was the man responsible for constructing a far greater portion of the Super Bowl roster including Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Jeremy Shockey, David Diehl, Shaun O’Hara, Kareem McKenzie, Chris Snee, Rich Seubert, Antonio Pierce, Gibril Wilson, Sam Madison, Justin Tuck, Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Matthias Kiwanuka, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, Corey Webster and Jeff Feagles.

As Director of Player Personnel Reese undoubtedly played a pivotal role in acquiring several of the team’s impact players at the draft including Manning, Umenyiora, Diehl, Snee, Wilson, Tuck, Jacobs, Kiwanuka, Webster and Cofield, but he should hardly be considered the sole architect of the title squad. Instead, Reese was a tremendous college scout and guiding hand that provided the finishing touches for an emerging team that bust through for a surprising victory.

Since the Super Bowl Reese’s work has yielded mixed results. In his four years at the helm, the Giants have a 40-24 record, a Super Bowl title, an NFC East title and no sub-.500 seasons. But the franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since Reese’s first season as general manager and it has experienced more than a few embarrassments both on the field and off it.

In the last three years Reese has added considerable talent at the draft in Kenny Phillips, Mario Manningham, Terrell Thomas, Hakeem Nicks, Will Beatty and Jason Pierre-Paul, but he’s also overpaid players like Michael Boley, Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard and Antrel Rolle and added mediocre stopgap solutions like Danny Clark, John Carney, David Carr, Deon Grant and Keith Bulluck.

Reese has bid adieu to many participants from the Super Bowl squad, ignored glaring holes on the roster, repeatedly antagonized one of the team’s biggest stars (Umenyiora), and his poor salary cap management resulted in the departures of key contributors Steve Smith and Kevin Boss via free agency in the last month.

Reese did make key contributions to the ’08 championship squad and he has done some good things over the last few years so he shouldn’t necessarily be lambasted for the team’s unsettling dormant summer, but his grace period is nearing expiration.

Only time will tell if Reese’s new penny-pinching ways and commitment to ceding jobs to young players will pay off, but it could easily blow up in his face. If it does, Reese’s get out of jail free card will lose what remaining value it has left.

Lessons From Week Two

Green Bay 34 Buffalo 7: With six sacks in two games, Clay Matthews has emerged as an early Defensive MVP candidate, the second in two years for the Packers. Buffalo’s offense is completely inept and the Bills were totally overmatched.

Miami 14 Minnesota 10: Maybe Brett Favre should have stayed retired. Sure he’s missing his favorite target, Sidney Rice, but everything about Favre looks old right now. The 0-2 Vikings are in serious trouble. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have become one of the early-season’s most intriguing teams. With a deep running attack, improving quarterback, and surprisingly solid defense, Miami may make the AFC East a three-team race.

Kansas City 16 Cleveland 14: It wasn’t as exciting as their win against the Chargers, but the 2-0 Chiefs got the job done. The big-play capability of the Chiefs is the team’s biggest weapon, and a primary reason gamblers should avoid KC; it’s just impossible to tell when a kick return, pick-six, or dump pass could change the momentum of a game. The Browns really struggled to move the ball on the ground, but with Seneca Wallace at QB, Cleveland’s options were limited.

Chicago 27 Dallas 20: The 0-2 Cowboys have benefitted from equally rocky starts by the NFC East’s other teams. Still, Dallas has all kinds of problems. Tony Romo has been erratic at best, the team can’t run the ball, and its attitude just seems to be missing. This was a huge win for the 2-0 Bears who seem to have regained their swagger on defense and are quietly becoming decent offensively as well.

Atlanta 41 Arizona 7: Atlanta produced only nine points in Week One, but that was against the vaunted Steelers defense. The 41 point outburst against Arizona was more in line with what I expected out of the Falcons this year. Even without Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, the Falcons pounded the Cardinals. Arizona is in for a very long year, just too many huge losses on both sides of the ball.

