Hometown Sports: A (New York) Giant Mess

April 25, 2019 is a day that will always live in infamy for me. 

To most people, that day means absolutely nothing. But to me, it marked the start of a dark era in my Giants fandom — it was the day the Giants general manager Dave Gettleman drafted quarterback Daniel Jones sixth overall.

Not only did drafting a quarterback mark the start of a new era in East Rutherford, but it also marked the end of a happier time when the great Eli Manning led us to two Super Bowls.

Since that eventful day, the Giants have gone 31-63-1, the second worst record among all 32 NFL teams, only ahead of the New York Jets, whom they share a stadium with.

That’s awful company.

The “Danny Dimes” chapter in New York was nothing short of a disaster. While he showed promise in his rookie year, throwing over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns, he’d never match those highs again during his tenure.

The truth is, it isn’t Jones’ fault for how unsuccessful his time on the Giants was. The blame has to be placed on the front office. During the six years he played for Big Blue, Jones experienced two general managers and three head coaches, with each coach getting a two-year stint with the QB. 

Mismanagement is an understatement for how the Giants treated Jones’ development, and it’s undoubtedly the cause of the team’s failure. There are talent issues around the roster that have always plagued Jones — despite the team’s best efforts to draft, trade or sign a quality offensive line and receivers, no move has ever had a positive outcome.

From draft busts like Kadarius Toney, to free agent busts like Kenny Golladay, to trade busts like Darren Waller, no receiver has been able to capture sufficient success in the Giant’s system.

Since 2019, the most yards a receiver has had in a year was Darius Slayton with 770 yards last season. 

This year, rookie Malik Nabers already has 740 yards in only 10 games and offers a rare glimpse of hope for the Giant’s future. 

But it’s too little too late, as the team is still awful and struggles to keep their quarterbacks upright. 

Since 2019, the team has allowed a league-leading 305 sacks, 208 of which have been to Jones for the third-highest mark in the league — Russell Wilson and Baker Mayfield are the only QBs to be sacked more since 2019, and have played 12 and 17 games more than Jones.

Since he joined the NFL in 2019, Jones has experienced a plethora of injuries — two sprained ankles, multiple hamstring strains, one concussion, two pinched nerves in his neck and a torn ACL, causing him to miss 25 of the 95 Giants games with him on the roster.

The last two injuries were what likely marked the end of Jones’ time with the Giants. During the disaster of their 2023 season, the Giants started 1-4 through the first five games. That’s when Jones was blindsided by Miami Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel and pulled from the game with the second neck injury of his career.

He didn’t return to the field until four weeks later, when the Giants faced the Las Vegas Raiders. On the first play of the second quarter, Jones did a three-step drop when his right knee buckled and he went down. As a Giants fan, it’s a moment I’ll never forget.

This putrid start made the 2022 Giants seem like a distant memory — a time when many had the Giants pegged to finish last in the division. By some miracle the team overperformed. 

They started 7-2, finished 9-7-1, traveled to Minnesota and dethroned the 13-4 Vikings in the wildcard round behind over 300 yards passing and four touchdowns from Jones. He put up the single best performance I’ve seen from a New York Giant since 9-year-old Nate saw Eli Manning lead the Giants to their fourth Super Bowl over the daunting New England Patriots.

Moments like that were why I fell in love with the Giants. The legendary heroics of quarterback Eli Manning, the early seasons of prime Odell Beckham Jr., witnessing the rise of Saquon Barkley and those rare games where the true potential of Daniel Jones outshined the poor supporting cast surrounding him. 

The water in the pot came to boil after the Giants faced the Carolina Panthers, where Jones looked horrid. His two costly interceptions and numerous overthrows caused the loss and ultimately led to him being benched for second-year quarterback Tommy Devito. 

Then, four days after his benching, the situation somehow escalated. After being benched, Jones was demoted all the way to fourth string quarterback as the team looked to avoid paying his $23 million guarantee for next season if Jones was to get injured.

Combined with the Giants reportedly playing Jones at scout team safety, the decision was clear — he was never going to play another down for the Giants. 

After his last practice Nov. 21, Jones went to owner John Mara’s office and asked to be released, officially ending his time in New York. Since then, he’s signed with the Minnesota Vikings, where we’ll see if he can revive what once was a promising career

With Jones finding a fresh start, we fast-forward to the present day — and I’m bitter. 

The Giants are tied at the bottom of the league at 2-10, they’ve been led by a revolving door at quarterback with Drew Lock and Tommy Devito, all-pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is out for the season and former Giants stars like Xavier Mckinney and Saquon Barkley are thriving in greener pastures.

It’s frustrating, it’s unwatchable and most of all it’s exhausting. 

No matter how many benefits-of-the-doubt Giants fans give the front office, they can’t find a way to right the course of the team. 

Like Giants owner John Mara said when Saquon Barkley considered signing with our bitter rivals in Philadelphia — “I’m going to have a tough time sleeping.”

Well, it’s been nine months since Saquon left us for the Eagles, and while he’s leading a playoff run and MVP campaign for division rivals, the Giants are once again competing for a top-five pick, and I’m having trouble sleeping.