NEW YORK — It’s hard to have confidence in Joe Schoen’s ability to pick the right quarterback for the Giants in April, when he and Brian Daboll have now made three different misjudgments at the team’s most important position. sport.
Especially when the most recent blunder was a completely unforced error.
When Schoen and Daboll arrested Daniel Jones and released him at his request, they skipped Drew Lock to start Tommy DeVito against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.
They thought DeVito gave them the best chance of winning.
But the result was an embarrassing 30-7 home loss in which Baker Mayfield mocked the entire Giants organization by doing DeVito’s touchdown symbol aggressively toward the crowd.
It was immediately obvious that Schoen and Daboll had picked the wrong quarterback.
So they started Lock not only in Dallas on Thanksgiving in place of the injured DeVito, but the following Sunday against the Saints when DeVito returned healthy.
They were then forced to return to DeVito after Lock was injured in last week’s 35-14 game against the Ravens, only for fourth man Tim Boyle to reveal with relief in the second half that he was also a best option.
Now, although DeVito has cleared the concussion protocol, Schoen and Daboll are pushing the hobbled Lock back onto the field with a bad left foot Sunday in Atlanta because they know he’s a better player.
They know it now. Apparently they didn’t know this a month ago.
This is the same duo that paid Jones a four-year, $160 million contract extension after the 2022 season.
And it’s the same regime that ruled out three quarterbacks in April’s draft, a group that included promising Broncos rookie Bo Nix and Sunday’s Falcons starter Michael Penix Jr.
Now, during the season, they couldn’t even properly judge which quarterbacks were the best on their own roster.
It will be another telling sign of their incompetence if DeVito is Lock’s replacement instead of Boyle on Sunday.
Boyle showed in the second half against Baltimore that he was clearly the better player. Malik Nabers even said Boyle led the offense like a starting player.
Decisions like demoting Boyle behind DeVito fuel outside speculation that the Giants are falling apart.
Lock said this week that all the starters’ flip-flops have been a whirlwind, but that’s the life of a backup.
“It’s work,” he said. “Me and Tommy both came here, not as starters. You have to be ready for your time to be the starter. It’s taken out, you go in, it’s taken out, you go in. It’s part of the concert.
“You always want to be the guy,” he continued. “It stinks to be apart. But sometimes it happens, and you just have to be ready for the next one. »
The question for Sunday, with the Giants (2-12) poised for a franchise-record 10th straight loss, is how much Lock will be able to move.
His escapes from the pocket and running have helped him survive poor protection recently. But he was hampered by a heel injury that left him “nowhere near” able to function a week ago, when he was an emergency third-string QB.
Regardless, a banged-up Lock remains the Giants’ best option. That’s where they are after Schoen, Daboll and the Giants picked the wrong quarterback — again — months before a crucial draft for the organization at the sport’s most critical position.
Okereke misses third consecutive match
Middle linebacker and captain Bobby Okereke misses third straight game with a back injury. Additionally, he hasn’t been seen in the Giants locker room once by the media since he was injured on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas – although Daboll claimed Okereke was in the facility every days.
Guard Aaron Stinnie (concussion) and forward Patrick Johnson (knee) are also out Sunday in Atlanta. So, undrafted rookie Jake Kubas is expected to start at left guard on the O-line.
Corner Greg Stroman (shoulder/shin) is doubtful. And five players are questionable: corner Deonte Banks (rib), edge Brian Burns (ankle/neck), running back Tyrone Tracy (ankle), linebacker Dyontae Johnson (ankle) and guard Austin Schlottmann (fibula).
Banks should be back in the starting lineup after missing the last three games. Burns and Tracy are also expected to play.