Tampa Bay 20 Carolina 7: The efficient Matt Moore from 2009’s final weeks has disappeared. Carolina just seems lost offensively, and Coach John Fox has already announced that rookie Jimmy Clausen will start in Week Three. The Bucs have shown some feistiness in getting to 2-0. They’ve got an interesting group of young receivers and have showcased good young talent in the defensive front seven. They’ll come crashing down to earth for sure, but the Bucs have already met the expectations of many for this season.

Philadelphia 35 Detroit 32: Michael Vick may yet become an effective NFL quarterback. In what was arguably his best game as a pro, Vick showed incredible balance and evasiveness in the pocket while still making accurate throws and good decisions. I can’t remember a time when Vick looked less like a running back than yesterday. He has baggage obviously, but Vick looks poised to be a starter somewhere in 2011. Detroit actually played well without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. Rookie Jahvid Best has been electric thus far, and the team has shown plenty of flashes on both sides of the ball. They are still doomed to a losing season, but the Lions are creeping toward respectability.

Cincinnati 15 Baltimore 10: The Bengals defense has arrived. I expected Baltimore to really break-through offensively this season, but with 20 points through two games I have concerns. Still, against the Jets and Bengals maybe 10 points is all that can be expected. Cincinnati continues to have problems scoring points because Carson Palmer is a shell of himself. But the D is now one of the league’s best.

Pittsburgh 19 Tennessee 11: The Steel Curtain is back. The Steelers have been just dominant on defense through two games and Ben Roethlisberger or not, the Steelers are playoff bound. A healthy Troy Polamalu is just as important as Big Ben and the Steelers showed it doesn’t matter who is under center when their D is healthy. Pittsburgh made the great Chris Johnson look mortal. The Titans play strong D and can run the ball, but once again questions at quarterback are becoming problematic.

Denver 31 Seattle 14: Seattle got smacked a week after shocking the 49ers. Most people thought the Seahawks would really struggle this year, and their Week Two result was much more in line with expectations. The Broncos got a very good game from Kyle Orton and should hover around .500 this year.

Oakland 16 St. Louis 14: Two of the league’s doormats engaged in a typically boring struggle. The Raiders got a second dynamic performance in a row from Darren McFadden. His health and production are crucial to the Raiders’ success. This year is obviously all about Sam Bradford for the Rams. His development is the only story Rams fans should care about. Expectations should remain low though as Bradford has no weapons to speak of.

Houston 30 Washington 27: The Texans are extremely resilient. Two comeback wins in the season’s first two weeks against two good teams have proven that the Texans have arrived. They have arguably the league’s best receiver, one of its best quarterbacks, and an impressive young running back on top of and up and coming defense. Houston also certainly seems to have some arrogance now and the “it” factor. Washington really got screwed out of a win that would have put them in the NFC East driver’s seat. The ‘Skins are a different team with Donovan McNabb at QB and a competent coaching staff. They will be in it till the end this season.

New York 28 New England 14: The Jets made a huge statement by crushing the Patriots in the second half. Even without Darrelle Revis, the Jets are a superior defense. They also have to be thrilled with LaDanian Tomlinson and Mark Sanchez. This was the team Rex Ryan spent the whole summer bragging about. Conversely, the Pats defense looked atrocious. Without a running game, New England is extremely one-dimensional. Most weeks they’ll be able to score enough points to win through the passing game alone, but against true contenders like the Jets, the Pats will be exposed.

San Diego 38 Jacksonville 13: The Chargers showed that even without Ryan Matthews, Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil, they can be a force offensively. Their shocking Week One loss to Kansas City is now in the rearview mirror, and the Chargers should have no problem cruising to a division title. The Jaguars are simply a very mediocre team made worse by very poor quarterback play. Those pining for Tim Tebow last April probably aren’t very happy right now.

Indianapolis 38 New York 14: And it wasn’t that close. The Colts are a superior team to the Giants and probably 31 other teams in the league right now. They’re an absolute juggernaut on offense, and with a surprising running game they’re essentially un-defendable. The Colts also reminded everyone why they’re so good at protecting leads with the dominant play of defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. The Giants seemed to realize they were out-matched halfway through the Colts’ first drive. After that, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride panicked and the rest of the offense began thinking about what they’d do after the game. The defense was gashed also, but to be fair, there aren’t many teams that can contain the Colts.