This was a quote from Steve Jobs, as he knew he was in his last days, to Apple CEO Tim Cook. The point he was making was in relation to the Disney company, who had such a charismatic leader in Walt Disney, that when he died, the Company constantly was saying "what would Walt do?" and they fell behind and it was years until the company recovered. Similarly Jobs saw the same thing at Apple "what would Steve do?" And he wanted to get ahead of that.
So what does this do with the Giants? Well, it has to do with Eli. Eli is an all time Giants great. He will have his #10 retired and will get his name up with the others around the Stadium. The Giants have spent the past few years, the waning years of his prime and, which is not a small thing, his contract. The Giants built around Eli since his 2nd Super Bowl win and have done a number of things to look to get one more championship out of him before he rides off.
Manning had a horrible 2013, Giants fell to 0-6, and he threw an NFL high 27 interceptions. That made the Giants push out Gilbride and bring in McAdoo. Get the hot, young assistant to work with Eli and look to get his career on track. Now, the Coughlin age factor was also part of it. But in the end, the move was made for Eli.
When it was time to replace Coughlin, the Giants went with McAdoo. Why? In part because he spent the past 2 years with Eli putting in the new offense. At Eli's age, the Giants didn't want him going through another new system. They didn't have time. Keep McAdoo. Keep Eli in the offense and try to win it all.
The plan started to work in 2016, going 11-5, even though the offense didn't really click. So going into 2017, the decision was to get Eli more weapons and he would have what he needed for his next run. And...well...we see where we are.
So that leaves us with the Steve Jobs quote, in the context of Eli. The Giants shouldn't do for Eli anymore, do what's right. The Giants organization made their decisions to try to win one more with Eli before starting all over. Well, NFL life got in the way. The Giants need to start all over now. I did an old Giants review from an Inside the NFL snippet from George Young, who was profiled in 1986 and how he built the Giants into contenders. He was asked how to do it and he simply said "You start your franchise with a franchise QB". The Giants got lucky in their last crash and burn in 2003 to find Eli. This draft has top QB talent. Franchise talent. The Giants need to build this team for the next QB. That means from top to bottom. GM, coach, and to the QB. The Eli Manning era is over. Yes, he will still play. And he might play next year too. But it's time to move on and I hope the Giants organization, at the ownership level looks at this as their chance to reinvent the Giants franchise for the next 15 years by finding the right QB to start this over and that should include looking at the right front office and coaches too.
It's a no brainer due to Eli's age, and contract.
I agree that they need to start over - but what they need to start over is rebuilding a tough, physical team from the trenches out. They haven't had consistent winning records season to season since the old guard of Snee/Seubert/Ohara/Mckenzie/Diehl disbanded (07-12). They also haven't had a consistent pass rush since Osi and his first step left town.
Are McAdoo and Reese the right guys to fix this roster? I'm not sure, but that's what Mara needs to commit to doing because it's what is best for this franchise regardless of who plays QB. Though I personally hope it is Eli until his last day on a football field. He can still deliver and despite all the issues with this team he's given them leads in the 4th Q each of the last 2 weeks.
But also, when the Giants crashed in 2003, they used the opportunity to move Fassel out and bring in Coughlin. The difference is that Ernie was still there. For this time, I think Mara and Tisch need to really sit down and make the tough call. Eli is an easy call, his age and contract have made that decision for them. It's giving the reigns to a new power structure to make that franchise QB call. If they don't think Reese and McAdoo are the right answer, pull the bandaid off as soon as the season is done. Start their own investigations on who they would like to align for those spots. Organizations should be well planned out, many months, if not years ahead. If not, you become the Cleveland Browns.
A top five draft pick this season could be a blessing in disguise - we'd be crazy not to take advantage.
I mentioned when Webb was drafted, that this shouldn't preclude the Giants from picking a top QB in the 2017 draft if they were there. Now, I had no idea the season would implode before Columbus Day, but here we are. The Giants have been extremely lucky that Eli has been an iron man and made the backup QB a non-factor for almost 15 years. But you can't expect that forever. The Giants will need at least 2 good QBs go forward. If Webb becomes a good backup QB to a new franchise QB, all the better. Not to mention, if proven, he could become great trade bait for a high pick. Something the Giants for years tried under Eli but never worked out.
But I firmly believe this GM cannot be the one to make the pick, he is out of chances. And the coach should go too. Start it all over. Give Eli one more season (mostly due to cap reasons) to help develop the young QB and hopefully remain competitive. And then pass the torch, like Favre to Rodgers.
But please, enough with this GM and coach.
