VICTOR: JUST PLAY, ODELL
SIMMONS/NEWS
Phil Simms would not waste any time in playing Sam Darnold.
The former Giants quarterback said Tuesday at the BTIG Charity Day that if it were up to him, he’d start the 20-year-old rookie out of USC.
“They put all their money in Sam Darnold,” he said. “I don’t want to hear, ‘Oh we don’t want to hurt his confidence if he fails early.’ Well if he fails early and hurts his confidence and can’t overcome it, then he wasn’t the guy.”
With Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater also on the roster, Darnold is not expected to start the 2018 season for the Jets but Simms said this team is going to be judged by how its young quarterback progresses, not the playoffs.
“Make him have a battle and fight? Come on. We know he’s the guy,” Simms said. “If the team is not ready for him that’s one thing, but if he’s ready, you play him. There is so much to learn by playing. The team is not going to be judged by playoffs, they’re going to be judged maybe by record, but how their young quarterback progresses. So give him every chance to progress.”
Meanwhile, Jets legend Joe Namath felt differently about having Darnold start.
“First of all, anybody starting on that field has to convince their teammates he is worthy to start. For a 20-year-old rookie quarterback that’s tough to do early on,” he said. “The big leagues, pro football is different than college football. You’re playing against grown men who are sharp mentally and physically. He’s going to need some experience. Yes, I believe in playing a rookie if he’s capable. If he convinces his team he can do it, the coaches will put him out there.”
Simms also addressed his former team’s decision to draft Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick — saying that the Giants have put a lot of pressure on themselves with that pick.
“I think if they wouldn’t have taken him I’d have been shocked,” he said. “This is not like we drafted Saquon to win and get into the playoffs in three years. It’s about this year. So, they put a lot of pressure on themselves. I understand what they’re doing.”
Simms, 62, added that while he thought all the quarterbacks were good, none of them stood out and were can’t miss prospects, which made the Giants decision easier.
He also believes the culture new head coach Pat Shurmur and GM Dave Gettleman are creating is what will ultimately be the biggest difference from last year’s debacle of a season.
“I just think the atmosphere that was created that we saw, you can’t overcome that,” he said. “I think that’s the big thing they addressed that people don’t talk about. It’s about talent, but the right talent where it all mixes with personalities and I think they’ve gotten it right.”
All eyes will be on Odell Beckham Jr. this summer.
The Giants receiver is coming off ankle surgery, wants a long-term contract and continues to be under a microscope off the field, too. With drama constantly swirling around Beckham as he enters the most important summer of his career, former teammate Victor Cruz has some simple advice for him.
“Keep your head down and play football,” he said at the BTIG Charity Day. “The only thing he can control is what he does out there on that football field and how he chooses to handle his business. Stay low and the rest will take care of itself.”
Cruz, 31, experienced a contract dispute with the Giants, but the circumstances were much different. In 2013, Cruz did not report to any offseason programs, refusing to sign a one-year tender. The two sides eventually reached an agreement then struck a deal the next month for a five-year, $43 million contract.
Beckham, on the other hand, enters his fifth-year option but wants to be the highest-paid wide receiver in the league.
The 25-year-old appears to have taken a step in the right direction with his relationship with the Giants, attending a voluntary mini-camp in April despite not being able to participate in practices as he continues to rehab his ankle.