The Case for Joe Schoen...

... and Brian Daboll. Faith in Daniel Jones backfired. Here's why empowering the GM to pursue & draft a quarterback — finally — is the New York Giants' best course of action.

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There goes Saquon Barkley. He’s in the end zone again. Someone please check on John Mara.

The dashing… juking… reverse-hurdling… Olympic-worthy back may rush for more yards than anyone in NFL history. He has the Philadelphia Eagles thinking Super Bowl again. We all crave a juicy subplot to the greatest reality show on earth — pro football — so one dominant narrative has emerged this 2024 season. The New York Giants are universally panned as fools for allowing this to happen, for somehow handing Barkley to an archrival on a silver platter.

Right there on the “Hard Knocks” screen, we all saw Mara trembling in fear over this exact scenario. When the Eagles host the Giants the final week of the season at The Linc, don’t be surprised if the team blasts the clip on its 192- and 160-foot videoboards. Daytime TV muppets have been casting GM Joe Schoen as a stooge the last three months.

And all of it grossly misses the mark.

Barkley could win the MVP award and launch Philly into the Super Bowl. The Giants’ mistake was never waving goodbye to a running back in free agency.

To really understand how the Giants reached their 10th losing season in 12 years, you’ve got to rewind alllll the way back to one of this sport’s defining dates: April 26, 2018. That’s when Dave Gettleman declined to both draft a quarterback or auction off the No. 2 overall pick to the highest bidder to select Barkley No. 2 overall. I know, I know. You’re sick of hearing that name. Gettleman is the dusty, Duct-taped punching bag hanging in the back part of your basement. There’s no need to rehash those miserable days. However, that’s the only place to start. Crazy as it sounds, the decision to draft a player who’d become the best running back in the NFL somehow set the franchise back nearly a decade.

In ’19, Gettleman selected Daniel Jones No. 6 overall.

Three years later, a new regime was ushered in.

This new regime incorrectly doubled down on both.

It’s taken too long but the Giants organization finally has the opportunity to turn the page on two draft picks that should’ve never happened. The opinion here? Joe Schoen deserves the opportunity to draft the team’s next quarterback. Through the numbing pain of another lost season, it’s difficult to take a deep breath and see the bigger picture. New York is 2-10. But this isn’t the Fan Appreciation Soda Hell of 2021. This isn’t a team rolling over an NFL-low $13,986 in cash.

Mara needs to remember why he hired Schoen in the first place.

Schoen helped identify and Brian Daboll developed the quarterback the Giants should’ve drafted back on that fateful day: Wyoming’s Josh Allen.

Failing to give them the opportunity to do the same in New York would be wrong.

This week’s Friday Feature examines why.

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Obviously, we’ve been bullish on everything Schoen and Daboll. Both helped align the tracks for this runaway freight train of a quarterback. Last weekend, the Bills won their fifth straight division title. Not even the Kelly-Bruce-Thurman-Andre teams of the 90s accomplished this feat. Hit the bull’s eye at the most important position in sports and that quarterback has the power to erase just about any problem that’ll arise at any point on the roster.

One bold choice helped vanquish an entire generation of losing.

The allure of this union was twofold.

• A.) They had zero ties to ownership. Finally, the Maras stepped outside of their comfort zone.

• B.) They knew what it’d take to find and develop their own Josh Allen in East Rutherford.

Not giving this duo a swing at Their Guy would render their employment the last three years a waste of time. Start over — again — and you might as well of never hired them. It won’t be easy in the face of suffocating pressure but Mara owes it to himself and the franchise to officially turn the page on Everything Jones, Everything Barkley and give this scouting staff and this coaching staff a fair shot at a clean slate of a quarterback.

The GM’s mistake is obvious. He chose to roll with Jones for three seasons. To many, that’s a fireable offense. I hear you. Even into ’24, he was a wild card. That’s why we had Jones hanging by a crane in our “One Giant Leap” series last August. Hell, I don’t think we’ve vacillated on one player more in our four years of existence than the former Duke quarterback. He can tease.

Take this all year to year, and it’s easy to see how Schoen got himself into this pickle.

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At the starter’s gun, the GM displayed skepticism. Let’s remember, he made 2022 an audition for Jones by refusing to pick up the quarterback’s fifth-year option.

In a dream scenario, the Giants would’ve somehow used their No. 5 and/or No. 7 overall selections to select the quarterback of the future. Unfortunately, Schoen’s timing was awful. This just so happened to be a horrid class. One scout told our Bob McGinn, “This is the worst group I think I’ve ever done.” He was right. Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, Desmond Ridder and Sam Howell are all on their second teams. Matt Corral’s out of the NFL. The best of the bunch slipped past everyone’s radar. Brock Purdy, “Mr. Irrelevant,” was picked 262nd.

