The State Of Eli Manning And The Giants

Welcome to The Truda Report everybody. Today's topic is one close to my heart, as the New York Giants are my second favorite team in the NFL (giving me the worst taste in history...honestly, the Dolphins and Giants?! I couldn't have chosen worse teams to root for this year). The first Super Bowl I remember watching is 47, when Eli led the Giants to the biggest upset in history, as New York ended the Patriots undefeated season. I haven't been happier in my entire life. It's been a long time since those glory days though, so I want to analyze what's going on for them right now, and give my opinion on what they should do from here on out. Make sure to share this article as it helps TTR grow.

The State of the New York Football Giants:
This team may be one of the biggest disappointments this season, as they were supposed to be NFC East Champions, and make a Super Bowl run this year. I don't think anything more the opposite of that could have happened. The team currently sits at 2-9, the bottom of the NFC East, and the third worst team in the NFL. The offense has been terrible, the defense not much better, and just today, the Giants announced they were basically conceding the season by benching Eli Manning...in favor of Geno Smith. The team wants to see how its younger quarterbacks play, and that's fine, except for the fact that that is THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT THEY SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT RIGHT NOW. Imploding is not, I repeat, is not, the direct New York should be headed. 

The Giants heading into the season arguably had the best receiving core in the NFL with Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard being the three starters. They also had special teams aficionado Dwayne Harris as the fourth stringer. Three of those receivers were out for the season early in the year, and Sterling Shepard has missed multiple games with reoccurring injuries.

The Giants defense was in a similar spot as the offense, with all the talent in the world. Here is the issue though, when an offense is rendered completely ineffective due to injuries, the defense is on the field too long to perform well. This is especially the case with a team lacking a good offensive line and/or a good running back. So, instead of having an incredible defense, this team has had to watch as close games become blowouts in the second half. Once the missing offensive pieces return, though, the scoring will be back on track, and defense will be back to its original form. 

To go along with all of this, the Giants poor performance this season will grant them most likely a top five pick in the upcoming draft, so they should be able to improve glaring holes on their roster as well heading into next year. All of this very clearly shows the Giants should not be worried about their QB of the future right now, because they are built to win today, not tomorrow.

Now, I'm not saying there shouldn't be any change. In fact, I think there should be lots of it, but only in terms of management and coaching. Multiple players now have come out and said Ben McAdoo has lost the locker room, and it doesn't take a genius to see that translating to the team's performance on Sundays. The general manager, Jerry Reese, should also be gone. I hate to say that because he built two Super Bowl winning squads that I got the benefit of rooting for, but his recent failures trump those past successes. His inability to draft well (of course excluding Odell) and build an offensive line have plagued the team the last multiple years, and he shouldn't get a pass for that.

I know that usually only imploding teams clear house, but that's not what I expect from this Giants team. They need a new head coach because the players won't play for McAdoo anymore, and they need a new general manager for the hopes of making this years high draft pick a cornerstone of the franchise. If they can get a good coach, do well in the draft this year, and lets not forget, GET HELP FOR THE OFFENSIVE LINE, this Giants team will be great next year, just under new leadership.

All of this is why I'm mourning the loss of Eli Manning's 210 game start streak, the longest of all active players. He is a two time champion who deserves better than what he has been given this season. I agree with Plaxico, Osi, and Coughlin: It's a shame this is what the Giants have come to.