Earlier this month as it became evident that the New York Giants’ season was sinking faster than the Titanic, most of the ire being directed at the franchise centered on star quarterback Eli Manning. Despite the fact that he was leading an injury-depleted offense, and that the defense was giving up the goods faster than a Kardashian could give some love to a pro athlete, head coach Ben McAdoo said that he would consider some other options under center before the dreadful season came to an end.
“Eli, he’s our quarterback. But that doesn’t mean at some point in time, we won’t throw another guy in there to get a look at him,” McAdoo said in early November as the team stood at 1-7. “Every position needs to be held accountable and every position needs to play to a high standard.”
If you’re a 13 year old Giants fan, you’ve never seen another starting quarterback for the G-Men since you’ve been alive. But that is about to change on Sunday as Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive regular-season starts, the second-longest streak by a QB in NFL history behind Brett Favre’s 297 comes to a halt.
SportsCenter on Twitter
Breaking: Eli Manning has been benched. Geno Smith will start for the Giants against the Raiders.
The team announced today that Geno Smith will start at quarterback Sunday in Oakland versus the Raiders. Coach Ben McAdoo said rookie Davis Webb will also play, if not in Week 13, then some point before the end of the season.
“Geno will start this week,” McAdoo said, via the team’s official website. “Over the last five games, we will take a look at Geno, and we will also give Davis an opportunity.”
As he has long done, Eli handled the situation with class without pouting about his long streak of consecutive starts and the manner in which it’s ending.
“Coach McAdoo told me I could continue to start while Geno and Davis are given an opportunity to play,” Manning said. “My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak. Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed. I will help Geno and Davis prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”
One has to wonder if Manning has taken his final snaps for the franchise that he led to two Super Bowl championships.
“This is not a statement about anything other than we are 2-9, and we have to do what is best for the organization moving forward, and that means evaluating every position,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “I told Eli this morning that an organization could not ask for any more in a franchise quarterback. He has been that and more. Nobody knows what the future holds, but right now, this is what we think is best for the franchise.”
JT The Brick on Twitter
EliManning is a future Hall of Famer with 2 Super Bowl Rings over Tom Brady and currently had an Ironman streak going. It’s disgraceful that he’s being benched by a lame duck coach for Geno Smith? What a Giant embarrassment. You fire McAdoo and keep Eli on the field!
But if the coaching staff thinks that Geno Smith and Davis Webb are what’s best for the franchise at this point, then McAdoo and his entire staff are the ones that need to sit out the rest of the year.