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Is if Reese is gone. Not going to happen with him in charge. No way would he do that after drafting Webb in the 3rd
I mentioned when Webb was drafted, that this shouldn't preclude the Giants from picking a top QB in the 2017 draft if they were there. Now, I had no idea the season would implode before Columbus Day, but here we are. The Giants have been extremely lucky that Eli has been an iron man and made the backup QB a non-factor for almost 15 years. But you can't expect that forever. The Giants will need at least 2 good QBs go forward. If Webb becomes a good backup QB to a new franchise QB, all the better. Not to mention, if proven, he could become great trade bait for a high pick. Something the Giants for years tried under Eli but never worked out.
You are making a lucid valid point but neglecting to take into account that the man who makes that decision has sat here for 3 years telling us Flowers is a good LT to justify the use of the 9th pick in the draft. He has been stubborn for years with neglecting the LB position to the point where we actually think BJ Goodson is a good one due to the utter lack of anything to compare with on the team.
He sold the Webb pick as the heir to Eli he will make damn sure that still happens and in honesty, I actually don't think that is a bad strategy if Webb is indeed a decent QB. Shore the Oline up, get a good RB (I actually like what I see from Gallman, and look for coverage LB's in the draft and FA
It's a no brainer due to Eli's age, and contract.
True, but don't forget we have a GM who has whiffed on two straight #1 picks! Do they trust in Reese who has almost single-handedly sunk this season?
The Giants have to use this season as a means to get the next great QB. Have to. It's the only way to fly here. If that next QB were to suck? So be it....get him anyway.
Just because you call someone the next Brady, or Rodgers, or Eli...it doesn't mean he will be.
I'm all for drafting a quarterback if he's the best guy available, but the "franchise QB" concept is a severely flawed approach to building a roster. For every Brady there are dozens of Andy Daltons.
The wheels were coming off before 2011, with many of the same problems that completely consumed the team later flashing, but Manning and a timely hot streak by the defense stuck a bandaid on them one (amazing) time. Catering to him didn't cause them; whatever is rotten in the organization did and just moving on from Eli (like they need to; he can't be on this team next year), drafting a new QB at the top of the draft, isn't going to fix it -- I'm not even sure there should be any faith that this team will even be able to pick the right QB, nevermind not ruin his development as things currently are.
Just because you call someone the next Brady, or Rodgers, or Eli...it doesn't mean he will be.
I'm all for drafting a quarterback if he's the best guy available, but the "franchise QB" concept is a severely flawed approach to building a roster. For every Brady there are dozens of Andy Daltons.
Terps, don't necessarily disagree. But it would appear, based on the college scouts, since last year, have been pointing to this draft as being comparable to the 1983 class. It would seem to turn out the best player(s) are franchise QBs. Hence the chance to really stamp the team with a new direction for the next 10 years. Those of us of age all remember the post Phil Simms mess of Dave Brown, Kent Graham, Tommy Maddox, and Danny Kanell until they were able to pick up Kerry Collins off the scrap heap for a decent run until finding Eli. The moons look to be aligning to avoid a similar fate as from 1994-1999.
The team should have been aggresively rebuilt after 2012 when Eli was 32. Instead, Mara and Tisch get delusions of grandeur to have the Super Bowl in MetLife and trot the same team out there- a team that last had a deep draft in 2008. Stopgap signings of Myers and the trade for Beason were all the "help" that came to a team needing to be rebuilt. Gilbride is forced out, apparently for being unable to use the "talents" of Jernigan, Aaron Brown and the "JPP of tight ends". Eli is also blamed for the debacle and Mara decides to emulate the flavor of the month, the Packer offense (which was 3rd in NFL total offense in 2013), and hires an unknown, inexperienced and off the radar choice to be OC based on his reputation as a Rodgers' whisperer who, unfortunately, could not bring Rodgers with him.
Meanwhile the shallow drafts and waste of space UDFA signings continue. 2013 brought the inexplicable trade up for Nassib. It also brought Hankins, which was a good thing, and another hallmark of Reese- letting good players walk so he could spend another draft pick on the same spot. Bennett was allowed to walk after one year in 2012 and it has taken 5 years to find another TE- for which we had to use a #1 pick. The last UDFA we signed that was an impact player was Cruz. Our PS has been next to useless. You can't build a team when you aren't even keeping up with departing and retiring players.
Meanwhile the core of the team from the last successful draft in 2008 is getting older and older and we are trying to rebuild a team 2 draft picks at a time while letting good players walk. The 200 million spend last season was an organizational confession that they had not drafted or signed UDFA well.
