After surprising a lot of people last year and making the playoffs, the New York Giants were considered to be a favorite to contend for the NFC after such a successful year under Ben McAdoo in his first year in 2016. The Giants even tested the free agency market and signed Brandon Marshall to be that complementary asset to Odell Beckham and with a trio of Odell, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Shepard, this was expected to be the best receiving core in the NFL. Things just haven’t panned out for the Giants. Right now, they’re 2-9, the two weapons that were supposed to make this offense stand out are both out for the year with injuries and today, the Giants announced that Geno Smith would be the starting quarterback for the team on Sunday. The team has benched Eli Manning and his streak of 210 games without missing a start is coming to an end.
I’m not shocked by this move one bit because of the way that organization is run today. This is the same organization that ran Tom Coughlin out of East Rutherford, the same guy that won 102 games during his tenure with the New York Giants so them benching Eli Manning at this rate doesn’t really shock me and this is a slap in the face to a guy that’s single-handedly put this football team back on the map and he’s succeeded in the toughest market in sports that is New York City. I’ll never forget the beginning of the 2007 season. Former teammate turned analyst Tiki Barber questioned the leadership of his former teammate and said he didn’t know about Eli carrying the team on his shoulders. Eli showed up that year and got the Giants to the playoffs as a wild card team and led them to a first-round win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a week later, he turns around and LEADS the Giants into Texas Stadium and they shocked everyone and upset the one seeded Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round. Then came conference title game weekend and the Giants traveled to Lambeau Field to face Brett Favre and the second seeded Green Bay Packers. The Giants entered that game as a big underdog and they came away with that win. Next, it was the New England Patriots who entered the Super Bowl with an 18-0 record with the reigning MVP in Tom Brady. The Giants couldn’t win that game either, right? They pulled it out and won Super Bowl 42 and they don’t win that Super Bowl or the one in 2012 without Eli Manning.
Whenever the Giants needed to win a big game, Eli has always stepped up when it mattered the most. The Giants definitely disrespected him and each and every single week, this guy has shown up on the field and played. Despite the losing record, he was still having a decent season. I have no clue what this organization is trying to do right now or what direction they are heading in.
