THIS TIME IT’S
Denied his shot last season, Webb set to take field Thursday
Finally it is Davis Webb’s turn to play in an NFL game, and he actually will play.
And that makes Webb, even more than prized No. 2 pick Saquon Barkley, the most intriguing player to watch as the Giants kick off their preseason Thursday night against the visiting Cleveland Browns.
For while Barkley is here to help the Giants win now, Webb’s success or failure will dictate the direction of the franchise’s post-Eli Manning future.
“Along the way I’ve gained an appreciation for Davis and his skillset and what he’s able to do,” head coach Pat Shurmur said Tuesday. “And so I’m looking forward to seeing it in the game.”
Webb, 23, is looking forward to playing in a real game for the first time since last year’s preseason finale, a 40-38 victory in New England on Aug. 31, 2017, in which Webb directed a game-winning field goal drive.
Ben McAdoo, who initially intended to redshirt Webb as a rookie, had a plan at the end of the Giants’ dismal 2017 season to at least use a bad year as an opportunity to give Webb regular-season snaps.
Webb confirmed as much Tuesday on WFAN’s “The Afternoon Drive with Carlin, Maggie and Bart” when he said McAdoo told him he’d be playing the final three weeks of the season.
“Hey, the next three weeks, you’re in,” Webb recounted McAdoo saying.
But when Manning declined to play just one half in Oakland in Week 13 and McAdoo started Geno Smith and played him the full game, the Giants fan base revolted, tipping the scales for John Mara and Steve Tisch to fire both McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese and abandon the plan to play Webb altogether.
Instead, the Eli Manning Apology Tour got underway. The Giants started Manning the rest of the season under interim head coach Steve Spagnuolo, hired a new GM and head coach who believed in the declining 37-year-old veteran, and entered a quarterback-deep draft without any game tape of their rookie third-round QB.
They drafted Barkley as the cornerstone of a win-now turnaround plan, rather than selecting a potential future franchise QB, and so the pressure is on Webb to prove them right.
In the interim, Webb has done nothing but prepare for when his number is called. He has not complained.
“It happens to a lot of people,” Webb said. “If you are a second or third-string quarterback in the NFL, you have to wait a little bit. The starter is playing well or hasn’t gotten hurt, stuff like that. Hopefully Eli won’t get hurt and keeps playing well. (But) yeah, this is the longest I have gone without playing.”
Still, there is a lot of pressure on the cannon-armed gunslinger from Prosper, Texas. Barkley could turn out to be an excellent pro, but if Webb fails to claim the mantle as Manning’s successor and any of this year’s rookie QBs turn out to be stars – here’s looking at you, Sam Darnold – the Giants will end up with egg on their face.
Then imagine the Giants, who have known nothing but durability and consistent expectations for 14 seasons with Manning at quarterback, tumbling into the annual freeagent frenzy, overpaying for mediocre passers.
If it comes to pass, the Giants did it to themselves.
Fourth-round pick Kyle Lauletta out of Richmond, though only a rookie, has had a difficult camp. He’s smart, but the lack of arm strength that hurt him in the draft is a concern. Webb does not lack for arm strength, and he is more mobile than Manning, a plus in Shurmur’s offense that takes advantage of a quarterback’s ability to move with play actions and run-pass options.
It’s just a matter of not being too confident and avoiding risky decisions. Webb said offensive coordinator Mike Shula says to strive for being “aggressively patient” – taking what the defense gives you but taking a shot when the opportunity is there.
Last preseason, Webb appeared in three of the Giants’ four games. He completed 18-of-34 passes for 190 yards. He has waited patiently – aggressively patient, Shula might say – for his next chance to play.