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Just because they wanted to do it and were determined to establish that this would be their identity did not make it so.
What comes next, when the plan is not working, is what separates the good coaching staff from the very good coaching staff.
“You got to be able to be flexible with the players, with your scheme, with the coaches,” Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “You can’t be stubborn. That’s … one of our greatest strengths as coaches that I’ve noticed since I’ve gotten here is we got some coaches that really want to do what’s best for the players and for us.”
There is a fine line between trying to make it work and plain-’ol-stubborn. It was no secret not long after John Harbaugh arrived that he wanted to put on the field a physically imposing team that on offense featured a power running game. No pass-happy, shotgun-formation, empty-backfield emphasis for this group.
What Harbaugh wants and what he is getting are not one and the same.
Heading into Sunday’s game with the Saints, the ground game is not stuck in neutral, but it is plodding along in the right lane.
The Giants are 16th in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging 109 yards per game. That is a misleading ranking, considering the Giants’ 147 rushing attempts is tied for the seventh-most in the league. Their rushing average of 3.7 yards per attempt is tied for 25th.
Their one rushing touchdown (from Cam Skattebo) is tied with the Steelers for fewest in the league. Their one run of 20 or more yards puts the Giants tied for 29th. Their five rushing fumbles is tied for second-most in the NFL.
“A little bit of a work in progress,” Nagy said. “What we want to do is be able to look into why that is, and we think we have some answers. I’m not going to get into that publicly, but I do believe that we’re on our way into doing some things, and so that’ll be good. We look forward to seeing what comes from it.”
This would be the week to get right. The Saints are 30th in the league in run defense, allowing 148 yards per game.
In last week’s 27-27 tie with the Commanders, there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, as the Giants stumbled along with 26 rushing yards in the first half.
“Zero run game,” guard Jon Runyan Jr. told The Post. “Disappointing. Felt like we came out super slow.”
It was only after the offense was forced to pivot, down by 14 points, into a pass-first attack out of desperation that the more spread-out formations opened some room for Skattebo to maneuver — until he lost a fumble to cost the Giants a shot at an improbable overtime victory.
“We had been in that up-tempo, throwing the ball all over the place, and that kind of lightened out the box and they got taken by surprise by a couple of those runs,” Runyan said. “I think we kind of found something on offense.”
With that, Runyan added, “Not necessarily throwing it 54 times.”
There is no doubt the Giants are facing a team on high alert. After three consecutive home losses — to the Raiders, Falcons and Vikings — Saints owner Gayle Benson called the 1-4 start “not acceptable” and made what for her was an uncharacteristically ominous warning.
“Our fans invest their time and their hearts in the Saints,” Benson said to the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club. “They are right to expect more than we have delivered.
“Everyone in this organization understands the urgency. We must prepare better, execute consistently and correct the mistakes that are costing us games.”
Head coach Kellen Moore is 7-15 since his hiring last season.
“Mrs. B.’s great,” Moore said in response to Benson’s comments. “We all want better results, and that’s how this business is. We’re all shooting for the same goals and aspirations. It’s about getting there together, collectively. And so that’s the focus of our group.”
The Giants’ focus is on building on their first-place lead in the NFC East. Getting their rushing attack moving is the most direct pathway to that.