Notice what he says about the answers he received about Eli, when he interviewed Gettleman and Shurmur back in July, and I quote...
"I think he's still got a lot of really good football left in him," Mara said in July. "I know both Dave and Pat feel that way, too. That was something they emphasized to me when we interviewed them, and I think we have a little better supporting cast around him this year. If we could just stay healthy, I think you'll see some very good football from Number 10."
So what we learn is Gettleman and Shurmur both emphasized that they felt Eli had a lot of really good football left in him. This is further confirmed when Shurmur was quoted as saying he felt Eli had "years left" in him.
Now notice these quotes if Mara felt like this was a rebuild, or if they were going all in on Eli, and I quote...
“I think he has a cast around him now that maybe we haven’t had for quite a few years. So we do have some expectations this year."
“I feel like we have a roster that’s good enough to be in the postseason if things break our way and we stay healthy,” says Mara, acknowledging he was similarly hopeful last year before it all went wrong. “We have a little different makeup in the locker room right now. I think we’re better prepared to deal with adversity when it comes along. Health is always gonna be the X-factor in the NFL, and if we can stay reasonably healthy, I think we have a chance.”
“I look back at this past offseason: ‘Did we do everything we could have done to put the best possible team on the field?’ And I think we have,” he says.
What we learn is that he had serious expectations for this year, so no rebuild. He expected the roster Gettleman assembled, if they stayed healthy to put them in the postseason. Well the roster is as healthy as you can get, you used up 173 out of 177 million in cap space, and this team is 1-5...
Hopefully this puts to bed some of the fallacies being spread among some prominent posters here at BBI...
Here is the link to the article
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Oh, wait..
So I guess I disagree with the coaching and ownership and feel we have been rebuilding all along. I am not sure things would have looked different if the ownership felt so as well, we might have drafted a QB, but I don't think we'd be much better.
I don't think its helpful to get all up in arms about whether we are rebuilding. With such short careers, and rookie contracts, and the salary cap, I think the NFL is a rebuild almost every year.
Amazing people on BBI don’t realize this.
If he knew that, then those same people must believe he's the dumbest person on the planet. You don't sign a 30 year old LT who an actual contender let walk if you are in a true rebuild, no matter how bad your offensive line is. Especially when you dont even have a franchise QB back there that the LT needs to protect, he's protecting Eli who is 37.
John Mara and Gettleman both were 100% wrong in their assessment that Eli had good years left.
Signing Nate Solder will prove to be a truly horrible decision. The guy is only slightly above average. Even if he was 25 it would have been a bad signing because he's not nearly good enough to command that type of salary.
Teams who pay slightly above average players like they are truly elite are the ones that you see drafting in the top 5 every year.
New coaching, all 5 OL players changed and Saquan Barkley and we still havnt changed.
The defense is same as 2016 defense. A lil changes here and there but still pretty much the same D#
Offense been horrible since Coach tom coughlin left. I though maybe the offensive guru was just horrible in play design(which he was) and that with new coach this year we were ganna go to playoffs for sure.
Still think this should of been our year but we cant contend seriously when we have Wheeler and Omemeh on the line. They should stay as depth but not as starters.
Trade for RG3!
This is the NFL. Everyone is trying to win and the reality is this team doesn't have enough difference makers in defense and the injuries have started ( our best pass rusher missed the first 5 games, our starting center, TE's, Latimer, Apple have missed time ), they hoped Flowers would be ok at RT. There have been issues with the Fullback position, the communication with the line has been off. The play of Riley at FS has been bad. You can't fix everything in one offseason. Should they be playing better? Yes but to say we would make the playoffs was a stretch. I believe we were hoping to be a competitive team with anywhere from 7-9 wins. That is not gonna happen. I can see maybe 5 wins at the most.
Gettlemen is just starting the roster rebuild. Shurmur is a good coach. We have some top talent, but we still need about 8 more pieces and one of those pieces is Eli's successor. It will happen next offseason.
Well, the scheme is McAdoo-esque and Eli isn’t able to rise above/motivate/uplift the rest of the roster the way a HoF, franchise, 20M$ QB should.
