Anyone else just sick and tired of getting kicked around?

I�m sorry this is so long, but it�s been a frustrating season and I needed the BBI therapy. There is far too much to cover and I�ll probably leave some things out. I�m just so sick and tired of watching this team lose, get embarrassed, and be laughed at. I know we are supposed to embrace the race for chase and all, but I can�t help it. I�m a fan and I love Big Blue. And I�d like nothing more for the ghost of 2011 Eli Manning to make an appearance tonight and the GMEN pull off an upset. I�d go to bed happy. But I also know this is highly unlikely.

Even more upsetting is all the media commentary and speculation that:
- the Giants are a broken organization
- Gettleman should not have drafted a RB 2 overall
- Daniel Jones has only played one good game (his first start)
- The game of football has passed Gettleman by
- Eli Manning was never really that good

There are others, but these are the ones I�ve heard today, and while all the above points are worthy of discussion, they are in many ways (in my opinion) a bunch of false narratives. Certainly none for of us are happy with 2-10, but much of this is simply piling on.

- we certainly should not be happy with how the Giants are being run right now, but claiming they are broken (as Lombardi has) is a bit over the top. This organization has presided over 5 super bowl appearances and four victories, including two of the most thrilling in league history. No doubt Mara needs to review his decision making over the past several years, but that doesn�t equate to things being broken. More than anything, Mara is most guilty of being too loyal and hanging on to Reese, Coughlin, and Eli for too long. But let�s be honest. This loyalty is part of the reason many of us like this organization in the first place. Which is precisely why a direct and head strong GM ( like Gettleman) is a good fit for this franchise. I�d say the same credentials are needed for a Giants HC.

- with all due respect to the devotees of positional draft value, I don�t care one bit they saquon was drafted at number two overall. I understand that Running backs are lucky to have a ten year career much less 6-8 good years. Certainly drafting a QB would have made sense from a positional standpoint but in retrospect, were you sold on Darnold and would you want him or Baker now? Alien was not seen as a top 5 pick and neither was Jackson. And I�m still not sold on the long term success of any of these four. We won�t discuss Rosen. The player that you could have made a good argument for was Quintin Nelson, but there would be just as many people arguing about relative positional value after that pick. (If you ask some people the only positions you should draft top 5 are QB, LT, CB, and pass rusher. I disagree.) The other aspect I think fans need to understand is that in today�s NFL the salary cap matters less and less. It will be around $200 million next year and most teams manage to carry enough cap space into the offseason to improve their teams. The Giants cap situation is also well in hand going forward. I see nothing wrong with investing big money in a star RB in the modern NFL. I will admit however that you better invest in that OL otherwise it really is a waste of resources.

- Apparently the Daniel Jones narrative in the media is that we should all pump the breaks and that he only played one good game. I beg to differ. Yes, he has a fumbling problem and he needs to learn that it�s ok to check down to the RB and he needs to learn OL protection schemes. But he has (I believe) 4 300 yard and 4TD games, he has come up big in spots, and has maintained very impressive completion percentage and yards per completion stats. All in all, he�s had a good rookie season and the areas where he needs improvement are not uncommon for a rookie or impossible to fix. Also, name me which QB in the 2018 or 2019 draft you would want instead. Some will say Jackson, but Jones is a FAR better passer than Jackson is and I�d rather have that than the running ability Jackson brings.

- I would agree with anyone who says the game has passed Gettleman by. His draft record has more hits than misses and I thought he was smart to go heavy on DBs this past draft. The results are still not there, but would you really want to be playing Hamilton over Baker (who has disappointed). We all know that aside from some flashy players on Offense, and high priced aging veterans on defense, the Jerry Reese cupboard was getting bare. Gettleman just threw the rest out and decided to start fresh, and I don�t think he was wrong to do it. Many take issue with Gettlemans mantra of run the ball, stop the run, rush the passer. Despite all the advanced stats and analytics about the passing game, I don�t disagree with those three at all. Bottom line, they all equate to one thing, CONTROL THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE! I don�t care how many analytics you quote to me. You still cannot achieve all those sexy passing numbers and chunk yardage plays on any consistent basis without winning the LOS. Gettleman clearly believes this, hence his stated love for �hog mollies�. Certainly he needs to find more...If disagree with me I would point to the Baltimore Ravens as exhibit A and the 49ers as exhibit B.

- tonight we get a treat. One last (maybe) Eli Manning start. He may not win. He�s not expected to. But Eli is something rare in sports. He is a player who has had a long, successful, championship career, while leading with class, dignity and embodying the character of an organization. In fact, Daniel Jones was in part drafted by the Giants because he was in many ways like Eli. He�s the best QB in the 95 year history of this franchise. And guess what, he could have and should have been better. He brought down the undefeated Pats in 2007, when he as a QB was not supposed to be ready for that stage. He carried a very flawed Jerry Reese roster on his back in 2011 and turned in a hall of fame season in 2011, and his NFC championship game against the 49ers was legendary. Very few QB performances in nfl history can equal the level of toughness, determination, and mental agility Eli displayed that day. You can quote me, I don�t think Peyton Manning ever (EVER) had a performance like that in a big spot. We all know what happened from 2012 on. Bluntly, the franchise failed Eli. His OL started to age and fall apart, the kiss of death for a vertical pocket passer. The organization whiffed on OL pick after pick, or didn�t even draft them at all. Instead of fixing the trenches the Jerry Reese run Giants set about fixing Eli. Mara deserves blame here too. There is no doubt in my mind Mara gave the order to Coughlin to fire Gilbride and find a new OC. There is no doubt in my mind that Reese (and maybe Mara) wanted more of new school offensive approach and were pleased when Coughlin brought in Aaron Rodgers QB coach to be OC. In retrospect, maybe Aaron Rodgers would still have been Aaron Rodgers without Ben McAdoo???!

Instead of letting Eli be Eli during his prime years, the Giants set about trying to make Eli, Aaron Rodgers. This was foolish. Foolish to change a super bowl winning QBs scheme, footwork, and sense of timing. Reese and company compounded their errors in the draft room by forcing a square peg into a round hole. Maybe some of you don�t agree with me. Maybe you think I�m being too easy on Eli, but I stand by it. This organization failed him for the last 7 years. They tried to build a team for the type of QB they didn�t actually have. And now it�s too late. 38 year old Eli is not even 35 year old Eli. I�m rooting big time for Eli tonight. If these are to be his final snaps in blue here In December 2019, then let them be good ones. 2011 Eli is long gone, but the best QB in franchise history deserves one last ride.