The latest breaking news is that Evan Neal’s ankle sprain was misdiagnosed, and is actually an ankle fracture.
This NY Giants blog has been critical of the NY Giants for putting up with pervasive injuries for literally a decade. Yes, since 2013. During the period of 2013-2015, we blogged about the situation so much that we became the number one source for objective content on the matter. The conclusion then, which is the same now, is that there were structural problems which caused persistent underperformance with regard to player health. We highlighted two people at the root of the problem: Jerry Palmieri and Ronnie Barnes. Palmieri was released after 2015. A new strength and conditioning coordinator came in and immediately brought the Giants back into the middle of the NFL in injuries. Yet that success was short-lived, the S&C coordinator left, and the Giants injury problems have resumed.
There has been one constant through this entire period. His name is Ronnie Barnes. We pointed out this past July that Barnes’ responsibilities only grew during this time. Typically, the S&C Coordinator is part of the Head Coach’s staff. That is not the case for the Giants, as the S&C Coordinator reports to Ronnie Barnes. Barnes reports to no one, except of course John Mara. This means that not even Joe Schoen can do anything about Barnes. Barnes has so much power within the organization, but he lacks the accountability.
In that link above from July, we noted that in the period from 2009-2022, the NY Giants had the 2nd worst number of adjusted games lost to injury in the NFL. Worse, the Giants were an outlier, well below the pack. That status will only get cemented when 2023’s injury data gets rolled into the review, since the Giants are once again bringing up the rear in injuries. Using some cocktail napkin math, I conservatively estimate the Giants will have roughly 80+ adjusted games lost, putting them in the bottom 20% of the NFL this year. Add a misdiagnosed injury for your starting Right Tackle, and 2023 is an unmitigated disaster.
At what point is Ronnie Barnes finally held accountable for these horrible results? Remember, Schoen swiftly restructured his scouting department, firing 2 employees a day after the 2022 draft. But Schoen can’t fire Barnes. I am willing to bet that Schoen would have done so a long time ago. Perhaps the Giants would not have finished 26th in the NFL in injuries last season and so miserably again this season. Your move, John Mara.