The New York Giants gave a clinic in poor player management on Tuesday.
Giants head coach Ben McAdoo elected to bench longtime quarterback Eli Manning for backup Geno Smith. They plan to work in their third quarterback, rookie Davis Webb, as well.
The implications of the move date back well more than a decade. When Manning begins Sunday’s game on the sidelines, it will mark the end of his consecutive starts streak of 210, which began Nov. 21, 2004.
An unmitigated disaster this season, the 2-9 Giants have been a mess from top to bottom. Things got progressively worse in Week 5, when they lost star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the season to injury.
But the decision nevertheless is an abrupt one, and given the Giants are already eliminated from postseason contention, it’s quite the slap in the face to a player who brought the franchise a pair of Super Bowl championships.
Manning was given the option to start to keep the streak alive, but, according to McAdoo, would be benched at halftime. Manning didn’t feel it was right.
“My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them,” Manning told reporters Tuesday. “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.”
Manning, given what’s been around him this year, has been bad, but not as bad as he could be. His 84.1 quarterback rating ranks ninth out of his 14 seasons, and ranks 24th out of qualifying quarterbacks in 2017.
When discussing the move, things got emotional for the quarterback.
Not a great exhibition of managing player relations by the Giants.
