Giants Country

Phil Simms surprised with timing of Giants' quarterback switch

Phil Simms expressed surprise that the Giants made a switch at quarterback after just two weeks.

Patricia Traina

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants eventual switch at quarterback wasn’t necessarily unexpected, but what did catch several people off-guard was the timing of the decision.

Former Giants quarterback Phil Simms was one such individual who was surprised by the timing of the decision.

Simms, an analyst for Showtime’s Inside the NFL, said in a segment that aired on Tuesday, September 17, “I thought they’d wait a little longer to see that they were clearly not going to be a playoff team.

“The offense has actually had some spurts where they’ve played okay. It wasn’t like Eli was just a disaster out there.”

In two games, Manning, playing behind an improved offensive line has completed 56 out of 89 pass attempts for 556 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions for a 78.7 passer rating.

However, the Giants, despite averaging 420.0 yards per game, have only scored 31 points over two games. They have also struggled on third downs, converting just five out of 23 attempts (21.7%).

Shurmur, who hasn’t yet spoken to the media about his decision to change quarterbacks—he is due to speak to the media for the first time since the decision was made on Wednesday—is believed to be looking for a spark to ignite the Giants offense.

Although Jones is a rookie it holy a handful of NFL regular-season snaps under his belt, the Giants are apparently banking on him to give them a spark and settle in for the long term as one of their offensive leaders.

Simms noted that Jones’ ability to run could give the Giants a totally new dimension they didn’t necessarily have with Manning under center.

“We’re going to see some running plays put into their offense that we haven’t seen before,” he said. “[He] throws the ball very accurately. [He] moves around. He played in a professional offense at Duke, so I think that those are all factors.

“And the biggest of all, Pat Shurmur drafted Daniel Jones. Why? Because Daniel Jones fits the offense exactly the way he wants to run one.” 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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