Wow, The Giants Are Really Benching Eli Manning for Geno Smith

Geno Smith is starting for the Giants on Sunday against the Raiders. This is significant because Eli Manning had been the team’s starter for 210 consecutive games, spanning 13 years and two Super Bowl victories.

In a release from the Giants, Eli acknowledged he was given the opportunity to start and get benched during the game, but declined:

"“Coach McAdoo told me I could continue to start while Geno and Davis are given an opportunity to play,” Manning said. “My feeling is that if you are going to play the other guys, play them. Starting just to keep the streak going and knowing you won’t finish the game and have a chance to win it is pointless to me, and it tarnishes the streak. Like I always have, I will be ready to play if and when I am needed. I will help Geno and Davis prepare to play as well as they possibly can.”"

This is a pretty crazy story. Geno Smith was … not splendid … during his tenure with the Jets, but I guess I can kinda sorta see how the Giants would want to evaluate him and rookie Davis Webb with the rest of this lost season.