The End of an Era

Coach Schumer announced that he will replace Eli Manning after 15 years with rookie Daniel Jones.  Jones, who was over drafted by GM Gettlemen this past off-season, has nonetheless looked good in his preseason opportunity. 

The Giants deny this but it’s clearly a decision to turn the page on this season and start looking towards the future. I didn’t think Eli was playing poorly. I thought he played well in Dallas and was hampered by having no receivers to throw to against Buffalo. I don’t think Jones gives them a better chance to win right now. IF the Giants’ are arriving at the belated reality that the team as constructed is not playoff caliber so they may as well turn towards the future, its hard to argue with this approach. They are correct in that assessment and should have gotten there much earlier.  I thought Eli deserved a few more weeks but certainly at some point it made sense to make the move. Of course, they then didn’t need to pay Eli $24m for 2 games. They should’ve moved on in the off-season and been able to spend that money elsewhere.

I’d love to see them pull off a trade and get something for Eli (Pittsburg?), but salary cap considerations make this virtually impossible. The good news is that Eli did serve the purpose of tutoring young Jones.  Spending all of training camp and the pre-season allowed Jones to learn a lot from Eli. 

While Jones played exceptionally well in the preseason, it should be remembered that he played against second string defenses and had a small enough sample size as to not be statistically significant. I expect him not to be as good, but it will be nice to have a QB who can run with the ball when the pressure comes. I’d expect 2 first downs a week with his legs -something you would never get from Eli.  Eli was a great Giant. He was much maligned and never got the credit he deserved.

Some go too far and think he could be HOF-worthy just off his two Superbowl victories. I think he will fall just short and not get in. He had a 4-5 year run where he was among the top 6 or 7 QBs in the league and the long duration of his career has led to his being among the all-time leaders in passing yards and TD passes, but good for a long time is not as much of a requirement as elite for a period of time.

Barkley continues to be all-world and showing that with a better offensive line his stats will be even greater.  Despite that, the Giants getting blown out in two games just proved how not important running backs are in today's NFL and why the Giants should’ve not taken a running back that high, even if he is far and away my favorite player and the reason to watch blow out games.

It is a shame that this team that is destined for a top few pick in a class loaded with good QB Talent doesn’t need to draft a QB.  Early projections will leave the Giants’ with either a good WR or edge rusher, both big needs to this team. Given how bad the defense is, I’d take the edge rusher (I had wanted Josh Allen in the draft). Tampa has a good defense so its an interesting time to get him a first start but hopefully the return of Devin White from an injury is delayed past this Sunday.

The Giants were headed towards a 5-11 season. I don’t think Jones will drastically alter this in either direction.  

​-Ari Glass