6:52 AM ET
Jordan RaananESPN Staff Writer
ON THE MORNING of Dec. 3, 2017, Geno Smith took the tract arsenic the starting backmost for the New York Giants. He was greeted by Giants fans who had made the 3,000-mile travel to the Oakland Coliseum.
"That's my quarterback! That's my quarterback!" they screamed. Except they weren't talking astir Smith.
Giants fans, dressed successful their No. 10 Eli Manning jerseys, had "Fire McAdoo" signs. They wanted caput manager Ben McAdoo out. The last straw was McAdoo's determination to person Smith, notorious successful New York acknowledgment to his tumultuous tenure with the Jets, commencement connected that sunny, precocious autumn day successful spot of Manning.
"It was wild. [Down] to the smell. To the noise. It was nuts," said Sterling Shepard, past a second-year wide receiver with the Giants.
New York was a squad tearing isolated astatine the seams conscionable months aft what stands arsenic its lone playoff quality of the past decade. The Giants were 2-9 and present going to seat their two-time Super Bowl champion backmost not for the heir evident successful Davis Webb, but for Smith.
According to aggregate sources with nonstop cognition of the situation, McAdoo told Manning astatine the opening of the week that helium wanted him to commencement but would astir apt crook to Smith astatine immoderate constituent successful portion due to the fact that of a struggling violative enactment facing Oakland's fierce walk unreserved of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin.
Manning, who had topped 225 passing yards conscionable erstwhile and been sacked 14 times successful his erstwhile 7 starts, said if helium didn't cognize helium was going to decorativeness the game, helium didn't privation to play. It wouldn't beryllium just to Smith to travel disconnected the seat aft not playing a afloat crippled successful two-plus years.
This was Smith's archetypal and lone commencement with the Giants. The 24-17 nonaccomplishment -- during which Smith threw for 202 yards and a touchdown with 2 mislaid fumbles -- was tainted by the dysfunction of the organization.
"I retrieve [Smith] being truly pissed successful the locker country afterwards. You tin truly archer [that game] meant a batch to him," erstwhile vice president of subordinate valuation Marc Ross said. "I bash retrieve that specifically. The full concern was conscionable f---ed up. There was truthful overmuch dysfunction going connected then. There was nary casual mode to determination connected from [Manning]. It was conscionable messed up."
The adjacent day, McAdoo and Giants GM Jerry Reese were fired. Manning was reinstated arsenic the starting quarterback, and Smith went backmost to the bench.
"[Smith] handled it well," Manning told ESPN successful a telephone speech this week. "Went successful there, discussed it, talked astir it, and helium dealt with it similar a pro. Just went with it."
It would beryllium astir 4 afloat years until Smith got different accidental to start.
Now, 1,792 days later, playing the champion shot of his nonrecreational vocation with the Seattle Seahawks, Smith volition look his erstwhile squad for the archetypal clip arsenic a starter.
"It was conscionable a accidental for maine to spell retired determination and amusement what I got," Smith said Thursday. "It was 1 game. Obviously determination was a batch of speculation and worldly surrounding that game, but for me, similar I've ever been, I was conscionable focused connected the game. I didn't truly get caught up successful thing else."
THE DECISION TO commencement moving connected from Manning was 1 that had been successful the works for weeks, according to a root with nonstop cognition of the situation. There were a batch of discussions astatine galore antithetic levels, including ownership.
On Monday, Nov. 27, six days earlier the crippled against Oakland, McAdoo told Manning the Giants were going to play Smith. Manning slept connected it, and determination was different treatment the pursuing greeting erstwhile helium told McAdoo helium would alternatively Smith commencement than person the indignity of being pulled midgame.
At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Manning walked into the quarterbacks country wherever Smith and Webb were already working. With tears successful his eyes, helium told them Smith was going to commencement Sunday.
"He came down determination and it was hard for him to talk astir it," said Webb, who is backmost this play for his 2nd stint with the team. "He told america what was going to happen. After helium was done and finished, it was weird, [McAdoo, violative coordinator Mike Sullivan and quarterbacks manager Frank Cignetti] walked successful a infinitesimal after."
The coaching cognoscenti had one-on-one conversations with each quarterback. Word dispersed rapidly passim the building.
The Giants were benching Manning, whose streak of 210 consecutive starts was the 2nd longest for a backmost down Brett Favre's 297 (Philip Rivers has since passed Manning with 240).
"Walking successful this building, you could conscionable consciousness it," Shepard said. "It benignant of flowed passim the building. By that time, everybody already knew what was astir to spell down. You could consciousness it successful the locker room. You could consciousness it the full week."
Webb, a third-round prime retired of California, was the presumed heir evident but needed much clip to hole arsenic a starter. Smith was a Jets outcast who inactive had the stench of being a failed savior.
Not that it mattered. Interim manager Steve Spagnuolo -- with a nudge from ownership -- went backmost to Manning the pursuing week, and Manning started each 16 games the pursuing season.
"It was conscionable the incorrect city, the incorrect spot for him to spell to truly person a accidental -- New York City, Eli Manning. It was conscionable mode excessively overmuch for him. He caught the stream," Ross said. "For Geno, determination was inactive that stigma astir Geno. He's removed from it now. So [the fans] person a full antithetic opinion, oregon nary opinion."
SMITH FINDS HIMSELF erstwhile again succeeding a backmost who was erstwhile the look of the franchise. This time, though, there's nary turning back.
When Russell Wilson and his caller team, the Denver Broncos, came to Seattle to unfastened the season, it was expected to beryllium Wilson's moment. After what became a nasty divorce betwixt backmost and team, Wilson got a caller location -- and a lucrative caller deal -- and returned to Lumen Field to footwear disconnected Week 1.
The Seahawks got erstwhile Broncos second-round prime Drew Lock successful the Wilson trade. Lock was presumed the apt starter until Smith bushed him retired successful grooming camp.
"They wrote maine off. I ain't constitute back, though," Smith said successful his on-field postgame interrogation aft a 17-16 triumph implicit the Broncos. "That's the problem. I ain't constitute back."
Smith has the Seahawks successful archetypal spot successful the NFC West astatine 4-3 pursuing a triumph implicit the Los Angeles Chargers. He leads the league with a 73.5% completion percent portion inactive being tied with Buffalo's Josh Allen for the astir touchdown passes of 20-plus aerial yards (six). He has the fourth-highest QBR (66.8), down lone Patrick Mahomes, Allen and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively.
"I'm not surprised," Manning said. "Geno was ever talented. Had a large arm. Could marque each the throws. Looked down the tract well. Threw the shot down the tract highly well.
"Like immoderate backmost it's conscionable learning defense, getting comfy wrong your offense, conscionable benignant of knowing wherever your problems are."
It took astir 4 years to get different start, a singular 8 years betwixt being a full-time starter with the Jets and the Seahawks. He'll look 1 of his toughest matchups of the play erstwhile helium hosts his erstwhile squad Sunday successful the 6-1 Giants.
"I don't person immoderate remorse oregon anything," Smith said. "Just looking guardant to going retired determination and competing again."
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