New York Giants co-owner John Mara once admitted that the organization wasted the final years of Eli Manning’s legendary career. He blamed that on impatience, coaching turnover, and personnel failures.
That trend continued with Manning’s successor, Daniel Jones, as Mara again admitted the team had done everything wrong and messed Jones up.
Despite an extended leash, that experiment ended this past season with an unceremonious mid-season release.
In hindsight, one former Giants assistant coach, Anthony Blevins, agrees with Mara. At least as it relates to Jones.
“Well, I’ll say this. Daniel came in and replaced Eli the legend. So that’s hard within itself, and how he handled that. But I think one of the biggest mistakes was not continuing the growth process with Pat Shurmur that first year,” Blevins told Sports Illustrated.
“Because you just took a guy that was a rookie and you made him a rookie again and you went with a guy in Joe Judge that wasn’t an offensive guy, wasn’t an offensive head coach. You needed somebody that could truly develop the quarterback. And I don’t think, you know, that was the case.”
Jones had his best season under Shurmur as a rookie but the coach was fired following the 2019 campaign. From there, the Giants went to Judge and then Brian Daboll as the entire regime was completely turned over for the second time since 2016.
Throughout the multiple resets, one thing remained consistent: An underperforming and, at times, league-worst offensive line. In 2023, the Giants allowed 85 sacks, good for the second-most all-time.
Not only was Jones getting hit, he suffered several serious injuries.
“I think that’s the biggest thing. And when I say that, the biggest thing is go get him some weapons and go protect him. Find guys that can protect the quarterback. Because when you, when you get hit too early, the quarterback quits,” Blevins said.
“Look, he quits looking at coverage. He quits looking at things that are down the field. He starts looking at the rush so his eyes are down and he doesn’t see open receivers because he’s like, ‘Don’t hit me, I don’t have a ball. Don’t hit me.’ So I think that those are the keys. Find weapons to help him and find the offensive line that can protect him.”
Jones won’t be under center for the Giants in 2025 but someone will. Whether that’s a veteran or a rookie, the Giants must buck the trend and fix their protection issues or risk repeating failed quarterback history for the third straight time.
