With their franchise quarterback having just turned 30 following a disappointing season in which he threw 25 interceptions, one might say the New York Giants are faced with a tricky dilemma when evaluating where they’re at regarding arguably the most important position in all of sports.
Believe it or not, it’s been almost seven years since former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi traded Philip Rivers, a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning. After making that deal, which will go down as one of the biggest trades in NFL draft history, Accorsi stated that Manning was the most impressive quarterback prospect he had evaluated since the 1983 draft, when John Elway was selected #1 overall. Although Manning rewarded the Giants with an MVP performance in Super Bowl XLII, his inconsistency throughout his career has been tremendously irritating to many of the team’s fans, and most will agree that he isn’t on the same level as either Rivers or Ben Roethlisberger, who was selected 11th overall in the 2004 draft. Suffice it to say, Manning is no John Elway.
Now, after a second straight playoff-less season, the Giants’ front office has to mull over what’s wrong with the team. There are some holes to fill, starting at linebacker, offensive tackle, center, and cornerback. But with the draft being the primary place that personnel decision-makers build their teams for the future, this could be the year in which current Giants general manager Jerry Reese selects a quarterback somewhere in the first three rounds. There’s no question that Manning’s going to be the starting quarterback for the New York Giants again next season. The question is, can the Giants feel safe right now about him running the offense for the next five years?
A week after Aaron Rodgers was named Super Bowl MVP following the Green Bay Packers’ 31-25 triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s hard to argue with the way he was groomed to be a franchise quarterback. Rodgers was selected 24th overall by Packers general manager Ted Thompson in the 2005 draft. He sat three full years behind the legendary Brett Favre. Now, after completing just his third season as Green Bay’s starting quarterback, Rodgers is one of the top three signal-callers in the NFL.
Other quarterbacks followed a similar path to greatness that Rodgers has. The most notable is Steve Young, who sat behind Joe Montana in San Francisco for four seasons before finally getting a chance to take over the 49ers’ offense in 1991. Young won an NFL record six passing titles between 1991 and 1998, was named league MVP in 1992 and 1994, and holds a Super Bowl record for most touchdown passes in a single game (6). He was enshrined to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005, a first-ballot.
With Rodgers and Young in mind, and with Manning coming off a disappointing season, Reese could find it enticing to select a quarterback in April. Manning isn’t terrible, at least not often, but it’s debatable if he’s in the top 10 of the league’s passers right now, and he certainly isn’t as good as Montana and Favre were when their successors were brought in. Although Reese probably won’t pick a quarterback in the first round, if he’s looking to add a talented young passer to send a message to Manning, here are two who may fall to him in Round 2 or 3 and fit the bill:
Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett
At the beginning of the 2010 college football season, Mallett was considered to be a realistic possibility for the #1 overall pick in this April’s draft. Now, however, there are character concerns and doubts about his accuracy, footwork, and throwing mechanics. In its latest mock draft, WalterFootball.com has Mallett falling down to the third round, stating the following:
A couple of months ago, I listed Ryan Mallett in the second round of my 2011 NFL Mock Draft, citing major character concerns I knew about that would eventually surface.
Well, nothing surfaced, so I put Mallett back in the first round, assuming my source was wrong. Lo and behold, NFL.com's Albert Breer recently wrote that "off-field concerns" will hurt Mallett's draft stock. A couple of months late, but better late than never, I guess.
Mallett has major red flags. In addition to these "off-field concerns," he's a moron who may score single digits on his Wonderlic (even if they give him five points for spelling his name correctly). His release is painfully slow (think Byron Leftwich). He has no mobility. And he has the same sense of entitlement as Matt Leinart and Jimmy Clausen.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2011_3.php
Well, nothing surfaced, so I put Mallett back in the first round, assuming my source was wrong. Lo and behold, NFL.com's Albert Breer recently wrote that "off-field concerns" will hurt Mallett's draft stock. A couple of months late, but better late than never, I guess.
Mallett has major red flags. In addition to these "off-field concerns," he's a moron who may score single digits on his Wonderlic (even if they give him five points for spelling his name correctly). His release is painfully slow (think Byron Leftwich). He has no mobility. And he has the same sense of entitlement as Matt Leinart and Jimmy Clausen.
http://walterfootball.com/draft2011_3.php
Not exactly a glowing endorsement, but falling to the third round would undoubtedly be a real humbling experience for Mallett, as would sitting behind Manning for at least a few years. And though there are plenty of negatives being written about Mallett, nobody can deny that he has an absolute rifle for an arm and was quite successful playing in Bobby Petrino’s offense. In 2010, Mallett completed 64.7% of his passes, at 9.41 yards per attempt, and threw for 3,869 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. With those stats in mind, it will be hard to find a more impressive prospect to pick when the Giants are up in the second and third round.
Florida State’s Christian Ponder
Like Mallett, at the start of the 2010 college football season Ponder was considered as a possibility for the #1 overall pick. In that regard, it’s hard to figure out what some were thinking, as Ponder has never looked like an elite prospect at the college level. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, though, and possesses supreme intelligence, a great work ethic, and solid mobility and improvisational skills.
But while he checked out well medically at the Senior Bowl, there are still concerns about injuries he suffered to his right elbow and shoulder. Not having a strong arm to begin with, damage to that area could be fatal to his pro career. He missed two regular-season games last year, and threw just five passes, completing only one of them for six yards, in the Seminoles’ Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over South Carolina. He finished his senior year with a completion percentage of 61.5—at 6.84 yards per attempt—for 2,044 yards, 20 touchdown passes, and eight interceptions.
WalterFootball.com has Ponder going in the second round. Here’s what it has to say about him:
I have major questions about Ponder's arm strength in the wake of all his surgeries, but he's very accurate and makes quick decisions.
Should the Giants consider drafting a quarterback in the early rounds this April? We welcome your thoughts.
-Maz Burrito
I think its too early to worry about replacing Eli Manning. He had one bad year. Was it that long ago that he was leading the Giants to a Super Bowl on his way to being Super Bowl MVP?
ReplyDeleteIt's never too early. There is no doubt that Eli is not completely to blame this year. I honestly believe that a lot of the mistakes were due more to the fact that the playcalling tended to force the passing game too often, and a lot of tipped balls that recievers should have had got picked, but even in the event that Eli gets hurt, the Giants have to have a more viable option than Sage Rosenfels. A 3rd or 4th round flier on a guy like Mallett or Ponder wouldnt be such a bad idea
ReplyDeleteSend him a message, how bout send him packin?
ReplyDelete