By Dennis Waszak Jr.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — No wins, eight losses and lots of frustrated fans.
The Big Apple is pretty rotten when it comes to its professional football teams, and it’s tough to imagine things getting better any time soon.
Both the Jets and Giants are 0-4 for the first time since 1976 — the only other time they’ve gotten off to similar dismal starts. They’ve never both opened a season 0-5, but they have a shot at that dubious distinction. The New York teams are both underdogs in Week 5: the Jets at home against Arizona and the Giants at NFC East rival Dallas.
Former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody, who played for the Jets from 2008-10, lives in New Jersey and works for ESPN as a football analyst. He might as well have been speaking for every tri-state area fan during a rant on ESPN’s “Get Up” last Friday — and that was before the Giants lost to the Rams on Sunday.
“They are disgusting to watch,” an exasperated Woody said. “I am literally forced to watch disgusting football every week.”
He’s not alone, of course.
Just four games into the NFL season, the Jets and Giants have firmly established themselves as the league’s worst teams. The Giants rank 31st in this week’s AP Pro32 poll, with the Jets dead last. And that’s even with Houston and Atlanta also still winless.
“I think it’s a joke,” said Rob Janicke, a 47-year-old Jets fan. “I know location doesn’t mean what it once did years ago, but having two utterly embarrassing teams in the NYC area is unacceptable. That’s not what you want for two teams in the biggest market in the world.”
So, the fans’ venom is spewed at the Jets and Giants. How about this: The San Francisco 49ers have more wins at MetLife Stadium — two — this season than the teams who call it home. And there’s plenty of blame to go around for each team’s struggles, depending on who you ask.
Many Jets fans want to see coach Adam Gase gone, convinced he’s not the right person to lead quarterback Sam Darnold to the next step in his progression.
Others point to ownership. Some to general manager Joe Douglas for not doing enough to put together a competitive roster. Still others half-jokingly believe
In 1996, the Jets started 0-8, beat Arizona on the road but finished 1-15 — the worst record in franchise history.
This year’s rough start has some Jets fans’ sights set on the No. 1 overall pick and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The “Tank For Trevor” chants might grow a bit louder now, especially with Darnold missing at least this week’s game with a sprained shoulder.
Darnold’s injury is just the latest in a lengthy list of them this season for the Jets. The Giants suffered a massive injury loss of their own when Saquon Barkley went down for the season in Week 2 with a torn ACL.
That hasn’t helped the Giants’ offense, which scored a league-low 47 points. Daniel Jones is still committing too many turnovers — he has seven already — and that has some Giants fans wondering if maybe their team could be in the Lawrence sweepstakes, too.
Coach Joe Judge seems to be getting a pass in his first season as he tries to navigate things in his first NFL job as the top guy and during a pandemic. But GM Dave Gettleman, who took over with little in the cupboard late in 2017, has been under fire.
The Giants have made the playoffs once since the 2011 season and are 9-40 under coaches Ben McAdoo, interim Steve Spagnuolo, Pat Shurmur and now Judge.
But that one postseason appearance is one more than the Jets have made since the 2010 season.
And that’s another rotten apple story altogether.
The Link LonkOctober 10, 2020 at 11:08AM
https://www.altoonamirror.com/sports/local-sports/2020/10/football-is-rotten-in-big-apple/
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