JONES: THE WIN-NOW GUY
Blue thinks it has better chance with Daniel at QB
The Giants aren’t benching Eli Manning for Daniel Jones to concede the present for the future, though this move prioritizes Jones’ long-term development over all. They also are starting Jones on Sunday in Tampa Bay because they believe he may give them a better chance to win.
The Giants (0-2) aren’t intentionally tanking like the Miami Dolphins (0-2). The Giants, instead, are a mismanaged organization doing a poor job of trying to win.
Pat Shurmur said Tuesday that “this move is more about Daniel than about Eli,” and it’s true the Giants are ecstatic about their No. 6 overall pick’s talent and readiness to play now.
It was obvious when Shurmur shoved Jones’ strong preseason in his doubters’ faces in August by saying: “You can ask me all you want about why I like him. I think it’s time to start asking the people that didn’t like him what they think.”
It was obvious when the head coach said Jones was “ready to go” before the regular season; when Shurmur played Jones in the fourth quarter of a Week 1 blowout loss in Dallas; and when Shurmur told the world Monday that Manning might not be his starter anymore.
The Giants’ coach, however, would not be making this move if Manning were playing well. And co-owner John Mara would not have signed off a second time in two years on benching Manning’s offense had been scoring 25 points per game, no matter how lost the defense is.
Shurmur said Monday that when considering a quarterback change, “we’re always trying to do what we can to win this next game, and then behind the scenes, we’re always having those long-term discussions, but I think that’s the challenge each week, just doing what you can to win the next game. That’s really my focus as the coach.”
Mara said in August that “I want to feel when I’m walking off the field after the last game of the season, whenever that is, that this franchise is headed in the right direction. That’s, to me, the most important thing.”
And Shurmur’s 2019 Giants were headed in the completely wrong direction, full steam ahead.
The defense is a mess, but Manning hasn’t played well, either. His offensive line is better. His running game is better. The Giants are averaging 15.5 points per game through two weeks.
And Manning, 38, knew the stakes coming into this final season of his contract.
“I understand the circumstances that I am in,” Manning said in May. “I know I need to play well, and I need to play well early.”
Perhaps this is why reports are that Manning doesn’t seem anxious to be traded, either. He returned well aware he might be benched midseason, and his goal may be to retire a Giant for his full 16-year career. Shurmur also has a 15-36 career record as an NFL head coach, and a 513 record early in his second season with the Giants.
He knows Ben McAdoo was fired with a 13-15 record midway through his second season despite an 11-5 first season and what will be the franchise’s only playoff berth in the last eight years.
That’s how bleak it’s been since Manning led the Giants to his second Super Bowl MVP award, and that’s how bleak it remains.
Shurmur couldn’t wait any longer and watch this spiral to an 0-6 start before taking drastic action, especially when he believes in Jones.
The Duke product’s mobility is going to open up the head coach’s playbook and create more opportunities when plays break down. And with an improved offensive line and a strong running game led by Saquon Barkley, there is reason to believe Jones’ offense might score.
Shurmur has been complicit in sticking with Manning too long, but he had to make the change, even while aware that trying to do so cost McAdoo and GM Jerry Reese their jobs in 2017.
It’s so nice of Manning to accept his benching this time, by the way, rather than getting everyone fired for suggesting it. Perhaps the $16 million the Giants are paying him to apparently play two games has helped soften the blow.
Manning’s benching just two weeks in, however, obviously begs the question: why did the Giants even bring him back at all?
But this is rooted, of course, in the delusion of Dave Gettleman’s non-plan these last two years, framed by Mara’s mistake in hiring the GM and his allegiance to Manning to a fault.
The GM tried to win last season and then told everyone it was a rebuild when his poorly constructed offense sent 2018 down the tubes. Then Gettleman tried to rebuild and win simultaneously this fall — while sending great players out the door and ignoring large holes in his defense — and so far the Giants have shown no progress in winning or rebuilding.
There was poetic justice, in fact, in Odell Beckham Jr. torching MetLife Stadium as a Brown on Monday night
less than 24 hours before Manning received his pink slip.
The Giants chose Manning over Beckham in response to the wide receiver’s public criticism of the quarterback and the team to ESPN early last season.
By doing so, they assembled a less-talented roster and then for some reason expected Manning — a game manager now with a 116-116 career regular season record — to elevate a team with a bad defense and a less skilled receiving corps.
Gettleman is more to blame for this latest Giants disaster than Shurmur, but they’re in this together and good on the coach for stepping up Monday and putting pressure on everyone else to recognize the reality.
This is the right decision, even though they made it too late. And get this straight: it is not contradictory or hypocritical to have criticized the Jones pick in April and have called for Manning’s benching now.
Gettleman’s poor management of value has opened him to justified criticism in both Giant drafts he has run so far, including his reach for Jones at six. And whether Jones is a franchise QB or not, Manning already has proven he can’t lead the Giants to consistent wins anymore.
Calling for Jones doesn’t mean he’s the second coming. It means it’s time for a change. The Giants believe starting Jones on Sunday might help them beat the Buccaneers on Sunday. Otherwise, Manning still would be QB1.