Offensive coordinator Bob Gibson was the most frequent target of complaints: he had taken to the relatively nascent practice (now almost universal) of calling all the plays from the upstairs press box, to the point of Joe Pisarcik openly challenging Gibson over the previous two seasons. The players felt that Gibson should let Pisarcik call plays; during the previous week's loss to Washington, the Giants had attempted only three passes on several third-and-long situations during the game. Players also felt insulted that on a third-and-7 in overtime, the coaches had called a run play. Gibson, for his part, had limited confidence in Pisarcik's passing ability, an opinion widely shared (the local media in New York referred to him as "off-Broadway Joe", a sarcastic reference to former Jets quarterback "Broadway Joe" Namath), with Gibson and other coaches responding to this criticism by pointing out the three passing attempts the players referred to had resulted in two interceptions and a sack for an 11-yard loss.