It’d be interesting to see how they react to this disastrous start. I can’t possibly imagine that they’d double down on Eli.
This year they are horrendous while healthy at the offensive skill positions.
Last year I fully expected inept offensive play after the receivers went down.
This year there is no excuse.
They were wrong when they thought the changes they made to the OL were going to make a difference OR that Eli can play behind anything other than a fully protected pocket. That is really where this whole thing blew up.
As he did in Carolina, DG focused on upgrading the lines. Draft picks and he went after the best OL available (Norwell) and then the 2nd best (Solder). Either was going to be overpaid. He signed Omameh and rightfully expected competent, professional play (its been far below that). Sometimes things don't work, but he made his best guesses for the OL.
What has really killed this team this year is the further decline of Eli to the point he's at now. I can't believe that Shurmur and Getts can't see the plain, painful truth (even if they support him publicly). Neither is stupid and if all of us see it, they must also.
What they do to move forward AFTER this season will tell us if we have a management team to clean up this mess or we are going to relive 1963-1979 (which I did) all over again.
There's a part of me that's laughing at the younger guys on BBI who believe all the revisionist Mara history. What you're seeing since Chris Mara became SR VP of Player Personnel is what the Mara's do when they choose the GM and the coaches and get their hands all over the roster.
There's a part of me that's laughing at the younger guys on BBI who believe all the revisionist Mara history. What you're seeing since Chris Mara became SR VP of Player Personnel is what the Mara's do when they choose the GM and the coaches and get their hands all over the roster.
Agree 100%. We need to remove the Maras from football decisions.
They all suck. It is a conspiracy. Mara lied and mislead us. DG amd PS haven't a clue as to playing football.
They were obviously trying to win.A s stated the Gmen did not have to go after Solder- they could have gone younger and went after Hubbard.
They just keep blundering along and some fans keep falling for the same crap. How often would we hear that in 2016 were were good and the OL is better so the team will be good this year? Now that has suddenly changed to "ofc we would stink." Well that hwy many of said go with the QB.
Watch at the end of the year the Gmen get a few wins and see again how all of a sudden the narrative will change that they expect us to be a winner in 2019.
Mara knows his customers, his organization tracks customer sentiment. Hell he actively reads fan email.
Mara has been a populist running this team post Super Bowls. Desperately trying to 1) keep the core together as long as possible 2) create perfect endings for the characters involved has set this team back at least 3 years.
Mara knows his customers, his organization tracks customer sentiment. Hell he actively reads fan email.
Mara has been a populist running this team post Super Bowls. Desperately trying to 1) keep the core together as long as possible 2) create perfect endings for the characters involved has set this team back at least 3 years.
That’s a very interesting take, particularly the last paragraph.
I’ve said hundreds of times that Mara is keenly aware of what happened to Welli in the ‘78 revolt by the fans. Being loved by his customer base is a big deal. It weighs heavily on him and, in my view, one of the key reasons he wanted Eli back after last year’s disaster.
Exactly -- most owners have a more diverse business or more money than Mara. Even Tisch can view the Giants more as an investment and can take risks.
The Mara's have the Giants.
I completely sympathise with wanting to be loyal and hoping for pleasant endings. They don't come often.
Instead he has to fight with nostalgia and the team sucking.
There are fans on BBI who literally say Manning has earned the right to play as long as he wants. And fans on BBI who took a victory lap when Gettleman held onto Manning. For some of them it was pretty clear winning with Manning was more important than just winning.
I don't get it. I was 8 when my favorite player got hurt -- and then the Giants won the Super Bowl with his replacement, and it felt just as good. That's the last time I had a favorite player. Who cares who makes it happen.
It will be a sigh of relief when the last vestages of the Super Bowl winning era are gone for Mara, I strongly believe that.
To this point, I have seen, in my section of the stadium, seats that, game after game, are empty.
I know that when the place opened there were psl holders in those seats. Now, non one sits in those spots. Ever.
I would make a small wager that when psl holders give up their seats the Giants have difficulty finding new buyers.
Something to think about, from ownership's perspective.