Chapter 547 A Farce
Time, go back a little bit and go back to the end of November last year. The regular season is still in full swing. Thanksgiving has just ended. The league and the teams are ready to enter the final sprint battle for the playoff spots in December. New York But a big news came.
New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo announced that Geno Smith will be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants' game against the Oakland Raiders this Sunday.
This means that Eli Manning, the team's flag-bearer who has been the New York Giants' starting quarterback for fourteen years, was put on the bench. The league's record for consecutive appearances in the regular season was finally fixed at 210 games.
A big one!
Although Manning's entire career has been full of controversy, no one expected that his career would end in such a childish way, occupying the front pages of major media in a lightning-fast manner.
Speaking of Manning Jr.'s career, this two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback is known as the "Brady Killer" and has always been one of the core figures in the league's controversy.
Is he considered an elite quarterback? Will he be able to enter the Hall of Fame in the future? How should his historical status in the NFL be positioned?
And so on and so forth.
In the eyes of supporters, Manning Jr. is one of the league's key players, a natural enemy of the New England Patriots, a gentle, humorous and public-spirited gentleman off the field.
In the eyes of opponents, Manning Jr. has always been a typical example of overestimation. In the New York Giants' 14 seasons, he only led the team to the playoffs six times. Except for the two times they reached the top, the other four times were all. A first round trip, especially in 2013 when the Lions were still asking for big contracts despite their worsening situation, is disgraceful.
However.
No one can deny that Manning Jr. has become an important symbol of the New York Giants and even the NFL, and has evolved into a part of American culture
Once in an NBA game, Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies ) grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a long pass across the entire court to find his teammates and complete a dunk.
At that time, the commentator was full of passion and foaming at the mouth, "Touchdown! Gasol, like Eli Manning, used long passes to disintegrate the opponent's defense!"
Regarding this metaphor, the guest commentator on the side did not give any face at all, "No, no, no, it is absolutely impossible for Eli Manning to pass such a ball. This is the masterpiece of Drew Brees."
In the following timeout, the two commentators started an uncompromising debate around Eli Manning in the NBA. The point is that the audience liked it. Not only did they like it, they also joined in the argument.
It was Eli Manning who ended his career with the New York Giants in an unseemly way, once again setting off a frenzy of public opinion.
The entire league is overwhelmingly on Manning's side, including the New York Giants' next opponent, the Oakland Raiders, who are also grieving for Manning; not to mention the New York Giants' former players and coaches all publicly expressed their disapproval of this decision. , expressed their condemnation one after another.
Especially after the video of Manning holding back tears during an interview was released, the entire social network firmly believed that a hero who has played for the team for fourteen years and a person who has become an icon in this city should not be treated like this. treatment.
Of course, discordant voices have always existed. Bart "within the league" not only dislikes Levi, but is also dissatisfied with Manning Jr.. He directly pointed out that Manning Jr. was the bottom of all starting quarterbacks in the league in the 2013 season. The data showed that he was full of disdain and firmly believed that Manning should have been kicked off the team four seasons ago.
This time, Bart has a lot of support.
"The Giants do not owe Eli. They have the right to make decisions that benefit themselves and do not need to worry about the other person's feelings."
"I never looked at him as a Hall of Fame player."
Although some people refute that since the 2013 season, the New York Giants' offensive line performance has been at the bottom of the league. Traditional pocket quarterbacks like Manning have tried their best to save the team but are unable to complain; but these complaints refuse to agree and always insist on their own point of view.
However, these gloating voices are in the minority after all, and the mainstream of public opinion is completely on Manning's side.
reason?
It's not complex, it's not complicated. One is the characters.
Manning Jr. was put on the bench, so who is his replacement?
Geno Smith, with a career total of 28 touchdowns, 36 interceptions, and 17 fumbles, has long been proven to be one of the worst quarterbacks in the league.
Moreover, his contract with the New York Giants expires at the end of the season, and he will not be the future of the New York Giants.
So, where does the future lie?
Davis-Webb, who was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of this year's draft, has arm strength but lacks passing accuracy and defensive reading ability. He obviously still has a lot of room for growth.
The point is, the quarterback who replaced Manning Jr. wasn't rookie Webber either.
In "Within the League", Lawson gave his professional opinion: If the New York Giants are interested in cultivating Webber, the correct replacement time should be the seventh week of the regular season.
At that time, the New York Giants had one win and six losses, and their playoff hopes were only 0.5%. If it was determined at that time that Manning was not the future of the team, then they should be prepared to let Webber appear on the court instead of delaying the current situation. His behavior is more like a child's anger.
This also involves the second point.
The second is timing.
Putting aside whether Lawson's opinion is correct, look at the timing chosen by the New York Giants:
There are only five games left in the regular season, with a record of two wins and nine losses. The hope of the playoffs has been completely extinguished. The next step is to digest the schedule and look at the final draft picks. At this moment, Manning will be removed and Geno Smith will be used. , it’s completely ruined.
Forget it, the New York Giants did not give Manning Jr. a chance to say goodbye, nor did they give fans a chance to witness Manning Jr.'s debut at home for the last time. This is equivalent to turning off all the lights on Manning's farewell stage, including the curtain call. No chance was left to this fourteen-year veteran.
From an emotional level, this is indeed disrespectful and even humiliating to Manning.
Perhaps whether Manning Jr. can enter the Hall of Fame is still a matter of debate, but having played 210 consecutive games for the team and never missing a regular season game in 14 years, Manning Jr. deserves a stage to bid farewell to New York.
It's no wonder that everyone sided with Manning.
What’s even funnier is that at the end of the season, the New York Giants also fired their head coach McAdoo, leaving only a pile of chicken feathers after losing all their dignity.
It is precisely because of this that when John Mara met with Levi at Madison Square Garden, Donald thought it was a strategic meeting. From any perspective, the New York Giants would need to spend a lot of effort to save this public relations disaster. The big boss just took action directly.
But now it seems that the big boss is seeking more than that.
Public relations is one aspect.
Strategy, on the other hand.
They should have been looking for their quarterback successor long before Mara and Levi met, and the selection of Alex Smith was undoubtedly a stroke of genius.
(End of chapter)