Eli Manning has been in the building for 14 years. If anyone knows what makes the franchise quarterback tick, it is John Mara, the co-owner of the New York Giants.
Check that. If anyone should know what Eli Manning is all about, it is John Mara.
When Ben McAdoo went to Manning and clued him in to a bizarre, untenable scenario — you start, but Geno Smith finishes Sunday against Oakland — it was a plan Mara himself wanted to see happen and gave his blessing, with general manager Jerry Reese and McAdoo all in agreement. When Manning balked at this hair-brained plan, the Giants’ decision-makers were nearly stunned.
“What I did not expect, and this is my fault, I was probably naïve, I did not expect Eli to react by saying, ‘Go ahead and start the other guys,’ ’’ Mara said Wednesday. “That took me by surprise a little bit and, yeah, maybe I would have handled that a little bit different.’’
Manning was informed of the plan Monday, slept on it and informed McAdoo on Tuesday, thanks, but no thanks, it was not fair to himself or Geno Smith to orchestrate a quarterback shuffle during the game. Mara finally spoke with Manning on Wednesday and at long last realized he had underestimated the competitive fire of the player he has employed since 2004.
“After talking to him today, I understand why it wasn’t [a good plan],’’ Mara said. “He’s a competitor and he wants to be out there playing, he wants to be out there trying to win and that’s why he’s been so successful for so many years.’’The Giants are 2-9, their season is shot and they have lost some credibility with their fans by greasing the skids for Manning’s departure. Although Mara said, “I don’t think you should be writing his obituary just yet,’’ the tone of this quarterback switcheroo has the feel of a parting of the ways after this season. The Giants are headed for a top-three pick and more than likely will take a quarterback.
“A lot of things can change between now and next spring and next season,’’ Mara said. “We obviously have some tough decisions to make at the end of the year and who knows what’s going to happen.’’
Mara knew there would be pushback with the demotion of an iconic Giants player, but admitted he misjudged the ferocity and loyalty of the fans.
“I would say it’s been a little in excess of what I expected,’’ he said. “Given what he has meant to our franchise and to so many people for so long, it’s understandable.’’
Mara said he spoke with Reese “a week or two ago’’ to tell him: “Don’t you think it’s time we start to get a look at these other quarterbacks at some point during the games?’’ Reese told Mara he already had that conversation with McAdoo and the wheels were in motion. Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive starts comes to an end and he serves as the backup to Smith, and at some point in the last five games rookie Davis Webb also gets a chance to play.
“He is obviously not happy with the decision but he understands it,’’ said Mara, recounting the “very emotional’’ talk he had with Manning. “I had told him my hope here had been that you were going to continue to play, not only to keep your streak alive. I didn’t want him to go out like this, but I understand his feeling. I respect his decision. He doesn’t want the streak to be tarnished by just getting in for a few series. I was hoping he’d come in, he’d play, he’d be playing well, we’d have a chance to win the game, maybe he’d stay in there or something.“When you see him get that emotional it’s tough. To a lot of players this is just another team, another franchise but to him it means something to be a New York Giant and that’s what makes this so tough.’’
Mara said “when you get to a decision like this there’s no completely clean way to handle it’’ and reiterated the organization needs to get a look at Smith and Webb.
“I don’t know this is going to give us all the information we need but it is going to be better than nothing. It’s going to be better than just watching them run scout team out there every day,’’ Mara said.
As for the way McAdoo presented the news of this transition, Mara agreed perhaps it could have been done more tactfully.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily his strength but I suppose he could have been,’’ Mara said. “At the end of the day does it really make any difference? It’s a major decision for this franchise with a beloved figure. People are not gonna like it.’’