"The Window" closing for the Giants?

[BlueInCanada]

I've been thinking about this recently, mostly after reading an article about one Mr.Romo of the Cowboys and how they should be planning to move on in the next season or two from him.

 

Anyways not my point, Eli is 32 this coming season, two time Superbowl MVP and is probably going to hold multiple Giants records in the next season or so. I figure at most Eli is going to play four more seasons at which time he will be 36, he has nothing left to prove not to mention a daughter back home.

 

Guys like Snee, Tuck, Deihl, Webby, Blackburn (honestly the only good LB on the roster which is horrid to say), etc are all on the downside of their career if not already showing signs of age and a decline of play.

 

We have rookies like Brown both RB and Safety who have stepped up, Randle at WR, Prince at CB and obviously Wilson who are up and coming to hold down some spots on the roster.

 

I guess what my point is, is the possibility of another playoff run and shot at the Superbowl going to be greatly diminishing in the coming seasons? Reese has shown to be able to draft rookies who can fill in well mostly in the later rounds of the draft however his ability to get talent in free agency has shown to be not his strong suit.

 

Most rookies drafted take 2-3 seasons before they make any impact not to mention if they don't suffer from any sort of rookie slump or are an one hit wonder.

 

This offseason the Giants are looking at a major over hall of some of the weakest positions on the team, LB, CB, OL, DL. Which lead to the Giants late season slump as always, not to mention inconsistent play from Giants who we have come to expect to help us win games. Lets say Reese has a solid draft and maybe even FA and fills some of these holes, it will still take a season I would imagine for a new OL which is needed to keep Eli at the top of his game and rebuilt defense to come together and play as an winning team.

 

With Eli only getting older and already having accomplished what any QB would want in a career, division rivals like the 'Skins only getting better, are the next few seasons going to a "win now" type of season? Where Reese and Co try to put whatever they can around the team to get wins? Or is the FO content with what Eli has done and is ready to just rebuild the team and see what happens from there?

[Mr. P]

I think as long as we have Eli the window is still open.

 

Just depends on how long he plays before he retires or his play drops off drastically.

[gmenroc]

Yeah, Eli keeps that window propped open. I do think that the front office needs to be in constant communication with Eli to see when he intends to hang it up. Giants would be well off to get a QB in the 2nd round or so with a year or two remaining under Eli. That way, we have a guy with the tools to be a QB, but also a guy who can be developed, without having to suck royal ass for a season to get a high draft pick the following year.

[GorillaNJ]

Yeah, Eli keeps that window propped open. I do think that the front office needs to be in constant communication with Eli to see when he intends to hang it up. Giants would be well off to get a QB in the 2nd round or so with a year or two remaining under Eli. That way, we have a guy with the tools to be a QB, but also a guy who can be developed, without having to suck royal ass for a season to get a high draft pick the following year.

 

Do starting QB's even do that anymore? Maybe you get a guy like that to hold you over for a year or two until you get that early draft pick and land a top QB who can come in and start as a Rookie.

[gmenroc]

Do starting QB's even do that anymore? Maybe you get a guy like that to hold you over for a year or two until you get that early draft pick and land a top QB who can come in and start as a Rookie.

 

I'm not saying that Eli would take the new guy under his wing per se, but it'd give the new guy a chance to learn the plays, learn the system, get a relationship with the WRs...there'd be some more transition time for the new guy, which given it'd be a 2nd rounder, it'd be expected.

 

I think there is still an art to developing a QB in the NFL. College QBs are coming out more ready than they've ever been, but the guys you want starting for you day 1 of their rookie year, are all top half of the first round guys...and I don't want our Giants to suck bad enough, at any point, to have to pick that high.

[Nas]

I pretty much echo the same sentiement.. Eli is the main piece. I'm nto worried about others getting older, we have some up and coming stars ready to replace the aging and then there's FA.. it's the QB position that's very difficult.

[gmenroc]

Adding to the open window argument is the fact that Eagles are down...changing coach, scheme, uncertain at the QB position and the Cowboys are down...Romo aging, inconsistent on both sides of the ball, coach looking over shoulder at owner...

 

So 2 of the other 3 teams are kinda in a slump too, which allows the Giants to be just as competitive. Redskins can be scary good for years if RG3 comes back healthy with a healthy defense...remember them losing big pieces in the middle last year and them still taking the division...yeah, give them a good offseason this year and we could be looking up at them for a while.

[BronxRik]

It sure seemed to me that Eli took a few steps back this season. I'm not knocking him, but that "thing" he had in '11 where he basically put that team on his back and made them win just wasn't there. I've always felt that since SB42, the Giants sort of just 'felt out' an opponent and then played to win in the 4th qtr. You see other teams doing that now. Play like shit, looks like they're gonna lose, then BAM, wake up in the 4th blindsiding a defense. That winning formula is being copied. While Eli certainly is a huge piece of the puzzle, he can't do it all by himself all the time. What this team needs to 'keep the window open' is consistency. I'm not talking about blowout wins every week, but good, solid, strong games where an opponent knows we ain't fucking around. Every quarter. Every week. Not this 6-2 / 3-5 shit every year. Without consistency getting to the playoffs is just a crap shoot.

