I can understand benching Eli Manning

But for Geno Smith !? WTF.

If you are going to bench Manning at least try out Davis Webb.

We already know Geno Smith is no good.

https://nypost.com/2017/11/28/geno-smith-starting-for-giants-on-sunday/?utm_source=maropost&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alert&utm_content=20171128&mpweb=755-5183967-719100350

What's the point?  As a Jets fan, I hope it means they are seriously thinking Geno could be a starter next year so they could avoid picking a QB in the high first round.  That would increase Jets' chances of getting one of the highly touted QBs in the draft.  But even if Geno looks like Brady for a few games, would the Giants be crazy enough to pass up a top three pick and a possible future franchise QB?

Giant management is tanking  -- they want to have the chance to draft a top QB.  Geno gives them the best chance at that although Manning was doing a pretty good job of losing.  

Assume there will be other baffling moves coming soon and McAdoo is going along with this plan despite there is virtually no chance he will be the head coach of the NY Giants next season.

Geno can look good in small doses.  He has a strong arm.  The Giants will look awfully stinky if Geno surprises and then they bench him.   Of course someone could break his jaw in the locker room and short circuit the whole experiment

Its no secret that I am not an Eli fan but I have to give him credit for not taking the start this Sunday.  He could have started and sat the rest of the game to keep his consecutive start streak alive but he said if he wasn't going to play the game then Geno should start.  

And to bench him for Geno?  Unless this was to protect him, it's another poor decision by McAdoo and crew.

I kinda felt bad watching Eli's interview with him crying.  Its not the way to go out if that is what this is.  He deserved better from the organization.

The only reason I can think of is if they truly think Webb is the QB of the future, they might prefer that he be regarded as the guy replacing Geno Smith rather than having him be the guy who followed the longtime star.

If they are truly trying to evaluate their future QB, I think they should just put Webb in now and not worry about the perception of who he replaced. 

There are real games to be played, yet not a lot of consequences if he loses them.  He will be able to show what he has without the pressure of having to win.   If he doesn't show anything promising then they know what they need to get in the draft.

Putting Geno in is a waste of time.  You know he is not a franchise QB.  The only thing they accomplish is a controversy if he wins out the season.  It will put Webb on hold and lose a shot at a good draft pick next year.

Do you really think Eli's career with them is over?  After watching him today I think he was truly hurt by this move and may want out of his contract.  When is his contract up? 

EricBurbank said:

Its no secret that I am not an Eli fan but I have to give him credit for not taking the start this Sunday.  He could have started and sat the rest of the game to keep his consecutive start streak alive but he said if he wasn't going to play the game then Geno should start.  




And to bench him for Geno?  Unless this was to protect him, it's another poor decision by McAdoo and crew.




I kinda felt bad watching Eli's interview with him crying.  Its not the way to go out if that is what this is.  He deserved better from the organization.

This. 

Eli is the only person that looks good in this whole mess.  He has class.

However, I think his refusal to take the start is also a silent F.U. to McAdoo.  McAdoo will twist in the wind alone as the back-up quarterbacks don't solve any of the zillion other problems with this team.

Soul_29 said:

EricBurbank said:

Its no secret that I am not an Eli fan but I have to give him credit for not taking the start this Sunday.  He could have started and sat the rest of the game to keep his consecutive start streak alive but he said if he wasn't going to play the game then Geno should start.  




And to bench him for Geno?  Unless this was to protect him, it's another poor decision by McAdoo and crew.




I kinda felt bad watching Eli's interview with him crying.  Its not the way to go out if that is what this is.  He deserved better from the organization.

This. 

I do not think this was McAdoo's decision.  And Manning's stats the past 5 seasons have been mediocre at best.  Last years run was a reflection of their defense, not Manning.  

I'm a less sentimental Giants fan. Winning, if not everything, is very important. This team, with Eli, is not winning. Not even competitive. A losing team loses fans. Losing fans means losing revenue. It's a business, I guess.  The fans want a winning team!

I think the world of Eli.  Never a scandal or a mean word. Tough, consistent and smart. A gentleman.  But, their record this year says very loudly that a change is required. 

Also, injuries seem to be rampant everywhere, not just on the Giants. What's up with that? 

Thank you Eli for your years of service. Let's retire his number. Let's honor him. But let's put a new QB in the game. For winning's sake. 

Yes, a change is required. In the GM and Coach. 

Changing QBs will not affect the losing. This is not on Eli.