So please, stop with the "it's all been for Eli" nonsense. This has been an organizational failure to (a) properly self-assess the players on the roster and the team; (b) keep the player pipeline full so you are getting ahead of retiring and departing talent; (c) keep the good players we had so we are not constantly trying to fill the same holes and actually improve the roster; and (d) making the decision to try and get to the SB in 2013 instead of blowing up the roster and re-building.
But then again, in 2004 while I was excited about the prospects of getting a top QB, I thought building up the O-line and protecting Collins would give us our best chance.
Seems as though history may be repeating itself...
The two differences, and I think they are big ones, is Manning is a guy who has won it all. We know he can do it... Would the Colts have given up 10-15 years of Luck for 3 more years of Peyton and that SB he won in Denver?.... Probably. That is reason number 1, and the second reason being the gross negligence by this front office to rebuild this O-line.
Champions don't grow on trees, and as stated it's harder to turn the page from Manning as it was from Collins...
I think the right move is if you want to make big changes you bring in a new front office and make them make the call on the coach... allow them to pick whomever even a top QB, and I think you give Eli the benefit of being at least another year or two.
At that point, it is understood the page will be turned, and it's up to Eli as to what he wants to do with the remainder of his career.
It's been a while since we've seen Eli come up with that magic... maybe his genie lamp is empty and the Football Gods are giving it to the young hungry kids, but man... I think he deserves better than getting discarded on top of the rubble that caused this whole problems (Reese etc)...
The team should have been aggresively rebuilt after 2012 when Eli was 32. Instead, Mara and Tisch get delusions of grandeur to have the Super Bowl in MetLife and trot the same team out there- a team that last had a deep draft in 2008. Stopgap signings of Myers and the trade for Beason were all the "help" that came to a team needing to be rebuilt. Gilbride is forced out, apparently for being unable to use the "talents" of Jernigan, Aaron Brown and the "JPP of tight ends". Eli is also blamed for the debacle and Mara decides to emulate the flavor of the month, the Packer offense (which was 3rd in NFL total offense in 2013), and hires an unknown, inexperienced and off the radar choice to be OC based on his reputation as a Rodgers' whisperer who, unfortunately, could not bring Rodgers with him.
Meanwhile the shallow drafts and waste of space UDFA signings continue. 2013 brought the inexplicable trade up for Nassib. It also brought Hankins, which was a good thing, and another hallmark of Reese- letting good players walk so he could spend another draft pick on the same spot. Bennett was allowed to walk after one year in 2012 and it has taken 5 years to find another TE- for which we had to use a #1 pick. The last UDFA we signed that was an impact player was Cruz. Our PS has been next to useless. You can't build a team when you aren't even keeping up with departing and retiring players.
Meanwhile the core of the team from the last successful draft in 2008 is getting older and older and we are trying to rebuild a team 2 draft picks at a time while letting good players walk. The 200 million spend last season was an organizational confession that they had not drafted or signed UDFA well.
So please, stop with the "it's all been for Eli" nonsense. This has been an organizational failure to (a) properly self-assess the players on the roster and the team; (b) keep the player pipeline full so you are getting ahead of retiring and departing talent; (c) keep the good players we had so we are not constantly trying to fill the same holes and actually improve the roster; and (d) making the decision to try and get to the SB in 2013 instead of blowing up the roster and re-building.
I don't often agree with you, but this is a great post.
"For Eli" is just another excuse of many for the team's failings that go way beyond him and will greatly affect what's after him. His time is up here, but just starting over with a new QB -- a QB that is selected and developed by the same process/group that has led them here -- isn't going to fix a damn thing.
I have written on here previously that the Giants screwed up the 2013 season. The back to back blowouts late in 2012 to Atlanta and Baltimore signaled that what was left of the 2011 championship team was done. Coughlin himself asked how that could have happened, and the real answer was, the Giants were done and needed to be rebuilt. But they put up the countdown clock, brought back some stopgap players, had an old OL and hoped to be the first host team to win a Super Bowl. It blew up in their face.
2017 is going the same way. They thought they were a few weapons more away from a championship and neglected the defense, who had a razor thin margin of error last year, and completely ignored the offensive line.
Now, I don't at all disagree with talent evaluation. That's why I said, at this point, picking so high, the time is right to do a house cleaning, if that is ownership's decision. The worst thing would be to have this year in the crapper, get a high pick, keep the current group around...suck in 2018 and then bring in a new group where you already have used a pick that the new regime wouldn't want. Clear it all out.
