New York Giants: Why the Kyle Lauletta ship has sailed this year

As the New York Giants prepare to face the Tennessee Titans in what has somehow turned into a meaningful game, it is time to end the Kyle Lauletta narrative.

The New York Giants tried hard to get Kyle Lauletta into the loop this season. He was their guy that the new regime decided to stick with up to this point and all offseason.

Despite spending many games inactive this season, he was always part of the chatter surrounding the Giants.

Will he ever play? Will he be the heir to Eli Manning? It would have been ideal to have answered all of those questions by the end of the year.

I’ll even admit it seemed tempting to say yes to some of those questions this offseason.

However, I no longer thing Kyle Lauletta should see too many more reps this season.

So, what happened? How did things so quickly turn?

The answer is simple. He played in an actual NFL game. He did not do anything impressive during that time. An interception he threw was the highlight of it.

Maybe there was some bad karma coming for Lauletta. After all, there was no real fallout from his arrest earlier this season.

To his defense, he was not exactly given much time this year as well. A blowout game, vs a division rival, on the road, in an empty Fed Ex Field, opposite of Josh Johnson, is not exactly the most glorifying stage.

However, he had an opportunity, a small sample size to prove he can do things. He threw an INT and the Redskins piled on some points in a comeback effort.

Plus, we must not forget, somehow the Giants are back to the point where they have to decide about what to do for Eli Manning in 2019.

He should be gone. He will be expensive if he does not take a pay cut and the last thing you want is for the Giants to think they are improved only to do exactly what they have done this year.

So, right now. Kyle Lauletta is just kind of there.

He has not done enough, nor been given the proper time to show any kind of potential. His performance in the preseason this year is already forgotten.

The Giants still have Alex Tanney. So if something were to happen to Eli in the winding games, Tanney should come in and play.

Even if there is nothing to play for, it should not be Lauletta.

I understand this seems crazy to some, but the Giants are already going to have enough question marks surrounding the QB.

If Lauletta comes in and plays in what would essentially be garbage time and dazzles, what would the Giants do?

Do they finally dub him the guy and make him the starter for next year? No, that would be an irrational decision.

Eli Manning gives them the best chance to win right now. He is playing better the last few weeks and the Giants have won three of their last four games in large part to him.

If something like an injury, or even deciding to bench Eli because the season has nothing left worth playing for, it shouldn’t be Kyle Lauletta.

Up to this point, whether he was ready to or not, still has gotten no significant reps as an NFL QB.

If he were to play this season, it would be more or less the same once again. The time to play him was when the Giants were losing games at a rapid pace earlier this year.

They did not do so. So, that tells me the Giants are not confident in Lauletta.

Kyle Lauletta is still the Giants backup QB. He is likely going to see the field again and will once again get a chance to show, well, anything.

However, he should not. Nothing is on the line yet and the Giants cannot and should not do anything to blind them from the fact that they still need a QB of the future.

if they think it is Lauletta, then fine, give him a fair shot into the offseason and in 2019. Play your cards with him right this time.

But, if I were the Giants, I would still get another younger QB. Whether it be a guy like Derek Carr from the Raiders or one in the NFL Draft.

The Giants cannot keep playing cat and mouse with themselves. It is what they did last year and what they did with David Webb.

They have not already messed up Kyle Lauletta persay, but they sure as heck won’t see anything out of him this year to make us think he is the guy.

The Giants still need to get their guy. It is not dependent on Eli Manning either. He can stay or go in 2019 because the Giants will need a new QB on this roster regardless.