By. Logan Jurgens
The New York Football Giants have benched Eli Manning. I repeat. The New York Giants have BENCHED Eli Manning. The man who has given the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady his only two Super Bowl losses is riding the pine for what looks like the remainder of the season in the Meadowlands. His future with the G-Men is looking bleak, with 2013 NFL Draft bust Geno Smith. Let's not forget, Manning is a future Hall-of-Famer, winning Superbowl MVP in both games. The dude has never missed a game at quarterback since coming into a game Week 11 his rookie season. That is 14 seasons leading the helm of the Giants. Eli is the modern day NFL Ironman starting 222 consecutive plays including the playoffs. The only streak that is longer is Brett Favre starting 321 games from 1992-2010.
Giants coach Ben McAdoo lost control of the locker room weeks ago. With their 2-9 start, this dumpster fire of a team has gone off the rails. McAdoo unceremoniously benched Manning Tuesday, who deserved to finish out the season. Eli is the guy that won a Super Bowl after starting the season 0-2, and winning another being 6-6 in early December. But the teams poor results are not all Eli's fault, even though McAdoo has publicly blamed him multiple times this season for losses. The team is just downright terrible with injuries plaguing their stars and expectations not being met. Manning could do little to elevate a team with little talent left around him. Coach McAdoo is gone by New Year's Day. There's no question about it. The Giants were polite and decided to wait until the season's end to decide his fate. He awarded their patience with him by doing the worst thing imaginable: causing extra damage on his way out the door.
A future Hall-of-Fame quarterback like Manning deserves to start the rest of the season as a symbolic gesture of respect for all he has done during his tenure in New York. This would send a message around the league, one where professionalism does not go unnoticed. Manning is heartbroken and had to choke back tears while talking to reporters in the Giants locker room Tuesday. It was a tough video to see from a guy that has given his all to this organization. Regardless of if he replaces Smith at any point this season, Manning is done as a Giant by years end and I hope to see him somewhere next season. I personally think he has a few good years left in him. There are rumors around the league of Eli rejoining his former coach Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville where they have a stellar defense and a young and on the rise offense featuring a future All-Pro running back in Leonard Fournette. Maybe they can bring back some Superbowl magic together and win one for the city of Jacksonville.
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