It all depends on the juice.
Or the lack thereof.
No matter how hard they try, nothing sweet or satisfying is going to come until the Giants get their first win.
“Winning creates energy,” linebacker Micah McFadden said after practice Wednesday, “and I think all the new guys and rookies in this building want to have that feeling in the locker room after a win. Ultimately, that's what this team wants, but also what they want for themselves.”
The Giants have generated plenty of uncertainty and regret through their two games, and while their improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 was encouraging in some ways, it wasn't the most important one.
“Obviously, you know where we are at this point,” running back Devin Singletary told The Post.
The Giants are 0-2 heading into Sunday's game against the Browns in Cleveland, a game that feels like their final chance to make themselves relevant for a while.
“I know it's almost there, so I've got to go all out and try to get that first goal,” Singletary said. “Once I can get a taste of that first goal, it'll just be smooth sailing from there.”
The taste is awful so far.
It barely matters historically that the Giants wouldn't make the playoffs if they fell to 0-3. A little fun fact: going into the season, their chances of making the playoffs were somewhere between gone and forgotten. Their roster isn't strong enough to warrant a postseason appearance. If everything went right, the young players developed and got healthy, and Daniel Jones played at his highest level (good enough for an NFL starter), then with the talent assembled, it was a realistic goal for this franchise to get into championship contention and win late in the season.
So the Giants shouldn't be too worried about the fact that only one team, the 2018 Texans, has made the playoffs after coming off an 0-3 record since 2000. Just six teams have made the playoffs after coming off an 0-3 record since 1979. This weekend isn't about finding a cure, it's about stopping the bleeding.
“Even if that's true, I'm concerned about what's going on in this building,” Singletary said. “There's no need to worry. Good noise is the same as bad noise. There's no need to worry.”
The Browns (1-1) are not invincible. Deshaun Watson is a stock market quarterback, up and down and fickle. Their two starting offensive tackles, Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin, have yet to play this season after returning from knee injuries, and one or both may be out this week. When word broke on social media Wednesday that replacement starting right tackle Dawand Jones would miss practice with a knee injury, the first comment a Browns fan posted to the “X” was, “Good to see them against the Giants.”
The Giants should not be looked at like this. A struggling team or a team on strengthening mode is not an easy picking or a dupe. It's a joke. Going from 0-2 to 0-3 is a joke.
“I think everyone is aware and understands our record,” Jones said, “but nobody is discouraged and it's not affecting our preparations in any way. There's still a great energy and atmosphere in the venue, and I think that's the important thing.”
“Yeah, I know the record, but it's a long season and we have a good team.”
Coach Brian Daboll declined to say whether the reality of being 0-2 was discussed among the team this week.
“Well, I think what's discussed once in a meeting should stay in the meeting,” he said.
If the team is 0-3, it'll be tough to convince already-on-the-wrong season ticket holders not to put their tickets on the shelf — and it's no secret there's no shortage of well-heeled Cowboys fans willing and able to encourage e-ticket purchases — and Thursday Night Football at MetLife Stadium may degenerate into the Dallas Roundup, with the hometown team invading the stadium.
Dealing with a close loss is different than dealing with the same team losing close. The Giants could have played the same game, but with a kicker and a play or two left out, and beat the Commanders. But the Giants lost 21-18 and are still winless. Coach Daboll had to work on the “Finding Your First Victory” chapter of his coaching binder.
“I don't think there's going to be the same formula,” Daboll said. “You have to look at how you played and be honest about how you played and what you need to improve on. You really have to have solutions for the next day or the week before the next game.”
“Consistency is also important. You don't want to be on a rollercoaster.”
The roller coaster goes up and down and then goes up and down again, and the Giants need to find seats on the uphill part.