And lastly, in my "for Eli" perspective, the Giants decisions, many of which backfired, were in many ways done to try to get one more championship out of Eli before being forced to do the full rebuild. They have teetered on it since 2013, but haven't committed. The defensive spending spree, as you said, was 100% about the fact that they covered for bad drafts and previous decisions.
Now is the time for Mara and Tisch to step back and take stock of where they are now. Eli doesn't have much time left. Yes, he can still play, but do you want to look to set the team up for success for the next 2 years or the next 10? If Reese and McAdoo aren't the answer, then get rid of them both after this season and start over.
And it will likely be all for naught - Eli's contract makes him all but impossible to trade, and cutting him before June 1st, 2018 will produce a $12 million cap hit that I don't see the team being willing to eat.
And to state the obvious, Eli's play so far makes him a deserving starter, and if he can somehow maintain his level of play for the final 11 games, I expect to hear a lot of throat-clearing from the "Move on from Eli" crowd.
Actually 3 weeks.
But a darn good post.
And it will likely be all for naught - Eli's contract makes him all but impossible to trade, and cutting him before June 1st, 2018 will produce a $12 million cap hit that I don't see the team being willing to eat.
And to state the obvious, Eli's play so far makes him a deserving starter, and if he can somehow maintain his level of play for the final 11 games, I expect to hear a lot of throat-clearing from the "Move on from Eli" crowd.
Eli will be the QB the rest of this year and the start of 2018. The question is for how long. Think Kurt Warner in 2004.
I want to start looking at the position in a completely different way. I'd love to see them draft Jackson and back him up with two mobile quarterbacks.
I have written on here previously that the Giants screwed up the 2013 season. The back to back blowouts late in 2012 to Atlanta and Baltimore signaled that what was left of the 2011 championship team was done. Coughlin himself asked how that could have happened, and the real answer was, the Giants were done and needed to be rebuilt. But they put up the countdown clock, brought back some stopgap players, had an old OL and hoped to be the first host team to win a Super Bowl. It blew up in their face.
2017 is going the same way. They thought they were a few weapons more away from a championship and neglected the defense, who had a razor thin margin of error last year, and completely ignored the offensive line.
Now, I don't at all disagree with talent evaluation. That's why I said, at this point, picking so high, the time is right to do a house cleaning, if that is ownership's decision. The worst thing would be to have this year in the crapper, get a high pick, keep the current group around...suck in 2018 and then bring in a new group where you already have used a pick that the new regime wouldn't want. Clear it all out.
And lastly, in my "for Eli" perspective, the Giants decisions, many of which backfired, were in many ways done to try to get one more championship out of Eli before being forced to do the full rebuild. They have teetered on it since 2013, but haven't committed. The defensive spending spree, as you said, was 100% about the fact that they covered for bad drafts and previous decisions.
Now is the time for Mara and Tisch to step back and take stock of where they are now. Eli doesn't have much time left. Yes, he can still play, but do you want to look to set the team up for success for the next 2 years or the next 10? If Reese and McAdoo aren't the answer, then get rid of them both after this season and start over.
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talking about how its time to move on from Eli.
And it will likely be all for naught - Eli's contract makes him all but impossible to trade, and cutting him before June 1st, 2018 will produce a $12 million cap hit that I don't see the team being willing to eat.
And to state the obvious, Eli's play so far makes him a deserving starter, and if he can somehow maintain his level of play for the final 11 games, I expect to hear a lot of throat-clearing from the "Move on from Eli" crowd.
Eli will be the QB the rest of this year and the start of 2018. The question is for how long. Think Kurt Warner in 2004.
The problem is, his consecutive starts streak complicates things (whether it should or not is another question).
As long as Eli is proving he still has gas in the tank (correcting for the dearth of talent he has surrounding him), I think the comparison to Warner in 2004 breaks down. I don't think Warner did enough to lose his starting job back then. I just think Coughlin looked at the season objectively, decided that, even at 5-4, the team wasn't going anywhere, and so as long as that was the case - might as well put the kid in and let him play.
I'm not saying McAdoo can't make the same decision next season too, but the Ironman streak does complicate things.
there is a lot of work to be done and I damn sure don't want
Reese anywhere near it .
Eli isn't going anywhere re do this past draft and brought
in a decent back . This team had enough to challenge to me
last season it was clear as it was the season before that
we needed to FIX the O-line and replace the aging Jennings .
What they did manage to do is beat the hell out of this defense . Pre-season told you that nothing was fixed .
I would argue take the RB let Eli finish and get Webb ready
to replace him . Watching them waste reps on too shitty QB's was a joke .