What Giants season-ticket holders are saying about the benching of Eli Manning

EAST RUTHERFORD — The stunning news that the Giants were benching quarterback Eli Manning and turning to Geno Smith as their starter for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders caused quite a ripple in the New York sports landscape.

So we reached out to Giants season-ticket holders and asked for their reaction to the decision made by coach Ben McAdoo to insert Smith into the lineup and send Manning to the sideline, effectively ending his consecutive regular-game start streak at 210 - the second-longest in NFL history for quarterbacks.

Here is a sampling of their responses:

Tom Prendergast, Section 146

"Sad day in Giants history. A once storied organization has been hobbled by one year of complete incompetence. John Mara is asleep at the wheel. I won’t burn my tickets, I won’t sell my tickets, but I sure as hell won’t be there for the remaining games.

What they did to Eli was akin to pinch hitting for Jeter in his last at bat at the stadium. Shame on them. This is not a sound football decision, nor a sound fiscal decision. None of it makes sense for a such a class act.

If anyone thinks Eli is the main problem on this team, they are wrong."

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Ryan Hager, Section 217

My family has had season tickets for the Giants for over 50 years. The fondest memories of my childhood were attending those home games with my father, uncle, and grandfather. When the Giants pushed Coach Coughlin out and allowed Jerry Reese to keep his job I was extremely hurt. Coach had always gotten the most out of his players and won two super bowls with average talent. One of the reasons I love the Giants so much is because of Wellington Mara. He built a first class organization that stressed the importance of pride, loyalty, and respect. Coach Coughlin and Eli Manning were the embodiment of these traits. There was no better example of Eli’s true character and strength than that NFC Championship game against the 49ers. Eli got beat up all game, but just like he did his entire career he shook it off and moved onto the next play. Never did he make a scene or blame anyone else but himself. For these memories I am forever in debt to Coach and Eli.

In terms of Eli being the scapegoat, I am dumbfounded. Reese did not draft Eli but has reaped all the benefits from his performance. Mcadoo has accomplished nothing and is trying to throw Eli under the bus. When OBJ acted shamefully not a word was said nor was a significant punishment handed out. When Apple and Jenkins quit on plays not a word was said, but when a man who has given his all to a franchise for his entire career makes a few mistakes the coach calls him out publicly. Mcadoo is an arrogant coach who thinks that his system is the second coming. Any great coach evaluates the talent of a team and builds a system around those players, not Mcadoo. If I were John Mara, and Reese and Mcadoo came to me trying to blame Eli for this season, I would have fired them both on the spot for not taking accountability for their action. I have so much more to say, but my rant ends here. Sorry that my thoughts were all over the place, but I am beside myself right now:

Story continues after this video of Eli Manning's reaction to being benched:

Jeff Marx

I haven't been a season ticket holder in many years but I've been a fan of this franchise since my dad took me to see my first game at Yankee Stadium, the last game of the 1969 season when they beat the Cleveland Browns. I have a lot of memories over the years. Some good, some great and some not so good, but I'm not sure I can remember a time I was so disappointed with ownership. I still have a hand-written letter from 1982 sent by Wellington Mara in response to a letter I sent imploring him to end the dispute and sign Rob Carpenter already. Wellington didn't always make the best football decisions but he certainly cared about his team and their fans. Maybe John does too. I don't know, but I'm guessing his dad would disapprove of how one of the franchise's best players was just treated. Tom Coughlin once said "Change is coming. It's inevitable so wrap your head around it." He was right of course. But there's a right way and a wrong way to deal with change and what we just witnessed is a stern lesson of what not to do.

John Canlas, Section 310

Today's actions by the organization are compelling enough for me to consider putting up my PSLs for sale. It would certainly be one thing to if the Giants were in contention or if Eli were the sole reason for this God-awful season (I could name 10 other reasons before Eli). It's upsetting to see the lack of loyalty and respect for the face of the franchise who always operated with class and dignity - he represented the Giants well.

And to think that Reese and Mac have not been fired because it's not 'the Giants way' to do things? All the more I would have expected them to give the same benefit to Eli.

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Such a shame. Really and truly a perspective-altering day for the franchise. Things have really gone sideways for the organization.

Eli deserves better.

Tom Olesnevich

To your point, "what Mara and Tisch did here is something that goes against what each has always insisted is part of the fabric of the Giants: class, dignity, professionalism, respect." Nailed it. They've traded on the idea that they're a class organization for far too long and have done little to back it up recently.

I've been a Giants fan my entire life. And for the first time in my life I'm having second thoughts about that.

