Giants head coach Ben McAdoo received a lot of criticism for the recent move involving veteran quarterback Eli Manning.
The team announced that Geno Smith will start in place of Manning in the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Raiders, with Davis Webb possibly seeing some action as well. The move will put an end to Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive regular-season starts, and it’s highly likely that he will start another game for the team, both this season and beyond.
McAdoo spoke about the move — which was puzzling to many — on Tuesday, and attempted to explain why he decided to bench Manning in his weekly press conference.
“We have five games left to play,” he said. “We have three quarterbacks on the roster. We have two that we have yet to see in significant game action for us and we want to go take a look at both of those players.”
The Giants head coach also added that he cleared the move with ownership, as well as with general manager Jerry Reese.
“I spoke to Jerry and I spoke to ownership – yes, we’re on the same page,” he said.
McAdoo then expressed his confidence in the team heading into their upcoming matchup with the Raiders.
“We’re confident that we can put a plan together to put Geno in a position to be successful and go win the game,” he said.
Furthermore, McAdoo went on to add that this isn’t the end of the Manning era in New York, which is ironic, because just a few weeks ago, it seemed much more likely that he would be relieved of his duties, rather than Eli.
This move really doesn’t make sense, and seems like a last-ditch effort by McAdoo to save his job. The (2-9) Giants could also be looking to secure a top-3 draft pick, and starting Smith may be the best way to achieve that goal. Most importantly, though, it will be interesting to see how the players respond.
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