BY LESLIE MONTEIRO
(Photo credit: Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
There has not been much buzz about the Giants since they hired Joe Schoen as their general manager and Brian Daboll as head coach. Not only do they lack steak, but they lack sizzle. You can get more sizzle out of a cheap Tad’s steak than the Giants.
There is no reason to pay attention to the Giants. They stink. They have no players out there that will give a reason for anyone to watch them. Not even Daniel Jones’ return from a neck injury can get any Giants fan excited. The only thing they got going for them is the Giants’ two high draft picks (No.,5 and No.7) in the first round, but that does not get anyone excited in a football-starved market.
The Giants need to make it count with those two draft picks. They should trade both of those picks to acquire Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Now, that will get everyone talking locally and nationally. It would mean the Giants would be back on the football map. That creates the sizzle to make a great steak.
Don’t talk about a better tomorrow. The NFL has been known for Not For Long. Opportunities of getting Rodgers doesn’t happen often. Winning seasons tend to be precious as the Giants and their fans come to understand now. How could Schoen say no to not trading the picks for Rodgers?
Yes, a team is built through the draft. But a great quarterback masks lack of depth and development within the roster. A great quarterback can overcome weakness on a roster. A great quarterback can make a team awful to great fast. That’s why getting Rodgers is important.
The Giants have an opportunity to be a Super Bowl contender on one move. They have the assets to get Rodgers. They would be fools not to do it.
Giants fans suffered through bad football since they last saw their team win the Super Bowl. They deserved to see their team play for something for a change. They should be able to watch their team contend all season rather than have their season end before the baseball playoffs and Halloween start. The Giants should give them a reason to be proud of and watch them every Sunday.
Trusting the process by building a team throughout the draft does not work in the NFL. It definitely doesn’t work in New York. This is a city that lacks patience with young players. Just ask any team in town that went through a rebuilding period, especially the Knicks.
Giants fans saw enough of the process by failed general manager Dave Gettleman. They don’t need to watch another one.
In the NFL, it’s the results only. That’s why the Giants should be motivated to get Rodgers. He gives them a chance to be in the playoffs and maybe win a playoff game. Who knows? Maybe win a Super Bowl before he finishes off his illustrious career.
So what if he’s 38? Age is a number, and he showed signs he hasn’t lost it. Tom Brady was good at that age, and he is good now. He is so good that he is considering coming back from retirement. So the age argument does nothing here.
There’s nothing for the Giants to lose by acquiring him. The team stinks without him, so how much worse can they be? Give me a guy who can win now rather than investing a player who can contribute few years from now.
Part of Schoen’s job as general manager is worry about later when the time comes. Right now, his job is to win now. The Giants missed the playoffs for eight time in nine years. Getting to the playoffs should be a sense of urgency than building for the future and achieving sustained success.
The Giants need to eliminate the excuses of not getting Rodgers. Instead, they must find solutions to get him. This is as good as it gets. They got the assets to get him. They provide an allure for him to play here just by location. He can win them the Super Bowl just by being there.
There’s really nothing to lose for them to get Rodgers. The pros outweigh the cons by a whole margin here when you talk about the player of his ilk.
The Giants should be taking a risk. This is a high risk, high reward move.
Schoen would be more hailed for getting him than building a team in the long run. That’s a great way to make a first impression in a town that needs to be impressed right away.
Getting Rodgers would mean sizzle and steak for the Giants.
