Mike Kafka tried Sunday to start cleaning up the mess Brian Daboll left him.
He disciplined rookie No. 3 pick Abdul Carter for conduct detrimental to the team, benching him for the first series of the Giants’ 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
And he involved seldom-used former third-round pick Jalin Hyatt, a former Biletnikoff Award winner as the top receiver in college football.
But when Hyatt gave up on his flag route to the corner of the end zone with the game on the line, allowing Packers safety Evan Williams to intercept Jameis Winston, it was a reminder that fixing Joe Schoen’s Giants is much more than a cleanup on Aisle 1925 Giants Drive.
Culturally, a lack of 100% effort and focus has been tolerated on the field here for too long. Personnel wise, the roster is filled with players who cannot consistently make a difference.
“Accountability,” which Kafka is trying to stress, and attention to detail have not been emphasized around here for at least two years, since Wink Martindale resigned to escape the collapse.
So those messages won’t get through to a team overnight. And they especially won’t get through if the consequences for detrimental conduct are soft.
But that’s what Kafka’s first-drive benching of Carter feels like now that everyone knows the truth:
Carter, according to The Athletic, slept through an entire walkthrough practice this past week. Being late to meetings also has been a “trend” for Carter during his rookie season.
So how would Kafka think that benching him for a single series would deter him from doing it again?
Well, it’s important to remember that no one knows for sure who made the final call there.
Schoen, the GM, works collaboratively with the head coach every week to make gameday personnel decisions. Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder) was out this week, meaning Carter had his best opportunity yet to shine.
Is it possible that the decision was made with Schoen involved to only give Carter a series off? Sure it is.
Not to mention that Carter was sleeping in the building during the walkthrough. How did a teammate or a coach not care enough to go wake him up?
This is a lawless, rudderless operation. And it all traces back to Schoen, whose draft picks had quite a weekend around their first game since Daboll’s scapegoating.
First, former No. 5 overall pick Evan Neal was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury that Kafka said happened during a “workout.”
OK. Neal probably has played his final snap as a Giant. The only reason he hasn’t been released is for optics purposes.
Then Sunday came.
Carter, this year’s No. 3 pick, didn’t start the game despite his golden opportunity because of a nap. And when he did play, he managed two pressures, one tackle and one quarterback hit.
That’s it.
Schoen’s big ticket free agent corner, Paulson Adebo, was ruled out pregame due to a setback with his knee, so here came former first-round pick Deonte Banks to give up another touchdown.
Then Schoen’s third-round pick Dru Phillips, the overwhelmed slot corner, got benched in favor of Nic Jones.
“Yeah, the defense, they wanted to make a substitution there to put him at nickel,” Kafka said. “It was a good idea, and I think he did a nice job and made a nice little play there on third and two.”
Then Hyatt, a third-round pick Schoen traded up to acquire, put the icing on the cake with two route-running mistakes: one when he got to the wrong depth of the field on a key fourth down Winston sack in the third quarter, the other on the interception that decided the game.
Not to mention that anyone with two eyes watching Winston play quarterback is now caught up to the reality that the Daily News has been stressing since the spring:
Why did this team sign Russell Wilson at all? And how did they not give Winston a real chance at competing with Wilson for the Week 1 starting job? How did Schoen and the Giants genuinely believe Wilson was the better QB?
During the week, when Schoen whispers in ownership’s ears and works the national insider phone lines, he paints a rosier picture of what is happening with this team and where it is headed and does his best to move the goalposts and change the conversation.
But when his team takes the field — or sleeps through an opportunity to do so — everyone can see this for what it is: One of the NFL’s worst operations, a franchise that would own the No. 2 overall pick if the season ended Monday, that should have a new GM making that pick for a new head coach in April.
KAFKA DEFLECTS ON DART
Kafka would not say whether Jaxson Dart will be ready to return from his concussion to start this week’s game against the Lions (6-4) in Detroit as the Giants (2-9) aim to snap a five-game losing streak.
“Jaxson’s still in the protocol,” Kafka said. “So I’m just gonna see that through, talk with the medical. And when they give us the thumbs up, we’ll take our next action.”
Kafka also said he will be making no staff changes this week. That is an interesting decision despite Shane Bowen’s defense surrendering another late lead and Shea Tierney being mentioned prominently in a leak targeting Dart’s running style.
The Giants’ players had off Monday in a schedule change from Daboll’s tenure. They’ll return to the building on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, kicker Graham Gano, who is on injured reserve, had surgery for the herniated disc in his neck.
