How to handle New York Giants QB situation
Big Blue has to make sure Eli Manning gets to take his final bow if he is not coming back next season. They have to also see Davis Webb in some capacity.
The New York Giants came into this season thinking that at no point would they be in a spot where Davis Webb would play in the regular season. They were hoping they’d evaluate Webb for the next two seasons in practice and in the preseason. The G-Men have treated him like a red shirt freshman. He has been inactive every single game. This says he’s not ready. However, with a lost season, an aging quarterback and a top 3 pick; the Giants have to see him at some point. That doesn’t mean he has to start. If the New York Giants want Eli Manning starting again, how can Webb be evaluated?
The idea that Eli Manning would split games was a bad one. It’s not the preseason. If Manning agreed to split the game against the Raiders and he had been playing great in a close game would they take him out ? It’s not logical. If the Giants wanted to see Davis Webb and Geno Smith, they could have gone the simple and logical route.
Conversely, the Giants could have removed Manning from games that were out of hand and they’re have been a few. The Seahawks and Rams games were perfect spots to see Smith or Webb.
How do they get Webb into games ?
The New York Giants have four games left and three are home games. They have to get the situation correct. They gave Geno Smith his audition for his next team. Smith isn’t the Giants man of the future. He did the best he could in a bad situation. Now they have to make sure Eli Manning is honored in case this is his last year as a Giant. They have to make sure he plays in every home game. This Sunday, the Giants should start Eli Manning for the whole game and have Davis Webb as his backup.
The Giants should let Eli Manning play at home against the Redskins in the final game of the season. That could be his final game as a Giant. In all four games the Giants have to put in Webb if the game is out of reach. If they want to start Webb do it against the Arizona Cardinals. Manning will see plenty of time however. The fans deserve to say good bye and he deserves it too if it is the end.
New York Giants
In terms of getting Davis Webb into games Manning will be very willing to let him get in. Manning is a competitor who wants to play every snap and win every game but that hasn’t stopped him from being a mentor to Davis Webb and helping Geno Smith as his backup. Mike Silver wrote a great piece about how Manning has mentored Webb. That is available on NFL.com.
Eli the Mentor
Webb had high praise for Manning, according to NBC’s Pro Football Talk.
"“I’ve learned something from him every day and I’ve really written them down and I’ve really taken upon myself to kind of – I’ve always kind of idolized Eli and there’s so many quarterbacks I watched growing up, but to kind of be his teammate and see how he does every single day. His routine didn’t change today and he’s a heck of a teammate, he’s the best quarterback in this franchise’s history.”"
A perfect formula doesn’t exist to say how the New York Giants should handle the quarterback situation going forward. However, it should go smoother than last week. The team needs to see what they have in Davis Webb. They also have to give Eli Manning his due.
Manning’s streak is over now so that could lead to Webb playing a lot in the games against the Cardinals and Eagles. The Giants need to see Davis Webb and also try to fix the Eli Manning mess they made at the same time. It won’t be easy.