MUNICH — Not even traveling more than 4,000 miles can shield the Giants from their own failures.
Their surroundings were far different than usual Friday, standing behind a podium in the press conference room at Bayern Munich’s training grounds rather than at their lockers at their own training facility in East Rutherford.
The questions largely came from the plethora of international media, with accents ranging from German, Spanish, English, Welsh and more, rather than the usual local reporters the players are used to interacting with.
They were practicing later in the day than normal, needing time to rest and recover from their long flight over.
But no matter how far away they go or how different the environment is, the Giants can’t escape their glum reality.
Though they might have been phrased a bit differently than usual, many of the same old inquiries about the Giants’ glaring struggles quickly surfaced.
Word of their inept offense clearly reached overseas.
It took just a few minutes before head coach Brian Daboll was peppered on the topic.
“The Giants actually rank last in touchdown conversion in the red zone. What do you think is the reason of that performance of the team?”
Daniel Jones was barely in the room before international media pressed him.
“How do you keep yourself and your team motivated during such a difficult season?”
Then, a few questions later:
“What do you think the offense lacks to be more effective? It’s ranked last in points per game. What can change to be better?”
Indeed, the Giants are averaging 15.4 points per game — dead last in the NFL. They’ve scored touchdowns on just 40 percent of their trips to the red zone — also dead last.
Facing familiar questions, the Giants offered familiar answers.
“We need to do a good job down there [in the red zone],” Daboll said. “Haven’t been as successful as we’d like to be. It’s something that we work, I’d say, each and every day on. We get a head start on it early in the week and have to do a good job of executing down there.”
Can foreign air provide any kind of spark for this anemic unit?
They won’t ever get a better opportunity.
The Panthers happen to have the worst defense in the NFL, allowing opponents to score 32.6 points per game.
“I think just executing more consistently,” Jones said. “Finishing in the red zone when we get it down there with touchdowns, not field goals. Consistent execution throughout the game. Third down, all the critical situations that make offenses good. We’ve got to continue to focus on that. We’re confident we’re able to do it.”
