The Eli Manning benching in favor of Geno Smith won’t go over well.
The Giants had been a cornerstone blue-blood NFL franchise for years until recently. It has not been smooth sailing in New York since even the last few years of the Tom Coughlin era. While New York made the playoffs last year, you could kind of tell that team overachieved and that success was not sustainable.
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Though the defense has massively underperformed, Eli Manning has been the scapegoat for why the Giants are 2-9. Yes, Manning has been a below average NFL starting quarterback for some time, but benching him in favor of Geno Smith just reeks of an L for the Giants. Truth be told, that’s exactly what they want anyway.
It’s going to be so weird to see Manning watching this game from the sidelines. If Smith struggles against the Raiders, what is head coach Ben McAdoo going to do? It’s not like he can put Manning back out there. His time with the Giants is done. Maybe he goes to Denver or Jacksonville next year if the Giants do part ways with him this offseason?
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So a bad Smith could give way to an unproven rookie Davis Webb, who played in an Air Raid offense in college. The benching of Manning has been and will be a huge distraction for the Giants this week. Look for the Raiders to capitalize on New York’s newfound dysfunction this weekend to move to 6-6.