In the interests of not being long-winded here, I'll make it quick.
Watching Tom Brady tonight, calling protections, calling audibles at the line and having supreme confidence in leading the offense reminds me of Eli back in the days pre-McAdoo.
He was constantly calling the protection, ID'ing the Mike, shifting assignments and calling audibles pre-snap for his backs and receivers. We don't see that anymore and it makes me think that the most recent iterations of Giants offenses are built in stone and leave very little room for Eli to diagnose pre-snap.
And it's apparent when we constantly see the same snap count and cadence, checkdowns and insecurity when throwing the ball. Perhaps Eli functions better when he has more leeway in constructing the pre-play offense based on alignment and personnel.
At this point, he looks robotic under center. He's got his route packages, simple blocking schemes and he's constricted in how he leads the offense. I remember during his best times, he would consistently scan the defense, make adjustments, calm the offense down and play with controlled urgency. Certainly, the OL flux is a serious, if not deal-breaking issue at this point. But Eli seems like a cog in the wheel right now, rather than the driving force behind the offense. That doesn't sit well with me.
Now, everything is urgent and there is little control. The plays are called and Eli runs them - like a robot. I'm not even close to convinced that that is the best deployment of not only this offense in NY, but the QB who is supposed to lead it.
And all that being said, there is no way back at this point. They are beyond the point where Eli takes over, is allowed his calls at the line and the coaching staff (and ownership) will simply allow him carte blanche.
I contend that Eli is a creative guy and one of the smartest tacticians in the game, and he's shown that moxy and ability to command the offense. He's a film guru and has always been an honors student of the game. He may not look like it, but he is most likely the "smartest guy in the room."
That said, he clearly has lost some snap and skill. No doubt. And therefore, confidence. However, I can't help but think that his abilities to read defenses and call it at the line have not evaporated completely. Something isn't right with the offensive construction over the past few years - Eli has been a culprit for sure - but it's not that simple.
That said, not a bad thought about the change in scheme. He looked so much better in the hurry-up with carolina I thought we would stick to that, then the eagles happened and now I dont know.
The option routes were also highly unpredictable and created a whole lot of turnovers due to miscommunication. When it was executed flawlessly, yes, it was very difficult to stop. But that was rarely the case. People were calling for Gilbride's head when he "retired", and pining for it is revisionist history.
I don't buy it. If that's the case, why is he still having trouble getting the ball snapped in time?
Giants inability to build an OL for a pocket passing QB has led to 6 years of an enemic offense.. So now we need to move on from thr Eli era, All the arguing is not going to change what has transpired, We have Barkley and a big investment in Beckhamso we need to find a QB and rebuild this team.
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AGREE, there are no option routes anymore. The option route defined the great offenses the giants had from 2007-2012. Steve Smith, Victor Cruz, Manningham all thrived in it. Beckham would be a nightmare in an option route type offense. He is robotic because the reads are the reads. Beckham has to get to a spot faster than his defender - and the defender knows the spot. It's amazing the numbers he has put up over the first part of his career -Heck he's on track for 120 receptions and he doesn't even look that good.
The option routes were also highly unpredictable and created a whole lot of turnovers due to miscommunication. When it was executed flawlessly, yes, it was very difficult to stop. But that was rarely the case. People were calling for Gilbride's head when he "retired", and pining for it is revisionist history.
Yeah completely agree with J-rud. The option routes were a huge problem that led to many of Eli’s interceptions. Currently Eli does not throw downfield and often when he does his throws are off the mark, I don’t see how option routes would ever help that.
I appreciate B in Albs take, but I think accepting it’s time to move on from Eli is a given and attempting to figure out what and where it all went wrong is difficult. It’s really hard to do what Brady is doing right now. Very, very few QBs or atlhletes in general are able to compete at such a high level as they get older.
which would be completely idiotic since Eli was one of the best in the biz.
on the flip side, without any game tape, the league has been onto our new offense since day 1 and has had the jump on us. how is this possible? how can a brand new installed offense be so predictable?
The quarterback. There is 13 years worth of film on his tendencies. They know what type of defenses bother him. They know pressure up the middle means goodnight for Eli since he's not mobile enough to live outside the pocket. They know he'll get rattled when he gets hit.
It sounds crazy, but it's the only common denominator.
The team forced Gilbride out and told TC to change it up so the Giants went to a new offensive philosophy with McAdoo. That fucked everything up. TC was the best anrI sure miss him now, but that guy was very hit or miss on hiring and promoting assistants. The old offense focused on power running and deep shots fit Eli better than what we have all been subjected too for half a decade. This is not to say the offense was always this bad, there is a myth now Eli has sucked for five years. But the whole team philosophy and priorities changed with that offensive switch and it has been nothing but heartache ever since.
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Shurmur - different head coaches with different systems - have limited Eli’s ability to make adjustments at the line?
which would be completely idiotic since Eli was one of the best in the biz.
on the flip side, without any game tape, the league has been onto our new offense since day 1 and has had the jump on us. how is this possible? how can a brand new installed offense be so predictable?
The quarterback. There is 13 years worth of film on his tendencies. They know what type of defenses bother him. They know pressure up the middle means goodnight for Eli since he's not mobile enough to live outside the pocket. They know he'll get rattled when he gets hit.
It sounds crazy, but it's the only common denominator.
My view as well. It's the "book of Eli". Defenses gameplan Eli, not the scheme.
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Shurmur - different head coaches with different systems - have limited Eli’s ability to make adjustments at the line?
which would be completely idiotic since Eli was one of the best in the biz.
on the flip side, without any game tape, the league has been onto our new offense since day 1 and has had the jump on us. how is this possible? how can a brand new installed offense be so predictable?
The quarterback. There is 13 years worth of film on his tendencies. They know what type of defenses bother him. They know pressure up the middle means goodnight for Eli since he's not mobile enough to live outside the pocket. They know he'll get rattled when he gets hit.
It sounds crazy, but it's the only common denominator.
And Eli wasn't playing well at the end of Coughlin's time with the Giants either. One of the reasons TC was replaced.
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Shurmur - different head coaches with different systems - have limited Eli’s ability to make adjustments at the line?
And Eli wasn't playing well at the end of Coughlin's time with the Giants either. One of the reasons TC was replaced.
I just do not think this is true. Team could not run the ball for anything, still can't. Eli and the passing game was the team, certainly the Specials were nothing to write home about and the defense was horrid and historically bad in 2015.
The idea that Eli has been the problem ghe past five seasons is in my opinion not accurate. Yes, now it is too late, he was the franchise. Now that he is toast they can't even win games at all, shows how important he really was all these seasons.
I think, at this point and given Eli’s age, it’s probably a more appropriate move rather than changing everything else around him slowly and see. It’s too bad that the management will choose the latter.