Defying all expectations, the Giants started 6-1. Despite a dearth of weaponry, Jones steered New York to the playoffs, totaled 379 yards and two scores in a road playoff win and helped Daboll win Coach of the Year. So… what now? If Schoen were to follow that trusty Bills roadmap, this is exactly when he’d draft a quarterback. Remember, those Bills also won unexpectedly in Year 1 with Tyrod Taylor. But those Bills also had an extra first-rounder in their back pocket to use as trade ammo. Even if the Giants desperately wanted to acquire Their Guy, at this point, they were far out of range at No. 25 overall. Bryce Young (No. 1), C.J. Stroud (No. 2) and Anthony Richardson (No. 4) flew off the board. Will Levis (No. 33) has been little more than a blooper-reel quarterback.

At this point, the Giants made a fair calculation. Schoen dared to wonder what a 25-year-old Daniel Jones could still become with more coaching from Daboll and more talent around him.

So, it was Decision Time. Jones was a free agent. Barkley was a free agent. Both negotiations went down to the wire. This GM’s fear was every GM’s fear: Paying a quarterback so much money that it becomes difficult to put pieces around him. I was told the Giants offered Barkley $13 million per year at this point. (He’s currently making $12.58M per year in Philly) That would’ve allowed the Giants to apply the franchise tag to Jones and maintain flexibility if 2023 went south. Barkley’s camp wasn’t having it. One source indicates they asked New York for $17 million per year because they believed he was superior to Christian McCaffrey.

The Giants hoped to extend Barkley and maintain some semblance of leverage in Jones negotiations — to either tag him or move on.

Instead, they needed to tag Barkley and extend Jones.

If Jones continued to progress, he’d naturally play his way into the four-year, $160 million deal.

If Jones flopped, his contract was equipped with a two-year escape hatch.

Injuries ravaged the offensive line. Jones was bad. Jones tore his ACL. And Tommy DeVito muscled his way to three late-season wins that guided the Giants right out of the Top 3 draft selections. That Combine, we advocated for the Giants to claw from No. 6 overall up the board for a top quarterback. They never could. USC’s Caleb Williams was destined to be a Chicago Bear. The Giants loved Jayden Daniels, but no way was Washington trading its No. 2 pick to a division foe. The Giants were also high on North Carolina’s Drake Maye — he would’ve been a perfect fit. Yet, it takes two to tango. Patriots boss Eliot Wolf was not budging.

Time will tell if Schoen should’ve pulled the trigger on one of the other quarterbacks at No. 6: J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. Only Michigan’s McCarthy drew some consideration.

LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers was a slam-dunk playmaker, an alpha who reminded the GM of Steve Smith and Stefon Diggs.

Nabers would help the Giants learn, once and for all, if Jones was the answer.

He was not. Jones flopped. Turns out, it never mattered what the Giants did around the position. From different coordinators, Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney under one regime to Daboll and the likes of Darren Waller, Jalin Hyatt, Wan’Dale Robinson and Nabers under the next regime, the Giants have effectively spent six full years trying make something out of a quarterback who never had it.

But… how?

How does a quarterback who completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,205 yards with another 708 rushing yards, 22 total touchdowns and only five interceptions in Year 1 under the same coach who helped springboard Josh Allen regress so sharply? One team source thinks the contract might’ve changed Jones, citing the fact that the quarterback once dismissed the deal himself as “only” a two-year pact. Strange considering he’d make a minimum of $80 million. This was sandwiched by Jones displeasure with the Giants refusing to pick up his fifth-year option and the Giants flirting with those prospects on “Hard Knocks.” (“It ticks you off a little bit to see,” Jones told Go Long. “It’s not fun.”)

At the same time, you can see why people have viewed Jones as a true QB1. Off the field, he’s stoic. He handles the heat without breaking a sweat. To the bitter end, Jones was a true pro in thanking the fans with a heartfelt written statement. He has always possessed intriguing physical tools and works his ass off. But when he takes the field, as one source said: “Wires get crossed. He just doesn't see the field well.” Jones is described as “very cerebral,” yet an “over-thinker.” Basically, the opposite of the guy this group was around before. Allen was at his best playing freely.

For a while, the Giants believed Jones would be able to process information, trust it, spit the ball out.

He never turned that corner. He never played off instinct.

Readers may remember players detailing a special rapport between Daboll and Allen. Their personalities matched magnificently. Some prominent leaders on that roster still believe this tandem could’ve entered a Reid-Mahomes realm together. Jones’ personality was (much) different. Anybody watching a training camp practice could immediately spot the difference between the fiery Daboll and austere Jones.

Maybe there’s another perfect match out there.

Schoen and his scouts have been on the road this fall. Searching. Scouting. By all early accounts, this year’s crop is impressive.

