After getting his first start as a quarterback for the New York Giants in Sunday’s loss to the Oakland Raiders, Geno Smith is returning to the bench. After the Giants fired Ben McAdoo, who gave Smith his only start, interim coach Steve Spagnuolo decided to name Eli Manning the starting QB once again.
In an interview with SNY, Smith was asked if he was happy with the decision to bench him again and he didn’t try to hide his disagreement.
“I wasn’t,” – Smith said. “Any competitor wouldn’t be. To be put in that situation where you get a chance to play and then you’re being pulled, but it’s not because you played bad so you try to figure out why. But you’ve got to understand that some things happen in this business, and you’ve just got to roll with it.“
Despite not liking the decision, Smith has handled everything like a professional according to coach Spagnuolo.
“I had a conversation with Geno, which was a tremendous conversation,” – said Spagnuolo. “I have a great deal of respect for Geno Smith and the way he reacted. He was a man. He obviously didn’t agree with the decision. But he is a team player and he told me that he was going to go forward and wants to be a part of this. I have a great deal of respect for him. That’s not an easy thing to do.“
Gino Smith being upset is understandable, especially because he didn’t perform badly in the game against the Raiders. Although the Giants lost, Smith completed 21 passes of 34 attempted for 212 yards and managed a touchdown. This will most likely be Smith’s first and last start for the Giants since he will become a free agent in the off-season and look for other destination where he would be a starter.