This did not happen without Ownership approval, and perhaps even Ownership direction.  Which is amazing in its own right as this is one of the more deliberate and patient ownership groups in the league.

My guess is that the main message from John Mara is that no one on the team is untouchable when even the best QB in franchise history can be benched.  While Eli has not played at his best the last few years, he is still heads and tails above anyone else on the team and certainly a capable field general for the last games of this season.  Heck, he is at worst a middle of the pack QB in the league.  And there is no doubt that this is a team failure, not an Eli Manning failure--poor drafts, poor conditioning, poor coaching, bad luck, whatever you blame there is a lot more here than Eli.

There is a small part of me that also sees this as a play for a better draft pick, but I think the bigger picture is the message that everyone is replaceable.

It was McAdoo's and possibly Reese's decision.  They definitely had to get approval from ownership but the Giants have never been a team where the owners called the shots on the field. 

From 2014-2016 Manning passed for over 12,000 yards, 91 TD/44 INT and a passer rating of over 90.  I agree he hasn't been great but he's better than most. There is no way that Geno Smith is a better QB than Eli, not now and not ever.  If they want to bench Eli then start Davis Webb.  McAdoo is desperate and Manning is a convenient scapegoat for his terrible coaching and Reese's personnel mistakes.

Geno gives them the best shot at a better draft pick.  

And this was definitely Reese's decision.  and it came with the blessing of the Mara's.  

Today's Star Ledger says Mara broached it with Reese, and that Reese and McAdoo were already discussing it as well.  Mara's attitude was it was time to see what the other two can do.  He also said that he would do it a different way in retrospect--that it was McAdoo's idea to start Eli and then replace him with Geno in the second half.  But Eli nixed that as unfair to both of them and insisted the Giants issue a public statement on the whole thing.  Mara said he was thinking that if Eli started and they were winning then they would leave Eli in for the second half, but clearly Eli saw things very differently. 

And I think Eli was right to force the issue.  He has been the franchise for so long that, barring injury, he felt he deserved the respect to go out with his hand between the center's legs (how is that for an image?).  It was pretty insulting and bush league to bench him like this.  It is not like the Giants will learn all that much from watching Smith or Webb in these last few lost games, with a demoralized support cast and a coach and staff and offensive playbook that will not be around next year.

Of course as a Jets and Mets fan the deep fear that has been gnawing at me is that Geno Smith goes in and Justin Turner's us.

mikescott said:

I do not think this was McAdoo's decision.  And Manning's stats the past 5 seasons have been mediocre at best.  Last years run was a reflection of their defense, not Manning.  

Eli is certainly on the downside, but the OL has been mediocre at best since their last Super Bowl season.  His 2013 season was certainly dreadful. But even behind a poor OL, from 2014-17, he's thrown 105 TDs to 51 INTs, with the highest completion percentages of his career.  At least half the teams in the NFL would have loved that performance from a QB who didn't miss a single game.

If they had benched him for Webb, I get it.  It's time to turn the page, and it's time to find out what Davis is.  They're going to draft high next spring, so they need to know if they should be looking for the next franchise QB or the next franchise left tackle.  But Smith?  Jeebus, what a slap in the face to Manning, who is the last guy on the team who deserves that kind of treatment.

They will win three games with Smith, giving up a good draft pick and getting no answers at all.  Just a hunch.

I’m very much a non-Giants fan, and this was handled pretty poorly, but what are you supposed to do at 2-9? Something clearly needs to change. If they’d stumbled to the end of a 4-12 season without trying to shake things up, it would be loud outrage. 

I’m reminded of the way his big brother was treated in Indy, but again, what are you supposed to do with a quarterback on the wrong side of 35?

RobB said:

I’m very much a non-Giants fan, and this was handled pretty poorly, but what are you supposed to do at 2-9? Something clearly needs to change. If they’d stumbled to the end of a 4-12 season without trying to shake things up, it would be loud outrage. 




I’m reminded of the way his big brother was treated in Indy, but again, what are you supposed to do with a quarterback on the wrong side of 35?

you don't replace him with Geno freakin' Smith

Manning should have said, I have sucked all season and time to let others play.  He forced them to make the decision and we can all blame the Giants management but truth is, it was time for Manning to be benched.  And he might be good enough to win with a really good team but same could be said about a lot of QB's  

Geno is not the answer and guessing after one or two games they give Davis a shot. 

and blaming the OL is an excuse at least half the qb's in the league could use.   Good QB's figure it out.  

