The 2017 season was a monumental disaster for the New York Giants, a dissension-filled year that ended with the most losses (13) in franchise history. It put the exclamation point on a six-year run of futility that saw the Giants miss the playoffs five time, and get blown out in the only playoff game they qualified for.
General manager Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo were fired before the season came to a close, and by February, the Giants had a new coach, a new general manager, and a 37-year-old franchise quarterback coming off the worst statistical season of his career.
Perfect time to begin a long-term rebuild. Right?
Wrong.
Of course, the second overall pick was going to be a franchise-defining decision no matter what the Giants did.
Was it time to tell the two-time Super Bowl MVP, the franchise quarterback for 14 years, that his time was up? Or, was it time for the Giants to go all-in on trying to make one final push with Eli Manning?
Before the draft, the majority opinion was that the Giants had to select a quarterback with the No. 2 pick. New GM Dave Gettleman’s response was simple: “Hogwash.”
Instead of taking Sam Darnold, the popular choice in the media for the Giants, Gettleman flouted conventional wisdom and used the high pick on a running back, Penn State product Saquon Barkley. So much for playing it safe.
Fans and draft analysts should have seen this coming.
Manning has two seasons left on his four-year, $84 million contract — a deal that doesn’t look all that bad considering current quarterback prices.
Gettleman is a 67-year-old second-time GM who has two Super Bowls rings from his time as the Giants’ pro personnel director. Pat Shurmur is a second-time head coach. Neither of them is going to get a third chance if this one blows up. They need to win football games. Manning gives them their best chance to do that right away.
Sure, Manning’s stat line was awful in 2017 — just 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His 6.1 yards per attempt was the lowest since his rookie year. But he had an atrocious offensive line and was throwing to wide receivers no one ever heard of, instead of Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall, who were out with injuries.
And Gettleman, who watches film until his eyes are ready to bleed, says he saw nothing from Manning in 2017 that changed his mind.
“I’ve watched Eli’s first eight years, nine years of his career and watching the games, going through them chronologically, I still saw a quarterback that knew what he was doing, had plenty of arm talent and can win games,” Gettleman says.
“I think he’s got years left,” Shurmur said of Manning, the day he was introduced as Giants coach. “How much, I don’t know. But I think he has time left.”
Their belief in the quarterback isn’t lost on Manning.
“It means a lot, that vote of confidence in me that they still believe I can perform at a high level and win games and win championships for this organization,” Manning told SB Nation during a July phone conversation. “And I want to prove them correct. I’m on a mission to continue to play well, play at a high level, get this team going, and know that I can get this team back in the right direction and win a lot of games.”
But If the Giants are going to go all-in on Manning, they have to make his life easier. With a leaky offensive line and an unreliable running game, the Giants had actually INCREASED Manning’s workload the past four years — the opposite of what you want to do as a quarterback ages. Four of his five highest totals for passing attempts — and the only two seasons with 600-plus attempts — came during the past four years with McAdoo calling the plays.
They have to give Manning more help.
Gettleman, in his introductory press conference last December, made his priority clear.
“We’ve got to fix the O-line, let’s be honest,” he said. “Let’s not kid each other. I told you at the top: Big men allow you to compete, and that’s what we’ve got to fix.”
Thus, there are four new starters on the offensive line: free agents Nate Solder and Patrick Omameh, second-round pick Will Hernandez, and new center Jon Halapio. The one holdover, Ereck Flowers, has moved from left to right tackle.
There is also Barkley.
The positional value argument says you can’t take a running back with a high pick. Gettleman called that “a crock.” He considered Barkley the best player in the draft and the one who offered Manning the most help.
“He is a touchdown maker. He is a threat to take it to the house every time he gets his hands on the ball,” Gettleman says.
“If you think about it, this kid makes our quarterback better, he makes our receivers better, he makes our O-line better. He makes our defense better because he has the much stronger ability to hold the ball.”
There will always be an argument over whether or not the Giants made the right decision. What if Darnold turns out to be as good as — or better than — Barkley? What if he leads the Jets to Super Bowls while the Giants languish in what Gettleman calls “quarterback hell”?
Worse, what if the Giants still stink, even with Barkley, Beckham, a new coach, and a whole new attitude?
Gettleman doesn’t want to hear about Darnold and the Jets. He doesn’t want to answer any questions about just how good Barkley has to be to justify picking him if the guy playing for MetLife Stadium’s other home team turns out to be great.
“We passed on about 230,000 players. You guys have got to understand me, I don’t care,” Gettleman says. “All I care about is the New York Football Giants and every decision we make will be in the best interest of the New York Football Giants. I don’t care about that stuff. It doesn’t bother me. I know you’re looking at me like I’m crazy. I don’t care. Every decision that we are going to make is going to be in the best interest of the New York Football Giants. It is going to be in the best interest of this iconic franchise.”
When it comes to finding a successor for Manning, the Giants are kicking the can down the road. Sort of.
Gettleman said this spring that “there is no ability to predict” how much time Manning has left. In another interview, Gettleman didn’t seem concerned about it.
“What’s the long-term plan with the quarterback? He’s going to play. What do you want me to tell you? He’s our quarterback, we believe in him, he has not lost one bit of arm strength,” Gettleman says. “I’m coming back five years later, watching a quarterback in his prime, and now he’s 37. You have to stop worrying about age.”
The Giants have a pair of young quarterbacks on the roster who would be potential successors. Davis Webb, a third-round pick last year, is a big-armed, but erratic and excitable quarterback. Gettleman drafted Kyle Lauletta in the fourth round this year. He doesn’t have Webb’s big arm, but he has anticipation and accuracy.
If the Giants win over the the next couple of seasons and one of those two is able to develop into the quarterback of the future, then the bet on Manning will look brilliant. And even if Webb or Lauletta does not prove to be the answer, a couple of good years from Manning would give the Giants another shot at addressing the quarterback position down the line.
Conversely, if Darnold is a star, the Giants flop, and Webb and Lauletta wind up on the scrap heap of middle-round quarterbacks, the Giants will end up looking foolish. And it will leave them having wasted a couple of years and missing what might have been their best chance to draft a franchise quarterback without surrendering a bunch of draft picks in trades or spending big on a free agent.
If Shurmur’s and Gettleman’s plan is a bust, it likely means that a new coach and GM will be picking the team’s next franchise quarterback. But at least they’ll have busted with conviction.
The author
No comments: