National Football League

As Giants stumble, Coughlin looks cursed

Published Sep. 27, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Call it the curse of Rex Ryan.

For most of the last few decades, the Jets have been the weak stepchild in New York and New Jersey. Not today. And their celebrated we’ll-do-it-our-way status, which began with their improbable playoff run a season ago and then their fun and games on cable TV, hangs mightily over Tom Coughlin and his New York Giants.

The Giants were the class organization, definitely above the tabloid fray. They owned the city. Being a NFL flagship franchise, they possessed all the history, thanks to those titles in the 1950s, which were supplemented with three Super Bowl trophies. And all the Jets could do was keep talking about Joe Namath.

Granted, Rex and the Jets still need a Super Bowl to validate any assumption of the Giants’ throne, but right now, 64-year-old Coughlin comes across as Ryan’s out-of-touch older brother. There is a popularity disconnect. The Jets rally around Rex and his outrageousness while the Giants seem to lie down like dogs and slink away into the night.

The latest example being Braylon Edwards, who embarrassed Jets owner Woody Johnson with a DWI only to redeem himself with a 67-yard touchdown in Sunday night’s big win over Miami. In the Meadowlands, helmet-tossing Brandon Jacobs remains in a pouting mood, and the Giants look undisciplined on the field and now have 10 turnovers in a 1-2 start.

Coughlin can take all the blame he wants for what Ahmad Bradshaw called a “careless, out of whack” performance, considering the Giants out-gained the winning Titans by 200 yards.

There is no doubt that the Jets own the swagger and probably always will as long as Ryan, who believes in chest thumping, is their coach. By comparison, Coughlin is strict and by the book -- a straight shooter. He loosened up during his team’s 2007 Super Bowl run when Eli Manning played like a great quarterback down the stretch and in the playoffs. But if Manning doesn’t escape that New England pass rush and throw up that prayer that David Tyree caught on the top of his helmet, he wouldn’t rank in anybody’s top 10 lists.

To be honest, ask any New Yorker today who they’d prefer as their quarterback and I bet eight out of ten would pick Mark “No Interceptions” Sanchez over Eli. Heck, I’d take Sam Bradford over Eli if given a choice.

And this is where Giants’ ownership steps in. John Mara, the son of Wellington, is a reasonable voice while his co-owner, Steve Tisch, is a Hollywood producer. Tisch knows a bad storyline when he sees it. And right now Coughlin and his underperforming Giants are a bad “B” movie when compared to the Jets. This is Coughlin’s biggest problem and his players can’t escape it, either. You have to live in New York to truly grasp this theme. The Giants are now the Mets (but granted, they're not as bad as the Knicks ... yet). The Jets are closer to the Yankees.

I believed the Giants would be much improved on defense this season with Perry Fewell as the coordinator and with healthy and better personnel up front and in the secondary. But the linebackers remain shaky. And the unit that was the strength of the team when it upset the Patriots, the offensive line, is showing its age and is no longer a dominant force.

So, if this storyline continues, with the Jets racing to an AFC East title while the Giants slumber, Mara and Tisch will be forced to make a coaching change. And it’s not that Coughlin can’t coach. He can. And truthfully, he deserves a whole better from his troops than what he's getting. It’s just that there seems to be a disconnect between him and his players right now. And it’s all being played out while everyone swoons over the Jets and pretty boy Sanchez.

Yes, the NFL can be all about marketing. The Giants will make a change, hiring either Bill Cowher, who seems 20 years younger than Coughlin, or John Fox, who would come cheaper and wants out of Carolina. Both would be good choices because we know how well they connect with their players, particularly the young ones.

But if the Giants really want to be outrageous, they should hire Jon Gruden. He also has a Super Bowl ring, but more importantly he can go toe-to-toe with Ryan when it comes to shooting off F-bombs! And for whatever reason, that seems to be a very important criteria right now.

IS RANDY MOSS A HALL OF FAMER?

You bet he is. He caught two more touchdowns on Sunday from Tom Brady, giving him 151 on his career -- only Jerry Rice has more. There is no doubt that playing in New England has been great for his career, but what’s interesting is how he altered the dynamics of the Green Bay Packers.

When Al Davis was unloading a disappointing Moss, who appeared to quit on the Raiders in 2006, he wanted to trade him to the Packers and not Bill Belichick. He even offered lower compensation to Ted Thompson, the Packers general manager, fearing the Patriot result: 50 touchdown catches in 50 career starts there. Davis also wanted him out of the conference.

Thompson knew he messed up when he was inflexible on Moss’s modest contract demands. Brett Favre and Moss wanted to play together so much and to this day Favre believes if Ron Wolf was running the Packers, the two of them would still be playing together in Lambeau. That singular move ruined the Thompson-Favre marriage because Brett interpreted it as management not trying to win, and not wanting what was best for him.

But Thompson’s failure to pull the trigger on Moss gave the Packers a new leader in Aaron Rodgers and also one of the biggest dramas and divorces in NFL history.

SUNDAY AFTERTHOUGHTS:

-- When Jerry Jones was unloading draft choices and parking a Brinks truck in Roy Williams’ driveway, he must have been imagining games like that one in Houston, when Roy went deep twice and looked fast once again.

-- Others have said it, but Troy Polamalu is the Steelers’ best player. He ignites that defense and Ben Roethlisberger should try to emulate him, on and off the field.

-- Vikings receiver Bernard Berrian better start focusing on his job or he’s going to cost his teammates a playoff shot. You can see how unhappy Favre is with him, but the quarterback needs him until Sidney Rice returns.

-- I concur with Sean Payton’s decision to attempt a chip-shot field goal in overtime despite having a first down on Atlanta’s 11-yard line. This is professional football and there’s no excuse for Garrett Hartley choking like that. Too many bad things have a chance of happening if Payton would have called a few more plays in order to score a touchdown. Of course, Hartley’s miss will never be forgotten if it costs the Saints another division title.

-- Well, the NFC West shocked the world by going 3-1 on Sunday. But the so-called favorites, the 49ers, are in last place with an 0-3 record. Granted, the entire day would have been different if the Chargers had better special teams and if Sebastian Janikowski converted a 32-yard field goal as time expired in Arizona. Tom Cable pumped his fist like he did only to come away disappointed.