The New York Giants entered the 2019 regular season adamant that Eli Manning was and would remain their starting quarterback, but that changed after just two weeks.
After their 0-2 start, head coach Pat Shurmur & Co. pulled the plug and inserted rookie Daniel Jones, who initially provided a spark, but it was not sustained. The Giants have gone 2-8 since and are mired into a historic losing streak.
Making matters worse, Jones is now sidelined with a high ankle sprain, meaning the Giants had to turn back the clock and again call on Manning.
Former Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, preparing for his first season as general manager and head coach of the XFL’s New York Guardians, believes Big Blue was way too quick to yank Manning in the first place.
“I love the guy (Manning), so I felt for him when he got benched (in Week 3). I thought it was a premature move, but you understand how those things happen,” Gilbride told the New York Daily News. “I knew it would happen as soon as they stubbed their toe, and they started 0-2.
“I’m sure they realize in hindsight they wish they’d waited a little longer to see if he could get the thing going in the right direction. And of course I believe in him, so I think he would have.”
Gilbride went on to say that Jones has a bright future and is likely to be a “terrific” quarterback, but added that unless the Giants beef up his supporting cast, they’ve continue to relive the same issues they’ve had with Manning over the past several years.
And even with lacking talent around him, Gilbride expects Manning to rise to the occasion on Monday Night Football.
“There are a lot of qualities he has, and a couple come to my mind immediately,” Gilbride said. “First is his ability to stay in the moment. Nothing’s too big for him. The bigger the game, the better he plays. Most guys are not like that. When the pressure’s on, their vision narrows a little bit. He’s just the right mixture of competitiveness and poise. So the bigger the moment the better he plays, which he proved many times in the playoffs and big games, on big fourth-quarter drives.
“He’s got that special quality. There’s an equanimity about him that allows him to become razor sharp in the bigger moment.”
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