Before I proceed to slice and dice the New York Giants for the brutal way in which they handled this whole, ugly affair, I wanted to say a few things about Eli Manning first.
With the exception of Lawrence Taylor, who was the best defensive player I ever saw play the game, no one had a bigger or more profound impact on this franchise than number 10. Eli was a class act and a true professional. He's the only quarterback in NFL history who can boast with pride that he beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl. And I'm also pretty sure he's the only quarterback who went into Lambeau Field twice and beat Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers in a playoff game; the former in sub-freezing conditions, the latter against a 15-1 team. Had Jerry Reese done a better job of drafting offensive linemen during his tenure, Manning might well have won a third title, that's how good he was.
Many "critics" have opined about how Manning's skills have deteriorated over the last few years. You try getting your ass pile driven into the turf six, seven, eight times a game and let's see how your skills hold up. The fact that he hasn't missed a game due to injury in his entire 16 year career is nothing short of miraculous, given how little protection he's had the last six seasons. Were it not for Ben McAdoo's decision to bench him for, of all players, Gino Smith in 2017, he would've entered week three of this season having started 233 consecutive games, second only behind Favre. Not bad for a guy the so-called experts said was overrated.
For all the talk about how great the David Tyree and Mario Manningham catches were in Super Bowls 42 and 46 respectively - and they were great - the fact is that it was Manning who delivered both throws. The Manningham ball, in particular, was perfectly placed. Had it been thrown slightly to the left, Manningham would not have been able to catch it; had it been just to the right, it would've been batted away. Without those plays, the Patriots and not the Giants would've won both games. That's why Manning, and not Brady, was the MVP in those contests. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, New England fans.
On behalf of every Giants fan out there, I wanted to say thank you, Eli, for all the great memories. I still have your jersey and I will wear it proudly this Sunday when your team goes up against Tampa. Daniel Jones has some mighty big shoes to fill.
And now onto the main course.
Once more, this franchise botched what should've been a graceful transition. Dave Gettleman's refusal to admit that the Giants were in rebuilding mode when he took control over a year ago, meant that the team was compelled to retain Manning and his $23 million salary going into this season. It's now painfully obvious that he was going to select a quarterback in this year's draft, having passed on one last year. Fine, I have no problem with that. I'll say it again: Saquon Barkley was the best player in the 2018 draft. You don't pass on a generational player like that.
But if Gettleman was determined to choose a quarterback in 2019, he should've jettisoned Manning before the season began and put that money to work where it was sorely needed: the secondary. It was inevitable, given how well Jones performed during the preseason, that he was going to eventually be named the starter. Gettleman could've chosen to do what the Jets did a year earlier: let his number one draft pick learn how to be a successful quarterback under center rather than on the sidelines. I'm not saying the Giants' record would've been any better with Jones as the starter, but at least the expectations would've been set a whole lot lower.
So now this team, with arguably the worst secondary in the league and a front seven that at best is below average, has a $23 million quarterback riding the bench and a rookie quarterback at the helm. And for that, owner John Mara must take full responsibility. It was undoubtedly his call to keep Manning this season, rather than release him and allow him to sign with another NFL team that could've used his services. Imagine Eli taking over the reigns in Pittsburgh, where Ben Roethlisberger is done for the season. Or perhaps landing in Jacksonville to take over for Nick Foles, who is also out for the remainder of the year. How sweet would it have been to see Eli reunited with Tom Coughlin? Now he's forced to sit while Jones starts in his place. If you don't think that's humiliating, you've never watched a football game in your life. There are bench players in this league that are treated better.
Face it: the Giants are the laughing stock of the NFL. Their ownership and G.M. have managed to take a bad football team and somehow make it worse. Going into this season I thought they might go 7-9. As things stand now, they'll be lucky if they match last year's record of 5-11. But one thing's for certain, the man who proudly wore number 10 for 16 seasons had nothing to do with this train wreck. In fact, had his team performed with the same level of professionalism he exhibited game in and game out, I dare say the Giants would be one of the league's premier teams; right up there with the Patriots.
