New York Giants: The Eli Manning saga does yield one casualty

Who is the one member of the New York Giants that could be called the loser in the Eli Manning saga?

The New York Giants have finally come to the end of this sordid story with Eli Manning. It started with a controversial lineup decision and it ended with two guys getting fired. It ended with the player that was benched getting put back into the lineup. The player, of course, is Eli Manning. The two guys getting fired were coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese. Eli’s benching lasted exactly one game and he is back.

However, there is still fallout from this situation. The obvious fallout is the firings and the placement of Manning back into the starting lineup. That isn’t the end of the fallout, ladies and gentlemen. There is one more player, still on the roster, that receives some of the fallout. One could almost consider him the loser in this whole scenario.

Anyone guess who yet? Anyone at all? The one casualty of this situation would be young quarterback Davis Webb.

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Why? Glad you asked.

Let’s focus on what the goal was from the situation. Forget about whether or not it was poorly handled, it’s not the point. Think about what the point of the exercise was. The idea was to give a look to the other quarterbacks on the roster to see what the team has in them.

This change at the top changes some things, but what it doesn’t change is reality. Reality is the fact that the Giants are 2-10 and their starting quarterback is 36 years old.

The Giants poor handling of this situation changes neither one of these facts. Eli Manning didn’t find a fountain of youth and the Giants didn’t get back in the playoff race by osmosis. The 2017 season is over.

What’s also over is Eli’s consecutive game streak. He didn’t play last week. It’s not as if re-installing him into the lineup protects that streak. So what are they doing here? What purpose does putting him right back in the lineup serve, other than simply showing Ben McAdoo up? Considering that John Mara was part of what happened, this seems like an ill-fated idea.

What if, God forbid, Manning gets seriously hurt in a meaningless game? Now what did you prove?

Next: What the Giants future holds

Here is the point. A 2-10 record is high time to take a look at the young quarterbacks. No matter when, game experience cannot be replicated. Give Davis Webb a chance to play. There is nothing to prove by leaving Eli Manning in there. He’s not the future of the team. Why not see if Davis Webb is?

That’s why Davis Webb becomes the loser in all of this. He should be getting the chance to play, and it doesn’t sound like he will get that chance in 2017.

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