Francesa goes off!
The Giants will finally get a chance to see what they have in rookie quarterback Davis Webb — just not likely this week. With Eli Manning being benched in favor of Geno Smith, head coach Ben McAdoo said he also plans to give Webb a look before the end of the season.
Webb has been inactive for every game, but he remains unfazed by the expectation that things will change over the next five weeks.
“It doesn’t affect my preparation,” he said. “I get up here pretty early and I stay here pretty dang late and I always prepare like if my opportunity came tomorrow, I’d be ready and I approached it that way since the day I got here.”
The Giants drafted Webb in the third round this year and the plan going into the season was to let him develop in practice, but things have changed after going 2-9 through the first 11 games this season.
“I’ll be excited,” Webb said of the opportunity. “I play extremely driven, play competitive and have passion with my teammates. So we’re just looking forward to whoever plays quarterback, to be able to enjoy success with each other and that’s teammates. It’s a team game and that’s what we need to do, enjoy success.”
SOUR APPLE
Eli Apple has been a focal point of criticism for the defense this
Mike Francesa — like most Giants fans — isn’t taking the Eli Manning benching well ... at all.
During his show the Sports Pope destroyed the Giants, especially “desperate” head coach Ben McAdoo, whom he says has “disrespected Eli Manning on numerous occasions over the last two years.”
“McAdoo’s career is worthless,” the WFAN radio host vented. “Jerry Reese’s career is built on Eli Manning. His success in those two games is the only reason Jerry Reese has got a career. He doesn’t have a career ’cause of what he’s drafted here. He’s got a career because he won two Super Bowls won by Eli Manning, who went on the road and won all those playoff games and who won the Super Bowl MVP twice by beating the Patriots. season and a recent report cited an anonymous team source that said he threatened to leave the team facility after he was the main culprit in Ben McAdoo’s “brutally honest” film meeting two weeks ago.
Apple did everything he could to dodge questions, but when asked if he nearly left the team facility he responded: “I’m not going to talk about false reports.” When followed up if he was denying that happened, Apple replied, “next question.”
Apple was also surprised to be inactive for the Giants’ Thanksgiving game against Washington.
The second-year corner was inactive Week 11 against the Chiefs after missing two practices to be with his mother, who was undergoing brain surgery, but fully expected to play on Thanksgiving.
“You’re in there a little bit and they tell you you’re going to play,” Apple said. “Then out of nowhere they tell you you’re not going to play.”
Apple added he did not view being inactive as any sort of disciplinary benching.
NOT PRIME TIME
FOX has moved the Giants’ and Cowboys’ now-uninspiring Week 14 meeting at MetLife Stadium from a 4:25 p.m. start to 1 p.m. to allow Seattle Seahawks vs. Jacksonville Jaguars to move from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., closer to prime time.
“Without that Jerry Reese is unemployed. Without that, none of those guys walk around that room with the swagger that they have. It’s built on his back! And you’re going to try and tell us that you got a better chance to win any game with Geno Smith over Eli Manning?”
Francesa, who said Manning has done “everything he possibly could” for the Giants, went on to point out that the team hasn’t scored 30 points or more since McAdoo took over for Tom Coughlin. He added that the Giants should release the QB, so he can join a different team.
“You can’t run this clown out of town fast enough. The worst thing that’s ever happened is that Eli Manning had to be associated with you as head coach with the career he’s had here,” Francesa said. “Maybe on your way out, you can take a look at Eli’s rings. That’s the closest you’ll ever get to one too.”