FanPost

What Mara and Gettleman Should Do To Fix the Giants

John Mara and Dave Gettleman have a responsibility to New York Giants fans to put a winning product on and off the field. The Mara ownership group has done a poor job over the past seven years making the necessary changes to keep the Giants competitive. Drastic efforts are needed to put the Giants back on the right track towards success. Some of these efforts could be considered controversial but need to be done.

The following changes should be made:

Trade Odell Beckham

Odell Beckham is a great talent. He is, however, a malcontent and a locker room cancer. This has been evident since the first day he stepped on the field with the team. He fooled the Giants brass with a feigned effort to show he could behave. In actuality, he was keeping his mouth shut so he could be paid. Once Beckham was rewarded for his "good behavior" he reverted right back to his normal unstable self.

I have written extensively about Beckham during my time commenting here at BBV. I believed back at the end of 2016, 2017 and before the 2018 NFL Draft that Beckham deserved to be somewhere else. My reasoning was simple, although Beckham is talented, he is mentally unstable and a detriment to Eli Manning and the locker room. We have seen Beckham and his antics time and time again come at the worst opportune times for the Giants. He is one mistake away from costing this team, literally.

The Giants made a poor decision by signing Beckham to an extension. They should have traded him before the 2018 NFL Draft. There were several teams interested. The Giants at that time, as they are now, were in dire need of high draft picks. The Giants could have parlayed a Beckham haul into a piece or potentially two that could have led the Giants down the right path for future success.

The Giants now need to make a crucial decision, do they keep Beckham and roll the dice or do they make the hard, unpopular but necessary decision and trade him away? The answer is clear! Beckham needs to be traded! Great teams don't thrive with elite wide receivers. Just look back over the 50 or so winning Super Bowl squads and notice the common denominators. Teams that win Super Bowls generally win with a) a clutch QB b) strong defense c) capable offensive line

The outlier to this was the San Francisco 49er' teams with Jerry Rice. There will never be another Jerry Rice! He was an immensely talented player who was unselfish. That combination is exceedingly rare. Rice took care of his body and was a team player. Most talented wide receivers are prima donnas and do not last long in the NFL.

The Giants need to make the difficult decision and trade Beckham before the trade deadline. I believe the Giants could still land a player + draft pick or combination that could lead this team in the right direction. This team should be led by Saquon Barkley. He should be the face of the franchise for the next 10 years. Having Beckham here will not be good from his growth. In actuality, the longer Beckham is here the franchise is risking damage to Barkley. This segues into my next topic.

Saquon Barkley

I believe Dave Gettleman made the right decision with drafting Saquon Barkley. He is that good! He is a generational talent. He is the best running back to be in the NFL since Walter Payton. I believe Barkley has the potential to be better than Payton. He is special!

The Giants have a choice to make. Barkley is a prototype football player with exemplary character. He should be the cornerstone of this team for the next 7-10 years. In order to take advantage of his immense character value and talent, the Giants need to rebuild the team to suit his unique skill sets.

The first move needed is to trade Beckham. Having Beckham on the team will lead to adverse consequences. Beckham will not be able to deal with emotionally not being the best football player on the field. As Barkley continues to break records and amaze football fans expect Beckham to become more mentally unhinged. The sooner Beckham can be moved the better for the health of Barkley and the team.

Barkley will need a superior offensive line to work behind. This will not only benefit Barkley but ultimately the rookie quarterback who will lead this franchise. I will discuss later my strategy for the Giants for the next few seasons.

Offensive Line

There is one player on the Giants offensive line which I foresee as being part of the long-term plan for this franchise. That player is Will Hernandez. The rest of the offensive line will need to be upgraded over the next five years. I believe the Nate Solder signing was a necessary mistake. The Giants needed to bring in an adequate LT to be used as a bridge until the next era.

The Will Hernandez pick will be seen in a more positive light as the team develops complementary players on the line. I would have liked to see a third or a fourth-round pick invested in the offensive line. There just aren't enough capable line players coming out of college. My view is that those picks carry a higher premium for a team in the Giants position.

The Giants decided to jettison Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg. I understand the rationale but the Giants should have kept Pugh. They did not replace him with anyone as capable. He could have played either right guard or tackle. He would have been like Solder a transitional piece for the line. The neglect and deterioration of the offensive line have adversely affected Eli Manning.

