The dreaded term “rebuilding year” means so much more than just getting better prepared for the next season. It means the fan base and spectators have given up on the team for the season.

No one in a locker room will ever admit it, but the season seems lost.

Unfortunately, it’s time for the New York Giants to rebuild.

The past few weeks for the Giants have been devastating. New York has started the season with an 0-5 record. In a Week 5 loss to the Chargers, star wide-out Odell Beckham, Jr. went down with a season-ending ankle injury.

To make matters worse, the wide receiver opposite of Beckham, Sterling Shephard, also went down. Luckily, his injury doesn’t seem to be long term. But remaining receivers Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris are out for the remainder of the season as well.

Injuries are an unfortunate inevitability in football that teams have little control over. What makes the Giants’ case worse are problems off the field. The Giants announced that they suspended cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie earlier this week indefinitely.

The details surrounding Rodgers-Cromartie’s suspension are foggy. The Giants organization has held the issue close to the chest, not letting the media know the specifics of the alleged conversation Rodgers-Cromartie had with coach Ben McAdoo.

Issues like these say a lot about an organization. The leaders within the organization are struggling to control the anger the players are feeling. Even worse, the public perception of the Giants is ugly. The football world will think this downturn is a result of poor leadership, which puts Ben McAdoo in the hot seat.

This is only McAdoo’s second season as the Giants head coach and his future with the organization may very well be determined by how he handles the next few weeks.

New York’s next few games are against some very tough opponents (Denver, Seattle, L.A. Rams), and a win in any of those games would mean a lot for the organization.

First off, a win would eliminate the ever-lingering fear of an 0-16 season that any winless team experiences. Second, a win would give everyone confidence that this team can still win without Beckham and Marshall. Third, a win would keep the media off the Giants’ back for a week and ease up on the “Worst team in the NFL” conversation.

The Giants are joined by the Browns and the 49ers as the only winless teams remaining in the League. The only reason the 49ers and Browns aren’t in a negative spotlight is that they were expected to perform poorly this year.

But the Giants entered the season as a legitimate contender in the NFC East. Now, the Giants are contenders for an early draft pick. All we can do now is wait and see how McAdoo rallies an angry team and fanbase against a hot Broncos defense on Sunday.

Columnist Brent Jansen can be found on Twitter @BrentJans. Any tips or suggestions should be forwarded via email to [email protected]. For video updates from The Seahawk, subscribe to our YouTube channel.