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This has been another bonkers season. In Week 2, kicker Graham Gano pulled his hamstring on a kick return that was flagged back. New York didn’t have a kicker all game and became the second team in NFL history to lose while scoring three touchdowns and allowing none. Gano was nursing a sore groin but had no problem drilling long kicks in pregame. If Gano doesn’t suffer this freak injury or if Nabers hangs onto a fourth-and-4 ball with 2 minutes left, the Giants win.

Does this season veer down a different track? Maybe.

You can pinpoint a handful of crushing plays.

Two weeks later, Robinson had a third and 6 drop at midfield with 3:34 left that could’ve sparked a win over Dallas.

Two weeks later, vs. Cincinnati, a 56-yarder to Darius Slayton was called back due to an illegal man downfield penalty.

Two weeks later, vs. Pittsburgh, a touchdown was called back on an illegal shift.

All while the Giants lost their best player — left tackle Andrew Thomas — in the middle of October.

The list of bad breaks is long, but it also exposes this team’s problem. All along, they needed a quarterback capable of rising above the muck. Jones never could. A lot has gone wrong since he signed his monster contract, but he was never able to overcome it all.

Now, it’s on Mara to decide if his latest general manager warrants a second chance.

If he retains Schoen, it wouldn’t be unprecedented. We’ve seen GMs whiff on both draft picks and deals, be it Andrew Berry on the Deshaun Watson trade and contract, Jason Light selecting Jameis Winston No. 1 overall or John Lynch dealing three first-round picks for Trey Lance. Even the great Howie Roseman had to bail on the Carson Wentz contract. GMs are going to miss. It’s on owners to find GMs that’ll eventually hit a home run. Nick Caserio went through 4-13 (with David Culley) and 3-13-1 (with Lovie Smith) seasons before hiring DeMeco Ryans and changing the franchise with the selections of C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr.

The silver lining here is that the Giants were able to exit the Daniel Jones business mostly unscathed. Cleveland’s draft capital was gutted, in addition to the $230 million in guarantees to Watson. Jacksonville paid Trevor Lawrence $200 million guaranteed and — while there are obviously other issues — the former No. 1 pick is 22-38 as a starter. (Jones finished 22-44-1).

This spring, the Giants will have about $60 million in cap space available. There are A-level talents at defensive tackle (Dexter Lawrence), left tackle (Andrew Thomas) and edge rusher (Brian Burns). Schoen’s first two drafts have obvious regrets — hello, Evan Neal! — but the ’24 class includes an ascending star in Nabers (75 receptions, 740 receiving yards, three scores in 10 games), a new RB1 in Tyrone Tracy (619 rushing yards, four scores), as well as a new starting tight end (Theo Johnson) and safety (Tyler Nubin).

Whoever’s running this team will have a premium pick to select a quarterback and money to spend in free agency.

Not to distract from the 500-pound gorilla sitting at your Thanksgiving Day table.

These Giants also couldn’t beat a Dallas team starting Cooper Rush at quarterback. In that 27-20 defeat, wideout CeeDee Lamb only played one half. Not good. This 2024 season is also in danger of total collapse. There could be a deeper rock bottom. Lawrence and Johnson are now joining Thomas and Azeez Ojulari on IR. Go 2-15 or 3-14 and Mara may feel as if he has no choice but to clean house again. It’s a narrow needle to thread. The Giants desperately need to win to sell a product to ownership. The 2-8 Tennessee Titans upset the Houston Texans and the 2-9 Las Vegas Raiders were one botched snap from stunning the back-to-back champions.

Given the NFL’s inherent parity, the Giants must prove they belong.

Losing to Tampa Bay 30-7 — off a bye week, at home — is embarrassing.

More losses like this and there likely will be accountability. To some degree.

Yet, it’s also a Catch-22. Two or three wins may drive the Giants out of quarterback range.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: This will not be an enjoyable month of football for the New York Giants.

As Mara loses sleep over Barkley’s exploits in Philly, he should realize the running back’s presence wouldn’t change much in New Jersey. His 2-10 product on the field would be 4-8 and he’d sell more merch. That’s about it. And that’s why a quarterback should always win the most valuable player award. Extract Allen from the Bills roster, plug him into New York’s roster and Schoen is thinking championship every season like his pal Brandon Beane. Behind the best line in football, Barkley’s 3.9 yards before contact rank No. 1 amongst all backs in the NFL. Last year, with the Giants, it was 1.9.

If anything, Schoen should’ve traded his best player way back at that ‘22 deadline.

Without the quarterback, the entire operation crumbles.

Restraint is rare today. The pressure to win — and win now — is immense in all 32 markets… let alone New York City. The day-to-day news cycle here is unlike any in the league. The chorus for change is roaring. But here’s thinking the best reaction to another lost season is a deep breath. Let this regime do what they were hired to do all along.

Draft a quarterback. Develop a quarterback.

And one year from now, perhaps Cam Ward is throwing bombs to Malik Nabers and everyone wonders what all the fuss was about.

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