Another season for the New York Giants, another disappointment. Still, a job must be done and here it is: Big Blue’s final season awards.
By Skylar Darel
Poor clock management, a porous defense, and an inability to hold fourth quarter leads led to the demise of a team that, despite lacking considerable talent on the roster, could have reasonably won double digit games.
As with any NFL team, there were highs and lows for the Giants in 2015. Here are some awards for the season that was.
MVP: Eli Manning, QB
One of the most encouraging aspects of the season was the strong player of quarterback Eli Manning.
In Year Two of Ben McAdoo’s West Coast Offense, Manning had arguably his best statistical season, throwing for for a career high 35 touchdowns, while throwing his second lowest amount of interceptions (14) over a 16 game season. Manning threw for over 4,400 yards for the second consecutive season, and posted his highest ever quarterback rating. It was a triumphant season for Manning, who proved once and for all that he is an elite quarterback in this league.
The fact that McAddoo was promoted to head coach will only help Manning, who gets to continue his success in the same offensive scheme.
Rookie of the Year: Will Tye, TE
It was close – offensive tackle Ereck Flowers and safety Landon Collins were very solid, and appear to be building blocks towards the future. But this award must go to undrafted free agent Will Tye, who led all rookie tight ends in yards, catches, and touchdowns.
Giants fans cringed when Daniel Fells and Larry Donnell were lost for the season, but then emerged Tye, who established himself as a mainstay in this teams offense. Whether he can continue to succeed next year is up for debate, but so far, color me impressed.
Offensive POY: Odell Beckham Jr., WR
This guy can stake a claim as the best wide receiver in the NFL, and he’s only played two seasons.
We’re running out of superlatives for Odell Beckham Jr., whose sophomore season was better than his rookie campaign. While he did play in three more games, Beckham had more catches, yards and touchdowns than a year ago, which is impressive considering he wasn’t the unknown commodity that he was in his rookie season.
While many will question his maturity after his meltdown with Josh Norman in the Carolina game, it’s impossible to understate how important Beckham is to this franchise.
Beckham’s rise to superstardom is probably the only reason why Jerry Reese still has a job. At 23 years old, Beckham has his best years ahead of him, and is undoubtably the best player on the Giants, and a top ten player in the NFL at his apex.
The only reason he wasn’t the MVP was, in fact, his meltdown with Norman – Manning’s intangibles, temperament, and leadership made the Ole Miss graduate more valuable than Beckham, but that doesn’t understate how freakishly talented this kid is.
Defensive POY: Robert Ayers, DE
In what was a dismal year for the New York Giants defense, one bright spot was defensive end Robert Ayers. Giants fans despaired when Jason Pierre-Paul injured his hand over the summer, but Ayers was a more than capable replacement.
He led the Giants with 9.5 sacks, and added 41 tackles, four passes defensed, and two forced fumbles, per Pro Football Focus – all career highs. The Giants should definitely take another chance with Ayers, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Whether or not the Giants keep JPP, or draft a defensive end in the draft, Ayers proved that he can certainly hold his own in the NFL.
Game of the Year: Patriots 27, Giants 26
It was a heartbreaker, sure, but at the time the Giants one-point loss to the New England Patriots was fairly impressive.
New England, to that point, was 8-0, and in the process of ripping their opponents to shreds in the wake of the Deflate-Gate scandal. The Giants gave New England everything they had, from a career-high 87 yard touchdown grab by Odell Beckham, to a half-ending score by Dwyane Harris.
New York grabbed a 10 point lead in the third quarter only to see it slip away in the fourth. Trailing by two, Manning led the Giants down the field and into scoring position, but a contraversial refereeing decision prevented the Giants from going up by six with a minute and a half to go.
Odell Beckham, according to the officials, lost possession of the football despite having two feet down in the end zone with the ball. That call forced the Giants to settle for a field goal, giving Tom Brady a minute to march down the field, down two.
The Giants had several opportunities to stop Brady – Landon Collins dropped a game sealing interception, and Brady converted on 4th and 10. In the end, Stephen Gostowski nailed a 54 yard field goal to sink the Giants as time expired. A heartbreaking result for New York, but one that gave fans optimism that the Giants could play with the big boys. Sadly, the Giants won only once more all season following the New England loss. In a season of exhilerating games and crushing losses, the Patriots game tops both lists.
Play of the Year: Odell Beckham’s Catch vs the Redskins
No description needed. Just watch the catch, it’s truly something else.
Scapegoat of the Year: Tom Coughlin, HC
I’ll admit it, I was all for Coughlin being fired.
Clearly, his influence over the team was waning, and it was time for him to leave. Coughlin’s resignation allows the Giants to move forward as an organization, and turn over a new leaf.
However, Coughlin should not have been the only person to go. General Manager Jerry Reese (who we’ll get to later) was terrible and assembled the least talented roster that he’s had in years.
Coughlin was the scapegoat of back to back 6-10 seasons, while Reese gears up for a last ditch effort to save his job. Still, the outpouring of respect towards Coughlin shows just how loved he is, and just how influential he was on all of his players.
Goat of the Year: Jerry Reese, GM
The Giants had a terrible defense, a faulty offensive line, and the most injury prone roster in football.
Why? Because Jerry Reese is the general manager.
Reese is clearly on his last legs as GM, clinging to the success of Odell Beckham as a testament to the relative success he can have. Everyone knows that Reese should be the one fired, not Coughlin, and yet Jerry still has a job. If he doesn’t deliver this offseason (he has a top ten pick and around 50 million in cap space) he is surely done.