Shortly after the conclusion of Super Bowl LIX, retired New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer addressed Michael Strahan waiving the Philadelphia Eagles flag and called it a “warning shot” to the franchise.
Toomer lamented the current regime’s futility and failures, adding that they should be held accountable in the same way their long-time players had been.
In a recent interview with Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, Toomer continued his justified assault, noting that it’s not a personal gripe but a professional one.
“I love Brian Daboll, and I love Joe Schoen,” Toomer said. “But at the end of the day this is not a personality contest. This is a results business, and the results just aren’t there. It’s not personal. I don’t hate these guys. I just want the results. It’s like, ‘Show me the baby.’ Show me something to be proud of.
“There should be nobody comfortable in that building. The last two years. I know the owner’s not happy. I know that for a fact. I know that the front office isn’t happy.”
Ultimately, Toomer believes, there’s a culture problem that is highlighted by a lack of effort on the field — something everyone can see.
“We have a corner out there who’s not — we have somebody out there, I’m not gonna say any names — who’s not putting forth effort. That is the basics of winning,” he said. “How do you not play with effort in the NFL? That’s one of two things: either they’re not holding him accountable, or the team isn’t deep enough to where you have a real fear of losing your position every day of the week.”
The issue with culture is also evident when it comes to roster building. Under general manager Joe Schoen, the Giants have allowed multiple captains to walk. They’ve also set free more Pro Bowlers and All-Pros than they have on their current roster, which has become a glaring issue.
“We let three Pro Bowlers out of our building: [Xavier] McKinney, Saquon [Barkley] and [Leonard] Williams. We let them just go,” Toomer said. “And I’m sure there’s more of them: Evan Engram, even [Sterling] Shepard played well. [Julian] Love. That’s a cultural problem. And you can draft whoever you want. We could have drafted Patrick Mahomes. If that culture is not there, that’s a big problem.”
How do the Giants fix it? Change everything.
“You’ve got to change everything,” Toomer said. “The way you practice, everything, so there’s nothing similar from last year. Comfortability kills teams. And if they feel comfortable, raise the bar of expectations to the point where if you don’t want to become part of this team, it becomes brutally honest.”
Unfortunately for the Giants and their fans, they’ve changed next to nothing so far this offseason. The front office and coaching staff remain largely the same and therefore, the culture will remain largely the same.
