Receiver corps thin for new Giants quarterback Smith
The Raiders get to face a quarterback making his season debut for the second consecutive week.
Geno Smith, not Eli Manning, will be under center when the Giants travel to Oakland on Sunday. Last week, the Raiders’ defense stifled Paxton Lynch, who failed to lead thedenverbroncostotheendzone before exiting with an ankle sprain.
Smithis12-18asastarterbuthas two wins against the Raiders.
The Giants (2-9) will look to play spoiler against the Raiders (5-6), who are only one game behind division-leading Kansas City in AFC West.
This will be the first time in 13 years that someone other than Manning starts at quarterback for the Giants. Here are five things you need to know about the Giants:
Manning started 210 consecutive regular-season games and was given the option to keep the streak alive but wasn’t promised he would finish the game. The Giants told their two-time Super Bowl MVP that they wanted Smith and Davis Webb to get snaps under center.
“My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them,” Manning told reporters. “Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak.”
So with that, Manning’s streak comes to an end, and possibly the end of an era in New York. Smith has 30 career starts, but only one in the past three seasons. The former Jet has struggled since being selected in the second round out of West Virginia in 2013. In the past five seasons, Smith has the lowest passer rating (71.7) among quarterbacks with at least 30 starts.
Smith is scheduled to start, but the Raiders might see a lot of Webb, the rookie who played at nearby Cal-berkeley. The Giants’ surprise switch at quarterback could be because they want to see what they got in Webb before going into the NFL draft with possibly a top-five pick. Playing against a poor Raiders secondary is not a bad way to make an NFL debut.
Webb and Smith won’t have the luxury of throwing to Pro Bowl wide receivers Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall. Instead, they’ll throw to players named Roger Lewis and Tavarres King. There’s a chance Sterling Shepard returns from injury this week. Rookie tight end Evan Engram has shown flashes of being a productive target. The Raiders caught another break when Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins was placed on injured reserve. Oakland could be without wide receiver Amari Cooper, who’s dealing with injuries. The Raiders already have lost Michael Crabtree to suspension. It’s been a very disappointing year for the Giants. But the offense might get a pass with their top wideouts being out most of the season. The Giants still have plenty of talent on defense but are ranked 31st in the league in total defense. A team with Jason Pierrepaul, Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon and Landon Collins should be playing better.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Gmanzano24 on Twitter.