This sucks.

Steven Haderer, Section 350

Regarding Eli I’ll say this: I’m shocked not at the benching, but at the timing/manner of it, as I’m sure most fans are. My grandpa bought season tickets in 76, and when he died in 2000, they became my dad’s, and god willing, one day they’ll be mine. As intimately as I was taught morals and values as a child, I was taught about the “Giants Way.” About bringing in players with class and respect for the game. Guys who gave back to the community, guys who played the right way. That’s Eli.

The Giants Way also encompasses the sense of stability and patience that emanates down from the Mara family and permeates the way of operations for the whole organization. We’ve seen this in spades throughout the years, sometimes perhaps to frustration of Giants fans (ie the end of the Fassel years, McVay we’ve had enough, current situation w/ Reese and McAdoo).

Today feels like a repudiation of the Giants Way and everything that has separated this franchise from the drama and turmoil that often can dictate other teams around the league. Mr. Mara came out the other week and spared his coaching staff and GM the embarrassment of firing them mid-season, but apparently that same respect doesn’t extend to the face of our franchise?

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Wellington Mara spoke of the regret he felt surrounding how Phil Simms was cut and left the franchise. It surprises me that John Mara apparently doesn’t feel this move today will in no small way tarnish Eli’s story with the Giants. We will always have the two Super Bowls, the great 4th quarter comebacks, his ability to lead by example, but I have no doubt in my mind this will be a chapter in Eli’s story, and it’s an ugly chapter at that.

Story continues after this video of coach McAdoo's comments:

Rob Feakins

I have been a Giants fan since the night (four months out of college) I heard Howard Cosell call the Giants, "An embarrassment to the NFL."

Even though I grew up hearing my dad screaming at the Giants and vowed never to become that guy, that night I threw my lot in with the Giants.

I loved watching them go from rock bottom to the magnificent franchise they later become. I loved the humility of the Giants to ask Pete Rozelle for help who gave them George Young.

I remember when George Young drafted LT, how John Madden marveled how he changed the game, and how later George gave us Phil Simms.

I remember how proud and competitive the Giants teams were with leaders like Harry Carson, Phil, LT (on the field), Carl Banks and later Michael Strahan, Tuck, Osi and Shaun O'Hara.

Story continues below video of Davis Webb's comments:

I was proud of being a Giants fan even when they were bad, because they always tried, how they carried themselves on the field and off and their charitable nature and programs. That disappeared this year. I had never seen a Giants team quit. A Giants team not try. Players openly give up and cowardly talk off camera to the press.

I hate this team. I hate this organization for what they did by not protecting Eli for the last three years. I hate the way they treated Eli.

Someone who in this day and age is one of the few professionals in pro sports that you can point to as a class guy, a man who cares about charity and who wants to win at any cost, who never threw those under the bus when maybe he should have.

I hate this team. And I hate that I hate this organization.

We have returned to that night in 1979, when we hit rock bottom.

Dan Weis

I am gonna keep it short and sweet. I am embarrassed to be a giants fan today and embarrassed to have a man like Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese run this team.

I am also calling out John Mara for being a coward and being out today with this announcement being made. Speaks volumes about him. They want all the money from us each year when season tickets are due but today showed the true colors of this organization.

Jonathan Koevary, Section 330

have two hopes. First, that tomorrow Mara does something, anything to help correct this travesty. Second, that come the end of the season, everyone is gone.

I have two seats and usually take a different child to each game for some Giants and one on one father-child time. My kids have the remaining games claimed and I will be going with them. But under protest. I’m beside myself with what’s happened to this organization. It goes back to the half-measure Coughlin move. Reese is a disaster and McAdoo is worse.

What they did to Eli to save their own hides is a disgrace. To the extent Mara and Tisch signed on, it’s also a disgrace and tone deaf to boot.

Michael Botwinick, Section 144

(Open letter to John Mara)

Mr. Mara,

I am writing to you in an attempt to voice my concerns about today's events. I have been a Giants fan since birth. My family has had season tickets since 1976. My father and I were there in Indianapolis in 2012 to watch Eli Manning lead the Giants over the Patriots in the Super Bowl. One of my first Giants memories was sitting at my friend's birthday party in 2004 refreshing my flip cell phone to find out if the Giants were going to complete the historic trade to land Eli. I've grown up with Eli Manning. Eli is my quarterback. I've seen him handle every win with grace and stand up and face the media with accountability after every loss. He has constantly treated everybody with respect, even in the face of adversity, including earlier this year, when Ben McAdoo called him out publicly in the media. These reasons, among many others, are what make today so upsetting.