Eli Manning

The million dollar question is what to do with Eli Manning. This team is no longer equipped to win with Eli Manning. The Giants should sit down with Manning and explain to him the current situation. They should respect his service with the team and leave on good terms. I would trade Eli Manning to the Jacksonville Jaguars for whatever compensation offered.

The Giants are not going to receive much for Manning at this juncture in his career. I would expect a mid to late round pick from the Jaguars. This trade, however, would provide the Giants some necessary short-term cap relief. The Giants made a mistake by not playing Davis Webb last season. The Giants should not make the same mistake with Kyle Lauletta. Some people believe Lauletta is a marginal QB prospect. He should have a chance to play.

The Giants could also offer a trade to the Cleveland Browns. An Eli Manning/Tyrod Taylor trade could benefit both teams. The experience and leadership of Eli Manning could provide invaluable to Baker Mayfield. Tyrod Taylor has no place left in Cleveland and is a better than average QB. He could step right into the Pat Shurmur offense and provide a capable option until the Giants draft their Eli replacement. He could also split time with Lauletta and provide a veteran option for the next year or so. The Tyrod route is an option for the Giants if they feel Lauletta is no more than a backup quarterback. The Giants will ultimately need to draft an Eli replacement.

Who Will Replace Eli?

The Giants should position themselves to draft Tua Tagovailoa in 2020. He should be their eventual target to replace Eli Manning. The Giants will need to accept the fact that the rest of 2018 and 2019 are going to be dedicated to building a stable and consistent winning franchise.

I believe Tagovailoa will be better than last year's crop of starting quarterbacks. He reminds me of Steve Young, but better. I think the Giants need to start amassing draft capital to position themselves for the eventuality of having to part with draft picks to land Tagovailoa.

Is Shurmur the Answer?

No! I did not like the hiring. I feel Shurmur is a coordinator. A nice guy! He is not as much as a beta male as Ben McAdoo but he does not have the personality needed to lead the Giants. The Giants need a head coach who is a game manager. The Giants need a strong leader who assigns the offensive and defensive play-calling duties to capable coordinators.

Bill Parcells did this effectively! The Giants need to find their next Bill Parcells. For all the slack Tom Coughlin gets he did have the leadership qualities needed for this football team. He was combative at times and his attitude is what eventually led to his departure.

Shurmur will toil in mediocrity. He is not the long-term answer for this team. Gettleman will need to eventually right this wrong. I think there is a good chance of a McAdooesque implosion. We have seen already a level of testiness from Shurmur with the media. He is a powderkeg waiting to blow. A lot of passive-aggressive energy there.

My guess is Shurmur does not last to 2020. I think there is at least a 50/50 chance he doesn't make it to next season. The right decision for Gettleman and company is to admit their fault with the Shurmur hire and move on from the mistake.

Other Moves

The Giants need to free up salary where possible. There only should be a handful of players who should be deemed untouchable. The core of the new Giants team should be Saquon Barkley, Will Hernandez, Sterling Shepard, Landon Collins, and Evan Engram.

Every other player outside that core five group should be considered for trade or release. The Giants could shed some serious salary if they could trade Janoris Jenkins, Olivier Vernon, and Damon Harrison. These three players are carrying a significant salary load and will be a burden until 2021. A trade of at least one of these players would help alleviate some of this burden in the short term.

Trading Beckham and Manning will also help the Giants as they look to retool for the future. The Giants will need the financial flexibility to invest in the offensive and defensive lines. The next two players I feel the Giants should trade after Manning and Beckham are Elli Apple and Harrison. Both have shown propensities of causing issues in the locker room. Two talented players but more trouble than what they are worth to the overall health of the team.

Other Thoughts

The Giants need to spend more time looking into the psychological profiles of the players and coaches they are committing large sums of financial and time capital to. The Giants have made poor financial, managerial and roster structural decisions over the past seven years that have contributed to the current state of affairs. These issues need to be addressed before this team can become a winner again.

I do believe this team can right the proverbial ship. It will be painful for Giant fans for the next two seasons. There will be a lot of losing. However, if the right structure is put into place I don't see why the Giants cannot become a perennial title contender again.

FanPosts are written by community members. This is simply a way for community members to express opinions too long to be contained in a comment.