One year after Ben McAdoo was ripped for benching Eli Manning the move has proven prophetic
- The New York Giants have lost 18 of their last 22 contests and dropped to 1-5 on the season after a 34-13 home loss to their division rival Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night.
- Veteran quarterback Eli Manning has struggled to find success this season, and it has become clear that the man who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories has exhausted his potential and now stands in the way of the team's future success.
- Although running back Saquon Barkley - the Giants 2018 first-round draft pick - has been fantastic through his first six games, the decision to pass up on young quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Josh Allen is looking like more of a mistake with each passing week.
- New York could look to fourth-round draft pick Kyle Lauletta or an unsigned veteran quarterback with starting experience to take over under center for the remainder of the season.
Don't look now, but the New York Giants are a dumpster fire - again.
The Giants have lost 18 of their last 22 contests and dropped to 1-5 on the season after an abysmal showing against division rival Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night. Veteran quarterback Eli Manning connected on 24-of-43 attempts for 281 passing yards, but his stats look much better on paper than they did on the gridiron.
The 15-year starter under center in New York looked lost throughout the contest, and Philadelphia's defense took full advantage. The Eagles racked up four sacks on the night and held Manning to just two completions for 16 yards while under pressure. It was enough of a slaughter for the Giants first-year head coach Pat Shurmur to own up to his frustration after the game.
"I'm sure the cameras could've caught me upset a bunch of times," Schurmur told ESPN's Ian O'Connor.
The Giants offense ranks 24th in the league in yards per game and 28th in points per game, and while a floundering offensive line undoubtedly contributes to the problem, it has become nearly impossible to overlook their 37-year-old quarterback's ailing abilities. The fact that New York's roster boasts of two of the most talented offensive players in the league in first-year running back Saquon Barkley and one-handed catching sensation Odell Beckham Jr. just adds insult to injury; it is abundantly clear that the man who led the Giants to two Super Bowl victories has exhausted his potential and now stands in the way of the team's future success.
"All you have to do is watch him," one NFL executive told ESPN's Jordan Raanan. "Don't think about what his name is. Just watch him. Don't make excuses. It's blatant and obvious."
Last year's head coach Ben McAdoo saw the writing on the wall and benched Manning in favor of Geno Smith to start Week 13, breaking Manning's streak of 210 consecutive starts for the franchise. After a week of outrage from seething fans, the Giants ousted McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese over the affair and reinstated Manning in his starting role. In hindsight, McAdoo may have been on the right end of the issue, and Smith agrees:
Beckham Jr. has publicly expressed his frustration with the team's efforts and with Manning's performance this season. When ESPN's Josina Anderson questioned the quarterback situation in New York, Beckham gave a vaguely critical response:
"I don't know," Beckham said. "Like I said, I feel like he's not going to get out the pocket. He's not - we know Eli's not running it. But is it a matter of time issue? Can he still throw it? Yeah, but it's been pretty safe, and it's been, you know ... cool catching shallow [routes] and trying to take it to the house. But I'm, you know, I want to go over the top of somebody."
According to Raanan, some of Beckham Jr.'s teammates have quietly joined him in turning their backs on the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Many were skeptical of the front office's decision to take Barkley with the second overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, and while the former Penn State great has been fantastic through his first six games, passing up on young quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Josh Allen is looking like more of a mistake with each passing day. New York took former Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta in the fourth round, and while he showed flashes of brilliance throughout preseason play, putting a later-round rookie behind an unsteady offensive line could be a recipe for disaster.
Acquiring an unsigned veteran quarterback with starting experience - looking at you, Colin Kaepernick - may just be the Giants' best option at this point. Manning doesn't look capable of making it through the remaining ten weeks of the season, and the 2019 quarterback draft class is much weaker overall than this year's was.