It’s no secret that Eli Manning hasn’t performed up to his old standard this year, for whatever reason. It could be because of age, playcalling, the offensive line, or some other issue, but the fact of the matter is that the passing attack of the New York Giants isn’t one to fear… Despite having talented receivers such as Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard.
But it’s not just the fans that believe Manning is in decline. Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms also believes that Manning’s time is running out, and he spoke about it on XM Radio. “OK, when you phrase it that way, as a big-time starter he is [done].”
Simms went into more detail about the situation, and what it means for Manning. “The Giants built this team for this year for Eli Manning to have success. That’s what they did. They re-did basically the whole offensive line. They’ve signed Odell Beckham, Jr… They draft Saquon Barkley, which is a great deal… Sterling Shepard, a good second receiver. Evan Engram, we know he’s hurt, but it’s all there because we want the quarterback to do well, and it’s not working out.”
Of course, the offensive line revamp hasn’t worked out as well in reality as it should have based on preseason estimates. Nate Solder hasn’t performed well enough to justify his huge contract at this point, and Patrick Omameh hasn’t been much of an upgrade. You could make an argument that most quarterbacks in this league would struggle behind this line, but that doesn’t change the hard facts that the passing offense isn’t helping nearly enough to win games.
Eli Manning’s mobility has been much criticized this season, and Simms also touched on that. “I watch all these guys every week. And I’m watching Phillip Rivers going, ‘Look at him.’ Now, I know he has a better line and he’s got a set of really terrific receivers. But he is scrambling, outside the pocket, moving, he’s great in the pocket moving. Tom Brady is truly great in the pocket. And I just don’t see that enough from the Giants with Eli and that’s a big problem.”
All of these signs point to it being Manning’s last season as a starter, or at least his last season as the uncontested one. The Giants will be in the running for Oregon star Justin Herbert, but there’s still a lot of games left to be played. The quarterback situation going into the next season is murky at best. There’s a lot of unknowns. But regardless, the odds do not look good for Eli Manning to continue in the same role at this point, with mounting criticisms.