[Mr. P]

It sure seemed to me that Eli took a few steps back this season. I'm not knocking him, but that "thing" he had in '11 where he basically put that team on his back and made them win just wasn't there. I've always felt that since SB42, the Giants sort of just 'felt out' an opponent and then played to win in the 4th qtr. You see other teams doing that now. Play like shit, looks like they're gonna lose, then BAM, wake up in the 4th blindsiding a defense. That winning formula is being copied. While Eli certainly is a huge piece of the puzzle, he can't do it all by himself all the time. What this team needs to 'keep the window open' is consistency. I'm not talking about blowout wins every week, but good, solid, strong games where an opponent knows we ain't fucking around. Every quarter. Every week. Not this 6-2 / 3-5 shit every year. Without consistency getting to the playoffs is just a crap shoot.

 

 

True, he wasn't superman, batman, and hippie jesus all rolled into one this year.

[Sephiroth]

It almost seems like in the "rebuilding" years, the Giants surprise everyone and win the Super Bowl. Eli always gives us a chance, so I'm not overly concerned. I think we should draft an early-round guy though in the next 2-3 years to groom behind him, however.

[JMFP]

I think the window is optimistically open for another 5 years.

 

When it comes to QBs, 38 is like being 30 as a running back.

 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-10-08/sports/9910080025_1_george-blanda-dan-marino-nfl-quarterbacks

 

 

On pro football.

 

Once A Qb Hits 38, It's All Downhill

 

 

October 08, 1999

By Don Pierson.

 

 

Dan Marino can't help the way he played Monday night. He's 38 now, and that's when quarterbacks hit the wall. Marino was badly outplayed by Doug Flutie, who seems to grow with age and distance from Chicago. Marino just grows old.

Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson said Marino often threw to the wrong receiver, hurried some passes and held onto the ball too long on a costly fumble. The result was three turnovers, one third-down conversion in 14 chances and a defeat that dropped Miami to 2-1.

 

Marino was at fault on all three turnovers, Johnson said, although there also were breakdowns in pass protection.

 

"Dan's got to make some better decisions," Johnson said. "When he's getting banged around, he made some poor decisions."

 

Marino agreed: "There were a couple of decisions that I made throwing the football that I shouldn't have made."

 

But the evidence is clear. Marino played great on opening night in Denver and turned 38 two days later. Against Arizona the next week he threw two interceptions in a 19-16 squeaker. Then came the Buffalo loss.

 

Unconvinced? San Francisco's Steve Young will turn 38 Monday. He sat out last week with another concussion and probably will sit out again Sunday. His agent wants him to retire. He might as well, because odds are he won't be very good ever again.

 

With few exceptions, the age of 38 marks the beginning of the end for NFL quarterbacks. Denver's John Elway staggered through his final season after turning 38, missing four games with injury. He won it all and decided no way would he go through that again, even with history beckoning.

 

Young's predecessor, Joe Montana, played his final season for Kansas City at 38. He missed two games with a foot injury, lost the first playoff game and hung them up.

 

Warren Moon is an exception. He had one of his best years for the Minnesota Vikings the season he turned 39, starting all 16 games and throwing 33 touchdown passes. But the Vikings missed the 1995 playoffs at 8-8 and Moon left for Seattle. He's still a backup for Kansas City, but he hasn't lasted a whole season or made the playoffs.

 

George Blanda? He played until he was 48, but mainly as a kicker. When he was 38, he threw 30 interceptions for Houston and was traded after the next year to Oakland, where he never threw more than 58 passes in a season.

 

Sonny Jurgensen won the NFC passing title with Washington at age 40 in 1974, but he was sharing time with 35-year-old Billy Kilmer.

 

"There wasn't a good body between us," Jurgensen said.

 

The year Jurgensen turned 38, he was on crutches at the 1972 Super Bowl. The year Kilmer turned 38, he was benched for Joe Theismann.

 

Phil Simms started 16 games for the New York Giants at age 38 and was released before the next season.

 

Johnny Unitas led the Baltimore Colts to the Super Bowl title at age 37. At 38, he had Achilles surgery. He played until he was 40 but never threw more than four touchdown passes in a season after 37.

[fringe]

no

[UK-Giantsfan]

i see us as a little bit like NE

They have had low draft picks for years and years ...they constantly look like they are going into a rebuilding phase ......and yet they compete for a Championship ever bloody year .....becasue of Tom Brady and good coaching .

We are the same .....because of Eli.

I dont necessarily agree that we need to give up 'everything' to get our next QB .........( look where Brady was drafted ) ....and i still think today that EA gave up too much in the 2004 draft to be honest.

The Giants have a great Front Office , great staff , scouts and good coaches ......that is the main reason that the Window will remain open with Eli at the helm. ( IMO )

[Nas]

i see us as a little bit like NE

They have had low draft picks for years and years ...they constantly look like they are going into a rebuilding phase ......and yet they compete for a Championship ever bloody year .....becasue of Tom Brady and good coaching .

We are the same .....because of Eli.

I dont necessarily agree that we need to give up 'everything' to get our next QB .........( look where Brady was drafted ) ....and i still think today that EA gave up too much in the 2004 draft to be honest.

The Giants have a great Front Office , great staff , scouts and good coaches ......that is the main reason that the Window will remain open with Eli at the helm. ( IMO )

 

I see what you did there