The Jets look like they have a clear and decisive plan after coming to an agreement with RB Le'Veon Bell GETTY IMAGES
A "seismic shift" has taken place in the N.Y. football landscape this week, with the Jets looking like they are "well into the process of taking over the city" while the Giants have gotten rid of some big-name players, including Pro Bowl WR Odell Beckham Jr., according to Mark Cannizzaro of the N.Y. POST. The Jets and GM Mike Maccagnan "look like they have a clear and decisive plan, while it's difficult to ascertain" if the Giants and Senior VP & GM Dave Gettleman "have any plan at all." The Jets, who have an agreement with RB Le'Veon Bell, are also the only N.Y. football team with a "franchise quarterback in place and hopes to win" entering '19 and beyond. Meanwhile, the Giants "appear to be roaming lost in the wilderness" (N.Y. POST, 3/14). In N.Y., Manish Mehta writes the "new reality" in the city is that the Giants are a "disjointed mess, while the Jets are about to take flight." It is the "Bizarro World these days with the star-crossed little brothers making all the right moves" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/14). USA TODAY's Charles Curtis wrote in the span of 12 hours, the two franchises "suddenly switched places for the foreseeable future." The Giants are the "new Jets, the Jets are the new Giants." Curtis: "Welcome to your new reality" (USATODAY.com, 3/13).
WHAT'S THE PLAN HERE? In N.Y., Bill Pennington writes if there is a "clear path that the Giants are following, indeed if there is a plan at all, it's not easily deciphered." The Giants are now "in a rebuilding mode," but they "will have to rebuild with financial constraints." About $16M of Beckham's salary "will count against" the Giants' cap for '19, though that is less than half of the $32.5M on this year's salary cap ledger for players no longer on the team (N.Y. TIMES, 3/14). ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert wrote the Giants "don't seem to be following a linear plan and are years late on initiating a succession plan" for QB Eli Manning (ESPN.com, 3/13). On Long Island, Bob Glauber writes this is "one of the most painful rebuilding jobs for the Giants in recent memory" (NEWSDAY, 3/14). In N.Y., Leonard, Light & McShane write it is "past time that Gettleman must face the music." He "needs to step forward and explain what the heck the end game is here." The Giants' faithful is "restless and in need of answers" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/14).
STARTS AT THE TOP: In New Jersey, Art Stapleton writes Giants President & CEO John Mara and Chair & Exec VP Steve Tisch, "more than anyone, are responsible for where the Giants find themselves." They "signed off on all these moves, including the decision to give up on a talent like Beckham" (Bergen RECORD, 3/14). In Newark, Steve Politi writes this situation is on Mara, "once on the short list of the best owners in the NFL who has allowed his team to become a league-wide embarrassment" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 3/14).
ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION? In N.Y., Paul Schwartz writes some inside the Giants organization "feel a sense of relief" that Beckham "will no longer bring unwanted attention to a franchise that did not necessarily grow sick of him but grew increasingly exhausted trying to keep up with the issues and notoriety that clung to him" (N.Y. POST, 3/14). ESPN.com's Ian O'Connor wrote there is "no doubt" that Beckham's "high-maintenance ways contributed to his exit" (ESPN.com, 3/13).
MOVING THE NEEDLE: The moves with Beckham and Bell created big waves on Twitter. Data from the social media platform shows that in the 24-hour period ending around 4:00pm ET yesterday, there had been more than 395,000 mentions of Beckham, and more than 282,000 mentions of Bell (THE DAILY).
