Stop us when you’ve heard this before: the New York Giants would be a better team if someone else were the quarterback as opposed to Eli Manning. There is even one writer from New York Daily News that has put a name with this. That name is Buffalo Bills, QB Tyrod Taylor.
It’s been an ongoing theme for a while now and it’s been the same song and dance when something wrong happens. When the Giants were 2-3 and in the midst of a losing streak, fans wanted Manning put on the bench. Then those critics got silenced when the Giants went on a six-game winning streak and finished the season winning nine of the last 11 games and made the postseason for the first time since the 2011 season.
Even though Manning had another tremendous season for the Giants; over 4,000 yards, 26 touchdowns and a 63 completion percentage, there are those that think the Giants would be better off with another quarterback at the helm. New York Daily News writer Seth Walder made the case that the Giants would be better off with Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor as opposed to Manning, especially in the 2017 season.
If you didn’t read that right, yes, Walder would prefer Tyrod Taylor, whom, the Bills might not even keep and allow to be a free agent this off-season, as opposed to a two-time Super Bowl winning MVP who just lead his team back to the playoffs.
[Doug]
Walder’s case for Tyrod Taylor over Eli Manning was based on the fact that Taylor rushed for more yards; 580 yards and six touchdowns and threw fewer interceptions; threw six, than Manning. And he also threw in Manning’s age being a detractor as well; Manning turning 36 as opposed to Taylor, who is only 27.
Sure, Tyrod Taylor might have rushed for almost 600 yards and threw fewer interceptions, but there’s also a reason why Buffalo is considering going in a different direction and the team wanted to go in a different direction at quarterback even before Rex Ryan got fired.
Manning threw for more yards for the Giants than Taylor did as a passer and rusher combined. He also threw for more touchdowns and won more games for the Giants than Taylor has. In fact, Manning has won more games over the last two years (17) than Taylor did as the starter in Buffalo (14), and Manning had to deal with a lot more adversity than Taylor.
For one, Taylor had a much better running game behind him, especially with LeSean McCoy as his running back. Manning’s running game at times was non-existent. It was non-existent because of the offensive line being injured or playing poorly all season, which is another factor. Also, not having a legitimate tight end in the offense has also hampered the Giants and Manning’s ability to put points on the board; Taylor had a legitimate starting tight end on his team.
So according to Walder’s logic, his idea is to put Taylor behind the Giants injured offensive line, inept running game and without that legitimate tight end and expect him to produce better results?
[Sean2]
Good luck with that.
Tyrod Taylor, if he is moving on from Buffalo this off-season, will likely get a chance to play somewhere else because the need for quarterbacks in the NFL with a track record is at a premium, and if worse case, if the Giants wanted to bring in Taylor to be the backup to Manning next year, would be fine.
But to replace Manning with Taylor as the permanent starter is downright ludicrous. The Giants are built to win right now; the 11-5 season proved that they can win now. Manning proved that he can still excel with this team and play at a high level, but needs the other things around him to be taken care of.
If the Giants revamp the offensive line, which means shifting Ereck Flowers over to right tackle and adding a left tackle and right guard, finding a starting tight end who can stretch the field and fix the running game, the Giants, and Manning, will be just fine in 2017.
The Giants will not have a need for Taylor next season so long as Manning continues to drive the Giants in the right direction. Sorry Walder, but no, Tyrod Taylor is not the best option for the Giants at quarterback; Manning still is.