TAMPA, Fla. — When Kenny Golladay was caught by TV cameras yelling on the sideline during the Giants’ loss to Washington in Week 2, many incorrectly assumed his tirade was directed at quarterback Daniel Jones.
It wasn’t.
But that moment created a firestorm. And that frustrated Golladay — but not necessarily because of the reaction to his behavior. Instead, Golladay didn’t like that people thought he was yelling at Jones, multiple people familiar with the situation told NJ Advance Media. Golladay didn’t speak with reporters after that Thursday night game, but when he did speak — four days later after practice — it was clear he wanted to make sure everyone knew who he was targeting in his tirade:
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
Before Golladay was asked who he was yelling at, and before anyone even mentioned Garrett’s name, the Giants wide receiver practically blurted it out:
“Pretty much just me talking to ‘JG’ (Garrett) a little bit and that’s two competitive guys right there,” Golladay said. “More so, (it was) just me wanting to do anything I can. Not so much, ‘Give me the ball more.’”
He and Garrett spoke after the game, Golladay said. The conclusion: “It was literally nothing.”
Well, it was something.
That night, rookie receiver Kadarius Toney was seen pouting on the sideline, and it was believed his frustration was directed at Garrett, a person familiar told NJ Advance Media at the time. Later that night, Toney posted a cryptic message on Instagram indicating he was unhappy, though he’s since denied that was his intention.
There haven’t been any public blow-ups since, but some offensive players have been frustrated with Garrett’s play-calling throughout the season, people with knowledge of the Giants’ troubles told NJ Advance Media. They have been granted anonymity to speak freely.
“It’s terrible. It’s embarrassing,” one person familiar with the Giants’ locker room told NJ Advance Media, describing how some players feel about the offense.
After the game, even Giants coach Joe Judge didn’t hide his dissatisfaction with the impotent offense.
“As a player, there are some things I would be frustrated about as well,” Judge said.
In the past, Judge had expressed support for Garrett amid questions about his job security. He did no such thing after Monday’s 30-10 loss to the Buccaneers. Judge was asked directly if he has faith in Garrett as offensive coordinator.
“I have faith in all the people on our team: players, coaches, everything,” Judge said. “But look, we’ll assess everything as a team and make any move we need to going forward.”
Does that mean Garrett won’t be back?
“I’m not going to go into that right now,” he said.
Some of Judge’s frustration with Garrett — the head coach multiple times in his postgame press conference said coaches need to do a “better job of putting our players in a position to make plays” — likely has to do with the usage of Golladay.
For the second straight game, Golladay played all four quarters and was barely targeted. In Week 9, Golladay returned from a knee injury but was targeted only three times.
He was targeted twice in Monday’s loss to the Buccaneers.
“It wasn’t enough,” Judge said. “We’ll make sure we correct that.”
The Giants signed Golladay to a $72 million contract this offseason to be their No. 1 receiver, and (when healthy) he’s been barely involved in the offense. Left tackle Andrew Thomas has one receiving touchdown. Golladay and Toney, a first-round pick, have none.
“Is it frustrating? For me, yeah, just because I haven’t gotten in the end zone yet,” Golladay said. “But at the end of the day, as long as I’m making catches to help us get touchdowns, I’m OK”
Publicly, most of the Giants’ notable offensive players have resisted blaming Garrett for the lack of production on offense, including running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Daniel Jones.
“Yes, I believe in him,” Barkley said after Monday’s game. “Everyone wants to blame the coaches. I feel like sometimes instead of pointing the finger, you [have] to point the thumb. Look at yourself in the mirror.”
Jones, who has a close relationship with Garrett, said he still has faith in the offensive coordinator.
“Yeah, I certainly do. We do,” Jones said. “I think we were prepared. I think we had a plan, and we didn’t execute it. I think we feel responsible as players.”
Last year, wide receiver Golden Tate was suspended after looking to the sideline during a game and yelling (in Garrett’s direction) to “throw me the damn ball”. He also said that into an ESPN camera after scoring a touchdown.
In October, Tate — now out of the league — went on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” and said about Garrett: “I think he can be better. Look, Jason has amazing stories. Great storyteller, but that’s not winning games, or scoring points. I don’t understand why the Giants are struggling to score points.
“You have the personnel. I don’t know what the issue is.”
The Giants are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored 30 offensive points since the start of the 2020 season, and they have the worst red-zone offense in the NFL this year. Jones has thrown only 20 touchdown passes in 24 games with Garrett. As a rookie, he threw for 24 touchdowns in 13 games with Pat Shurmur calling plays.
Many have criticized Garrett for his uninventive route concepts, pointing to the frequency of curl routes, which is when a receiver appears to be running down field, but after a number of steps, quickly stops and turns around. It’s not exactly conducive to big plays.
In October 2020, tight end Evan Engram was asked about running those routes so often with Garrett. He admitted: “That’s probably the most different aspect to my route tree this season.”
Before Monday, Judge, had expressed support — privately and publicly — for the way the Giants were using tight ends and wide receivers. The reason: Giants coaches have felt hamstrung by their inconsistent offensive line, giving Jones limited time to throw the ball before getting pressured or hit.
Judge and Garrett have been comfortable in conducting long, drawn-out drives full of quick passes and runs. The goal is to get points (field goals included) or at least to set up the opposing offense with poor field position. But that hasn’t exactly led to a high-scoring offense.
The Giants are purposefully playing conservatively on offense, trying to avoid sacks and turnovers — which is why they don’t take many shots down the field. That might not necessarily change much if Garrett is fired, either.
Garrett even admitted this week that the performance of the offensive line — which allowed Jones to be pressured on 48% of his drop-backs on Monday, per ESPN — has made things difficult. The Giants often deploy tight ends as extra blockers, and they’ve also used a “jumbo package” with an extra offensive lineman lining up at tight end frequently the last two games.
“It’s just part of where we are. We’re trying to rebuild a team and that’s a process … you have to somehow, some way create an environment with the guys you have,” Garrett said. When pressed about if the Giants had any “cornerstone” offensive linemen, he only mentioned left tackle Andrew Thomas.
Judge was asked about Garrett’s comments on Monday night.
“I’ve seen some of the things coach has said,” Judge said. “If there’s something that needs to brought to my attention, it normally is. I didn’t see a ton of things that were said so I’ll go on and look at the comments to see if there is anything I need to be concerned about.”
In November 2020, Judge fired offensive line coach Marc Colombo due to insubordination, along with the poor play of his unit. Colombo was brought to the Giants on the recommendation of Garrett, who coached with him in Dallas.
One year later, Garrett might be on his way out the door, too.
“We have too many good players and we have to put them in a better position to capitalize,” Judge said. “That’s it.”
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at [email protected].
