TANGLED WEBB
Jittery QB hopes to rebound after shaky opener
Davis Webb had nothing to do with the Giants’ decision to bypass a quarterback in the NFL Draft. That organizational plan had everything to do with faith in 37-yearold Eli Manning to perform at a high level for a few more years and likebut-not-love sentiment about the young quarterbacks coming out, be it Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen or Baker Mayfield. Not going for a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick also had everything to do with an absolute infatuation with running back Saquon Barkley. Again, it had nothing to do with Webb. Dave Gettleman, the new general manager, did not know much about Webb, a player the Giants took in the third round in 2017. Pat Shurmur, the new head coach, evaluated Webb during the draft process as the Vikings offensive coordinator, but admittedly did not have a hands-on opinion of Webb’s potential. The Giants did not eschew taking a shot at their next franchise quarterback because they thought Webb was next in line. In fact, they used their fourth-round pick on quarterback Kyle Lauletta, which was not an indictment of Webb, but was not an endorsement of him, either. And so, Webb did not lose anything Thursday night with his jittery outing as the Giants opened up their preseason with a 20-10 loss to the Browns at MetLife Stadium. He did not gain anything, though, other than the game experience that eluded him as a rookie.
Certainly, Webb did not quiet those who have doubts about his ability and wonder who will be the quarterback of this team in a year or two, those who cannot fathom why the Giants did not take advantage of their highest draft slot in 37 years to take a quarterback. Webb, ending more than a oneyear break between games — he led a game-winning drive against the Patriots to close out the 2017 preseason — was not ready for prime time. His feet were dancing and his arm was scattered. He was constantly out of the strike zone, launching passes too hard and too high. He ended up completing just 9 of 22 for 70 yards.
“I need to put it on the guy’s chin strap,’’ Webb said of his ball placement. “Yeah, I missed far too many, but at the same time I’m going to get better from it. I’m not too worried about it. I’m going to learn from it and get better for next week.’’
Shurmur admitted he tried to calm Webb down at halftime, when the second-year quarterback was 8 of 20 for 70 yards.
“He is so prepared and he wants to do well, that’s just his personality, and he does get amped up a little bit but that’s not a bad thing,’’ Shurmur said Friday. “Wanting to do well is a good thing. I think we as coaches can just help him with that.’’
After completing four consecutive passes — all of the short-dumpdown variety — in a two-minute drill at the end of the first half, Webb looked into the end zone, but came up empty on a deep ball to Kalif Ray- mond, who was open. On the final play of the first half, the ball snapped with 13 seconds remaining, Webb hit Russell Shepard for 6 yards, but the ball placement was all wrong. The clock ran out before the field goal unit could get on the field. This was another Webb misfire. “We called a route to get out of bounds and the throw was thrown inside, and it makes it almost impossible for the receiver to continue out of bounds,’’ Shurmur said “We had that communicated effectively, it just didn’t get done.’’
Last week, when asked about Lauletta, offensive coordinator Mike Shula said, “He’s kind of got a calmness about him.’’ It was an interesting choice of words, as the same cannot be said of the more high-strung Webb. Lauletta, out of Richmond, made his debut in the third quarter and completed 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards, operating the third-team offense more fluidly than Webb directed his group.
“He’s very calm, and I think he finds a way to make plays,’’ Shurmur said of Lauletta. “It wasn’t a bad performance to start out for him.’’
Webb and the Giants hope this was opening-night palpitations and not an indication he cannot handle the spotlight. He has ideal size and an enormous arm, but that is not enough. So, is this stage fright behind him? “That’s a good question,’’ Webb said. “The biggest thing is I was just so excited to get going, the first time playing in a very long time. You can’t do that as a quarterback, got to come out ready to go and even-keeled and hopefully I’ll do that next week.’’