It’s fair to criticize the Giants (Mara) for the handling of Eli since the end of 2017. The exit could have been handled better & Eli certainly deserved better. But, these are human beings & this isn’t an assembly line. Eli is absolutely loved within the building and loves being a NY Giant - he wears it as a badge of honor. He’s won 2 Super Bowl MVP’s - he’s a NYG legend. This idea that he can just be kicked to the curb is not easy. It just isn’t that simple.
I’d argue we should have moved on after 2017, but fan outrage over the *attempt* to move on was overwhelming. Over the last 25 games or so, Eli has still shown flashes - there have been moments where you still are impressed with a throw/play/drive. Granted, he wasn’t elevating teammates anymore.
I think the Simms departure impacted the Giant ownership. I don’t think Mara was giving ultimatums regarding Eli, but I think he had a bias towards seeing it work again with him. The OL was bad prior & his 2004 counterparts Big Ben & Rivers we’re still performing. Ideally, I’m sure Mara felt with the right team, it could still work with Eli. It didn’t work.
In short, it isn’t easy moving on from a franchise legend. It goes deeper than the salary cap, Eli will always represent this franchise - he’s on the Mt Rushmore of Giants. I think it’s reasonable to acknowledge it’s not easy to move on. Should it have been sooner? Yes. But, I get that it’s been a struggle. There aren’t a lot of 2 time SB MVP’s out there, this isn’t Kerry Collins.
So, with all that said - I’m hoping now that the bandaid is ripped off, there is more clarity/cohesion with building this team. The dark cloud of Eli’s pending departure is now gone. It’s time to see what Jones has.
The team is in an absolute state of crisis.
The team is in an absolute state of crisis.
This is fair. Paul Schwartz was on with Russo today and stated the Giants (once again), felt they were a lot better than they were going into the year. That’s on both Gettleman & Shurmur.
An outside voice is desperately needed to come in and instruct ownership on best practices in the modern NFL.
An outside voice is desperately needed to come in and instruct ownership on best practices in the modern NFL.
They've needed that outside voice since they let TC go
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The Giants are possibly the most poorly coached team in the NFL.
The team is in an absolute state of crisis.
This is fair. Paul Schwartz was on with Russo today and stated the Giants (once again), felt they were a lot better than they were going into the year. That’s on both Gettleman & Shurmur.
And these are the guys we need to trust to get this franchise relevant again...unreal
Jints Central made this way too complicated. No one loved a player more than Eddie Debartolo loved Joe Montana. A player who put the 9ers on the map. Eli didn't do that. And Eddie D gave Carmen Policy permission to trade Montana.
That's how you conduct business in the NFL.
He is a rookie ...
Who knows... maybe DJ’s mobility will allow Shurmur to work the full breadth of his system and the offense will actually be decent by the 2nd half of the season. Remember Shurmur made Case Keenum look almost like a pro bowler because he was a perfect system-fit. If DJ is the system-fit they drafted him to be then maybe we’ll get to see the good offensive system Shurmur was brought here to implement based on his work in Minni. One can dream.
Only problem is I have zero faith in any of our WRs to be the big time threat every offense needs to alleviate the pressure off the running game. Engram is great but every offense needs a guy on the *outside* who can take the top off the defense just as well as he can run a perfect in-cut and snag a ball over the middle in traffic. Diggs was that guy for Shurmur in 2017, but there’s no WR with that type of skill on this roster (not even Tate or Shep really come close). Hopefully we’re in a position to draft Jerry Jeudy in 2020. As bad as our defense is we need a talented WR to round out this offense, get our young signal caller everything he needs to succeed ASAP and THEN fix the defense.
Quote:
The Giants are possibly the most poorly coached team in the NFL.
The team is in an absolute state of crisis.
This is fair. Paul Schwartz was on with Russo today and stated the Giants (once again), felt they were a lot better than they were going into the year. That’s on both Gettleman & Shurmur.
I have to give Francesa some credit here. This is exactly what he predicted would happen after the draft. If the season goes sour they could switch to DJ and say "Well we are rebuilding what do you expect?" This regime has overrated the potential of this team two years in a row and are using Eli and DJ in the most cynical way possible to cover their ineptitude.
An outside voice is desperately needed to come in and instruct ownership on best practices in the modern NFL.
I don’t think it’s different than 2004 in that teams are trying to find their franchise QB. In the last few months:
-Wilson signed long term
-Wentz signed long term
-Goff signed long term
-Big Ben extended in Pittsburgh
-Dak & Rivers likely to be extended as well.
This is still a QB league. I know you have made a point about rotating QB’s, but from an entertainment standpoint that would be a major hit to the NFL. Generally, the majority of fans want to watch high level QB play.
Look at MLB- from an entertainment standpoint I’d much rather watch Verlander battle for 8 innings rather than a bullpen game. Entertainment matters in sports, so I don’t see the franchise QB model ever going away.
So, I do think if Jones is good - it does represent hope for the franchise.
Jints Central made this way too complicated. No one loved a player more than Eddie Debartolo loved Joe Montana. A player who put the 9ers on the map. Eli didn't do that. And Eddie D gave Carmen Policy permission to trade Montana.
That's how you conduct business in the NFL.
If it's up to the coach, Jones is the starter the rest of the way. It's obvious he's wanted Jones to play from the get. Gettleman probably did, too. Jones is their guy - Eli wasn't.
I think Mara convoluted all of that and was probably still pushing for Manning but I don't know that for a fact - it's just my guess.
I think we can finally put the "the Eli extension is coming next" stuff to bed now, though. There's a zero point zero percent chance that's happening. Unless Jones gets hurt, Eli has started his last game here.
The team is in an absolute state of crisis.
I'm terrified that this true. Shurmur has been a disaster so far.
An outside voice is desperately needed to come in and instruct ownership on best practices in the modern NFL.
Ernie Accorsi's ears are burning!