EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants co-owner John Mara received another aerial message trashing his woeful team before Sunday’s 35-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
A small plane circled MetLife Stadium roughly two hours before kickoff, trailing a banner that read: “Mr Mara Enough — We won’t stop until you fire everyone.”
The most obvious people on the chopping block after two straight losing seasons are coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
It was the second straight week that a plane was hired to circle the stadium in protest of the Giants’ seventh losing season since 2017. Sunday’s loss was the ninth straight for New York (2-12), a franchise record-tying skid. The Giants fell to 0-8 at MetLife Stadium.
“Just control what we can control,” Daboll said of the skid, which has upset countless fans and annoyed at least one of them to the point where they are sending planes with messages directed at Mara.
Daboll insisted he did not see either plane.
The message last week before a 14-11 loss to New Orleans asked Mara to overhaul a team that has made the playoffs twice since winning the Super Bowl in February 2012.
“Mr. Mara, enough. Please fix this dumpster fire!” read the message towed by that plane.
Mara declined to comment last week and was not immediately available for comment on the second incident.
The planes have started circling the stadium around 11 a.m. on game day, and many players are not on the field for warm-ups at that time.
Linebacker Brian Burns said Sunday he didn’t see the plane and had no comment on its presence or the message it conveyed.
Veteran receiver Darius Slayton reiterated what he said last week, noting people can spend their money however they see fit. He added that the Giants have a talented roster that needs a few tweaks.
“We just we just have to do a couple of things a little bit better to get it back on the right direction,” Slayton said.
The Giants made the playoffs in 2022 with a 9-7-1 record in the first season under Schoen and Daboll.
The Giants were 16-point underdogs against the Ravens, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, an unusually high number for a home team in the NFL. Baltimore covered.
No one has come forward to claim responsibility for hiring the planes and writing the aerial messages.
In the late 1970s, a plane hired by fans flew over Giants Stadium with a trailing banner that read “15 Years of Lousy Football. … We’ve Had Enough.” Between 1973-79, the Giants won no more than six games in a season, with the six wins coming in ’78 and ’79 when the NFL expanded from a 14-game to a 16-game regular season.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
