by Spiro Kasabian @nyspawtsguy_spi
Can Webb really be the guy?
We have all seen the talk since the 2018 NFL Draft concluded. The “Giants should have taken a Quarterback” crew has made their voices heard, loud and clear. With each passing solid performance by Baker Mayfield (Giants couldn’t have selected anyway), Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen, the shouts of the Giants future being doomed grows louder. Thrown into that conversation is New York Giants’ backup quarterback, Davis Webb.
After a disastrous first game against the Cleveland Browns, the anti-Webb brigade was out in full force. Webb gave all his detractors a ton of reason to believe he can’t be a viable NFL QB, let alone the Giants quarterback of the future. What we saw was a guy that looked nervous and jumpy. In his first live action in well over a year he was shaky. He seems to put pressure on himself while trying to impress his coaches and the fan base. Webb was throwing high and wide all night long. Like the great Shane Falco says in “The Replacements” it looked like he was playing in quicksand…digging himself a deeper and deeper hole.
Flash forward: Davis Webb vs Lions
Flash forward to the second preseason game in Detroit. The fans got a glimpse of what we were hearing about all Spring and Summer. Webb looked much more relaxed and in command of the offense he was running. He made a several tough throws down the field (27-yard dart to Sterling Shepard on 3rd & 17 and a bomb to Russell Shepard that was dropped in a bucket), showed good touch and decision-making onto a 14/20, 140-yard, 1 TD performance. It was exactly the type of performance Webb needed to lock up the No. 2 QB spot, but above all, quell the onslaught of attacks.
The fans don’t need to overreact to Davis Webb’s second performance, just like we shouldn’t have overreacted to his first performance. Webb is still a work-in-progress, for that reason, you see an up and down performance. He is learning under a VERY good quarterback mentor in Pat Shurmur. This is a coach that has turned around the likes of Nick Foles, Case Keenum, and Colt McCoy (serviceable). Shurmur and company need more time to work with former Cal QB. I only urge that we, as fans, let this play out a little longer. Let’s see what Webb can do the rest of the preseason.
We may be pleasantly surprised.