For a long, long time, the Giants resisted Eli Manning’s idea of a succession plan. They kept kicking the franchise’s quarterback on the way.
Finally, when they came to the painful conclusion that Manning would not, could not, deliver a third Super Bowl championship, GM Dave Gettleman bet his legacy on Daniel Jones to be his Eli Manning.
As Jones prepares for his third season, a cautionary tale is unfolding in Florham Park, NJ
Jets GM Joe Douglas is receiving calls from teams interested in negotiating for Sam Darnold.
In the eyes of the Giants’ decision makers, Jones is untouchable.
A year ago, Darnold too.
But then he was unable to overcome his coach and his supporting cast.
It’s a classic case of ruining the franchise’s quarterback and destroying the hopes and dreams of its tortured fan base.
Giants cannot afford to make that mistake.
Their mission: to do everything possible in the agency and in the draft to help and comfort Daniel Jones so that they can believe in him a year from now, as much as they believe in him now.
Game creators and protectors.
First of all, give the boy a true No. 1 wide receiver that can complement Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton, and take the heat off of Saquon Barkley – which would be a blessing if he returned from his ACL surgery as Saquon Barkley.
With Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin out of the free agent market, Kenny Golladay would be a perfect fit, as long as he passes Joe Judge’s culture and character adjustment.
At 1.80 m tall and 214 pounds, Golladay would give Jones the kind of big target that Plaxico Burress gave Manning once in a Super Time. And Golladay is 27 years old. He is the target, given the limited realities that will limit how deep in the waters of free agent Gettleman can wade.
Manning’s decline was accelerated by an incompetent offensive line, swapping Odell Beckham Jr. and replacing him with Golden Tate.
Now Tate needs to be replaced, and if Golladay wipes out the Dolphins, the Giants must keep their fingers crossed for DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle to be available with the 11th choice of the draft.
“Every team needs game creators, let’s be honest,” said Gettleman. “A healthy Saquon obviously makes a big difference. It’s not that we don’t understand what we need, but ultimately, it’s also about adding really good players. You can never have too many good players in any position. “
Gettleman is still working to fix the offensive line. Judge believes he updated the coaching with the new O-linecoach Rob Sale and consultant Pat Flaherty, who need to develop the infant body of left tackle Andrew Thomas, left guard Shane Lemieux, central Nick Gates and right tackle Matt Peart.
For the Giants to be a legitimate contender, whether NFC East or NFL Least again or not, they desperately need Jones to make a leap in the third year in their second year in the offense of coordinator Jason Garrett, after Jones failed to get a second. jump of the year (11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 11 fumbles, 65 charges for 423 yards and a running TD).
While the Jets look at Zach Wilson and the 2021 quarterback class, Gettleman and the Giants are not in the quarterback business and look in, in eighth place.
Gettleman: “We have Daniel for two years. We did his evaluation and we really believe that he is the guy. … What we are doing is not fantasy football. We are not playing, we are not doing that. We have a conviction about it. He’s everything we want. He has all the physical skills.
“The boy just finished his second year in NFL football. How many of us, after two years in our new job, were great?
“The only common denominator is that it takes time. Everyone has to understand this. We believe in Daniel, and that is where he is. “
Giants fans: It didn’t take long for Justin Herbert.
Judge: “We have confidence in Daniel. He is a player with whom we want to work with this team going forward ”.
Douglas and Adam Gase were saying exactly the same thing last year about Darnold. Taking your fifth year option is suddenly not as palatable now as setting the financial clock with a new franchise quarterback.
Message to the giants: Don’t just say that you believe in Daniel Jones. Show that you believe in Daniel Jones.