Giants vs. Falcons Full Team Grades

7 of 7

Coaching Staff Grade: C

Sep 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin during pre game warm up before game against the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

It was another mixed bag for the coaching staff, who had moments of brilliance but other moments that left you shaking your head. While they can’t do more than call the plays, as execution is on the players, they could do a better job of putting them in a situation to succeed than they did on Sunday afternoon.

First, the positives. The offensive gameplan, at least in the start, was strong. The Giants got the ball into their playmakers hands early and often, and the offense got into a rhythm. Manning was able to rely on Vereen and Beckham Jr., and they got the job done. But, beyond those two, there wasn’t many contributors on the Giants offense.

The staff could have done a little better of a job of getting Randle involved, as he had only two targets all afternoon. Also, their obsession with giving Parker not only playing time, but important targets, continues to be head scratching. He dropped two passes again, the last of which came on fourth down with the game on the line; why Parker was the go-to guy on the most crucial play of the game is tough to wrap your head around.

Also, when Ereck Flowers was forced from the game with the same ankle sprain that bothered him last week against the Cowboys, the Giants did not adjust their game plan. Ben McAdoo seemed to call more deep drop backs for Manning, which is tough enough when your offensive line is at full strength, let alone missing arguably their most talented player in Flowers.

Defensively, Steve Spagnuolo was able to get more pressure this week. Whatever he did work, as the Giants got to Ryan with some regularity, an encouraging sight after what was done against the Cowboys in Week 1. There isn’t much you can do to slow down Julio Jones, but when you’re without your top corner for everything but two plays, the task is almost impossible. Spagnuolo did what he could, sending double and triple teams his way. But, if you are to do that, you have to be confident your guys can shut down the role players, something the Giants struggled to do at times.

But, once again, the Giants couldn’t get out of their own way offensively. The personnel at certain times made no sense, like when Andre Williams was playing instead of Rashad Jennings to try and drain the clock. They struggled managing the clock once again, and the offensive play calling at the end of the game made no sense given the time situation and timeouts available to them.

The Giants coaching staff is going to have to figure out things quick for Week 3, as the Giants will host the Redskins on Thursday night. It is tough to call a game in Week 3 a must win, but if the Giants fall to 0-3 on the season with losses to the Cowboys and Redskins already in division, they are digging themselves a very deep hole that will be tough to get out of.

Next: Giants Struggle with Clock Management Again

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