What do you do? Fire the coach and GM.

RobB said:

I’m very much a non-Giants fan, and this was handled pretty poorly, but what are you supposed to do at 2-9? Something clearly needs to change. If they’d stumbled to the end of a 4-12 season without trying to shake things up, it would be loud outrage. 




I’m reminded of the way his big brother was treated in Indy, but again, what are you supposed to do with a quarterback on the wrong side of 35?

I generally don't subscribe to this idea that a veteran athlete is owed any special deference slack etc. or that its an insult to make a sudden change.  That's the price you pay for free agency and the incredible bucks athletes get in modern sports.  With a parity oriented salary cap and draft system, teams are under the gun every year and have to be a little ruthless just as the athletes surely are in their behind closed doors contract negotiations.    Respect yes.  Sentimental decision making  no.  

I am investing sentiment in my team. (In other words: I’m not a Cowboys fan.) Under the right circumstances, I like it when the team gives me back some in return.

bub said:

I generally don't subscribe to this idea that a veteran athlete is owed any special deference slack etc. or that its an insult to make a sudden change.  That's the price you pay for free agency and the incredible bucks athletes get in modern sports.  With a parity oriented salary cap and draft system, teams are under the gun every year and have to be a little ruthless just as the athletes surely are in their behind closed doors contract negotiations.    Respect yes.  Sentimental decision making  no.  

I don't agree with you 100% on this, but even if I did, this is a pretty strange play by the Giants.  As noted above, if you want to test the future, test Webb.  We all know that Geno Smith has a strong but inaccurate arm and is lacking in the intangibles that would make him a QB to build a new team around.

To dump Manning for Smith is more than just a business decision in a cold cruel world.  It is insulting, both to Manning and to the fans.

bub said:

I generally don't subscribe to this idea that a veteran athlete is owed any special deference slack etc. or that its an insult to make a sudden change.  That's the price you pay for free agency and the incredible bucks athletes get in modern sports.  With a parity oriented salary cap and draft system, teams are under the gun every year and have to be a little ruthless just as the athletes surely are in their behind closed doors contract negotiations.    Respect yes.  Sentimental decision making  no.  

just because employees are well-compensated, it doesn't mean employers should treat them shabbily.  Every loyal employee deserves to be treated with respect, and not publicly embarrassed.  This benching is an embarrassment, and it's shabby treatment.  If the announcement was that they were going with Davis Webb because the Giants' season is now lost, that's one thing.  To replace Manning with Geno Smith's lifetime 28 TDs and 36 INTs and say he gives the team a better chance to win is insulting.

Paying someone a lot doesn't mean you can or should publicly disrespect them.

I cant agree that its disrespect.  Literally insulting a player, publicly blaming him for the team's failures, calling into question his heart, that's disrespect.    Benching may hurt but its not disrespect.

Btw, my 2 cent on Geno, as a Jet fan, is that after he has a little run of success in a game, he's starts thinking he's magic and can throw through defenders.  He doesn't have good field sense and caution.  Likewise, even though he is (or was) fast, he has lousy pocket sense.  Too easy to sack.          

bub said:

I cant agree that its disrespect.  Literally insulting a player, publicly blaming him for the team's failures, calling into question his heart, that's disrespect.    Benching may hurt but its not disrespect.


Btw, my 2 cent on Geno, as a Jet fan, is that after he has a little run of success in a game, he's starts thinking he's magic and can throw through defenders.  He doesn't have good field sense and caution.  Likewise, even though he is (or was) fast, he has lousy pocket sense.  Too easy to sack.          

Agree on your Geno assessment.  

Webb had one monster year his senior year after he transferred.  In three years at Texas Tech he went from starter to second string.  So I don't think we have even a solid college record to go on with him.  They should be starting him right now given that they have given up on Eli.

ml1 said:

RobB said:

I’m very much a non-Giants fan, and this was handled pretty poorly, but what are you supposed to do at 2-9? Something clearly needs to change. If they’d stumbled to the end of a 4-12 season without trying to shake things up, it would be loud outrage. 

I’m reminded of the way his big brother was treated in Indy, but again, what are you supposed to do with a quarterback on the wrong side of 35?

you don't replace him with Geno freakin' Smith

Hey, Geno might not be all that bad. Maybe he was just poorly prepared by his last team. Who was that again?...