We have all been distraught over the terrible season that the team has suffered through. Despite this, the fans showed up every week. After every loss, Eli stood in front of the media and answered every question. He sat down for radio interviews and never said a single bad word about a teammate or coach. This despite the obvious lack of talent on the roster assembled by Jerry Reese and the fact that Ben McAdoo was so blatantly in over his head. Eli Manning has been playing behind a subpar offensive line for over 5 years. He played last week without his top three WRs. To attempt to blame this season on him is unfair and cruel.

The fact that you, as owner of this team, allowed a lame duck general manager and lame duck coach to make the decision to bench a franchise legend, and fantastic teammate, for a 27 year old quarterback, coming off an ACL tear who is a free agent after this year, is simply disgraceful. Even more disappointing is that you did not have the decency to talk to Eli and tell him to his face why you decided to green light the decision to bench him for a player that shouldn't even be on an NFL roster. In fact, as of 8:00 pm, you have yet to release any statement on Eli Manning at all. Eli, to his credit, stood in front of the media in the locker room and fought back tears, but answered every question that the media had. It was truly heartbreaking to watch and completely unfair for you to put him in that position. For a man who professed confidence in Ben McAdoo, stating that it was "not the Giants way" to fire a coach in the middle of the season, your silence speaks volumes. Is it the "Giants way" to bench a superstar, two-time Super Bowl MVP and Hall of Famer who hasn't missed a game for 210 consecutive starts, and then throw him to the wolves, while you hide away out of town? If so, perhaps it's time for the Giants to find a new way. A way in which they treat their loyal fans and players with the respect they deserve.

We still attended every game after the decision was made to force Tom Coughlin to resign. We still attended every game despite the fact that the team had lost all chance of making the playoffs this season. We still attended the games despite the fact that Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese were given votes of confidence. This, however, is going too far. My family and I will not be attending next week's game, and do not have plans to attend any other games for the remainder of this season. This will be the first home game that no member of my family will attend in more than 30 years.

Benching Eli Manning after all this team has put him through over the past 12 games is a slap in the face to the fans who have stuck by this team despite their lack of effort but, more importantly, to Eli himself.

I have attended multiple Giants town hall meetings, and have always admired your honesty and response to fans that have voiced their concerns to you directly. I look forward to your response to this letter and hope that the Giants find their way back on track. Unfortunately, recent events have led me to have severe doubts about the direction of the franchise.

James DeStefano, Section 250b

Let me start by letting you know that this is the first time in my 34 years as a Giants fan that I have felt compelled to write an open note. My family and I have been season ticket holders going back to the 1950's, and to give that some additional perspective, my grandfather was at the 1958 Championship game against Johnny U and the Colts. I have been raised to always show my support for my team, and to stand by them through thick and thin.

The recent news that Eli Manning is being benched to start Geno Smith is.... well... tough to understand. I recognize the fact that Eli is close to the end of his magnificent career. His legacy speaks for itself and the two championship runs that he so masterfully engineered seem like just a moment ago. I don't think there is a Giant fan out there today who is not truly hurt by this decision, and more importantly, just plain angry.

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The toughest thing for me to wrap my head around is why not Davis Webb? We know what Geno is, and we have seen what he can and mostly cannot do. While I would still be mad if it was Webb that got the nod, at least I'd be able to appreciate that the organization needs to see what the kid has got. Rewind to 2004 when Eli came in for an aging Kurt Warner (who went on to have some very good years with Arizona I might add). I remember Coach Coughlin throwing him into the fire and living through some bumps and bruises. We did what we had to do. Different times, different circumstances, but same organization. They did what was best for the TEAM, and maybe that's what I don't understand now.... how is this what's best for the team? For the fans?

I've stood by coach Macadoo and even tried to argue with friends and colleagues that it's not all on him, but now that is out the window. I wish we could bench him! They say you never know what you got til it's gone, but find me a Giant fan today that would not want Tom Coughlin in a situation like this. He took the bullet in 2015, and Eli is now taking the bullet in 2017. The common denominator? The organization let them both down, and now they are letting the entire fan base down.

I will be a Giants fan until the day my number is called to move on to whatever is next. But today's news just plain got the best of me, and I'm sure the best of most of us. Macadoo must go, Reese right behind him. I can only hope that Mr. Mara and Mr. Tisch will revitalize one of the greatest organizations in sports, but for now, I will sulk with the rest of the fan base and count down the days until Macadoo is gone.