When asked earlier this week about his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, Giants head coach Joe Judge would only say this:
“We're going to watch the guys practice throughout the week and we'll see where they are at the end of the week. I wouldn't expect any announcement until maybe the end of the week at the earliest. Both guys have worked hard, both guys have done very good things for the team. I'm pleased with the way both guys showed some leadership with the groups around them.
We're going to watch them go through and run the offense, and we'll make our decision at the end of the week.”
Well, Christmas has arrived, and still, no announcement, even though the rumor mill has been swirling that it will be Jake Fromm under center on Sunday. Until it's made official, though, the Eagles will be left wondering whether Fromm or Mike Glennon will be the starter.
Fromm vs. Jalen Hurts has happened before, sort of; Georgia and Alabama met twice in the 2018 calendar year, Hurts sharing time with Tua Tagovailoa as the Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs in both the 2017-18 CFP Championship Game and the 2018 SEC Championship Game. Fun fact: Justin Fields, the QB the Bears traded up with the Giants to get in the 2021 Draft, also played in the latter, as he spent his true freshman season at Georgia and threw one pas in the 2018 SEC Title tilt.
Whether we get Jake vs. Jalen 3 or Glennon's fourth straight start, both men are ready to take advantage of that advantage if it’s them behind center.
“I'm learning more and more every single day. Just spending extra time obviously and really just learning everything, feeling more comfortable with the guys and with the scheme and trying to put together a good plan,” Fromm said earlier this week of his acclimation to the system.
Fromm looked strong on his one series last Sunday, but as Judge noted, there is a big difference between coming in late in a sure loss and executing a two-minute drive and actually prepping for 60 minutes.
There may also be a big difference doing so in Philadelphia, where the language is colorful and the atmosphere is three times as insane.
“I’ve heard,” Glennon laughed when told of Philly fans potentially being rowdy. “I think it definitely will be a great environment. They have passionate fans, as are a lot of away games in the NFL. It's going to be loud. We have to prepare for it. But it's fun playing in those kind of atmospheres.”
“Yeah, I've heard a lot about the environment and for me, it's just preparation and making sure everybody's on the same page,” Fromm added. “Really, it's just going out and executing whatever the plan is and just trying to tune it out the best you can and go play football.”
Glennon has the NFL experience, but perhaps, even though Fromm’s entire catalog is one series last Sunday, he could harken back to some of the hostile and large crowds he faced while at Georgia as a demarcation point for what this may be like if he’s the starter come Sunday.
“I would say I'm very confident in myself and what I can do. Winning football games is winning football games,” Fromm said. “Sometimes it may be pretty, it may not be, but at the end of the day, all that matter is a 'W' in the column. However we can do it, however it happens, let's just go do it. Looking to go 1-0 this week.”
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If he does get the start, well, he knows it may be a little different than his debut, but in the end, it’s still football.
“I think you have to have trust and confidence in the guys around you. Hey, let's just go out and spin it and you've got to cut it loose,” Fromm said. “I'm going to be me whatever the situation is. Hopefully just for me and the way I played my entire career just good decisions, let's get the ball out, let's get everybody on the same page and really just trying to move the sticks. If we move the sticks enough, we'll get close enough and we'll score a few points.”
And if it’s Glennon, well, it’s easy to focus on the negatives from his recent performance, but like Fromm, he’s invested in simply going 1-0 this week.
“I think just going out and executing at a high-level, play-after-play being consistent,” Glennon said when asked the key to his struggles. “I feel like there's been a play here or there in a game you would like to have back, which is normal in the NFL. Not everything is going to go as planned, but just eliminating kind of the bigger mistakes like the other day, those plays that you want to have back, but the reality is you don't. You just learn from them, put them in your memory bank, and try not to let it happen again. I need to go out and execute better all-around the board and play at a higher level.”
Glennon is “preparing as always” regardless of what happens Sunday, but no matter the situation, the Giants aren’t content to just be “playing out the string” without regard to results.
“This the NFL, we're out here every week. It's our job to go out and play and to prepare. I've been in these situations before, and I've never been in a situation where I felt like guys just give in,” Glennon said. “I mean, we all have something to play for. We're all in this together. We only have 17 of these opportunities a year. We have three left, and we'll treat them just like any other week. You have to go out and prepare and go out and play at a high level.”
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