MUNICH — The NFL’s worst offense should probably focus on getting the basics right before expanding to elaborate trick plays.
The Giants tried a flea-flicker in the second quarter of their 20-17 loss to the Panthers at Allianz Arena on Sunday and it failed in embarrassing fashion. They were trailing 10-0, searching for a spark any way they could.
“It’s a flea-flicker, so a lot of stuff has to go right,” Wan’Dale Robinson said.
The problem is that for the Giants offense, very little ever goes right.
Adding to the questionable nature of the play call, the Giants were facing third-and-1 on their own 49-yard line and had been moving the ball well on the ground.
“I wish I had it back,” head coach Brian Daboll said. “Bad coaching. … Didn’t work.”
Daniel Jones handed the ball off to Devin Singletary, who pitched it back to him as he started looking downfield.
Robinson was wide open, streaking across the middle of the field.
Jones started his throwing motion in his direction, but D.J. Wonnum beat Jermaine Eluemunor — starting at left tackle for the first time this year after playing the first nine games at right tackle — badly off the edge and sacked Jones.
But Jones also hesitated and was slow to get his feet underneath him to get set to throw before he was sacked.
“I guess you can say I was open,” Robinson said. “I don’t throw the ball, I’m not gonna be mad at [Jones] for not throwing me the ball at the end of the day. I’m just mad at the result of the play.”
Though not as much as Robinson, Malik Nabers also gained separation and was open on the play.
“When you look at it, you can see that we were open, but there’s many things that’s going on in Daniel’s face that us receivers don’t see,” Nabers said. “We’re just out there running our route. We see that we’re open. But there’s a lot of things going on in the backfield that you don’t know.”
After Jones was sacked, Robinson jumped up and down in frustration before jogging off the field.
The Giants were forced to punt after the sack. If Jones had simply thrown the ball away, the Giants could have gone for it on fourth-and-1.
“A little bit [frustrated],” Robinson said. “Just wanted to make a big play and help us change some momentum. I was just frustrated about that. I just want to win.”
