When Mike Glennon was told that he would be the backup quarterback on Sunday, with Jake Fromm making his first career start in Philly, the veteran was “disappointed,” but prepared mentally and physically all week the same way he has all season, starter or not.
That came in handy when he was called on to relive Fromm midway through the third quarter with the Giants down 13-3 and fading fast, after having watched Fromm lead two second half drives that consisted of five plays, a three-and-out, and a bad interception.
“Obviously not how we envisioned it going but I have to be ready at all times. Unfortunately we weren't able to come back, but we'll keep fighting,” Glennon said. “I was game-planning just like any other week so I felt prepared. I take pride in being professional and always staying ready.”
Fromm looked great on his lone drive in relief of Glennon in last week’s loss to Dallas, but looked overmatched against a Philly defense that shut down the run effectively and harassed him into going just 6-for-17 for 25 yards and one turnover, with two other near takeaways.
“It's not ideal. I wish I would have played better. It's frustrating for myself, not the way I wanted to have represented myself, my family, or, of course, this organization,” Fromm said. “It's tough, but I'm going to learn from it. I don't think it gets much worse than that. I'm going to learn from it, grind and work my tail off to get better and play better like I know I can. I'm going to give everything I can to the guys on offense, to this team, and be the best me I can be from here on out.”
“It just felt like it was tough to get something going and get in rhythm. First start in the NFL, it’s not an easy job, and obviously there's some things that I'm sure he'll want back, but all-in-all he handled himself really well this week,” Glennon added of Fromm. “He prepared really well. I felt his maturity and presence. It's been great working with him so far. Unfortunately it didn't go as we wanted.”
Related
Fromm said his NFL debut last week was a “dream come true,” and he was “juiced up” to get his first start, which may have contributed to a slow start where he went 0-for-4 and took a sack over the course of the Giants’ first three drives.
“I was juiced up, excited, ready to go. Obviously I wish the ball would have been exactly where I wanted it to be, but I was amped up and ready to go. I guess maybe the first couple got away from me,” Fromm said. “The goal I had in mind was to start fast. We didn't do that and I have to get better at doing that whenever the opportunity rises – seizing the opportunity and starting fresh. I wanted to split the ball around, complete balls, move the chains.”
Fromm looked good on the fourth drive, which resulted in a Giants field goal, completing three passes for 24 yards, including a pair of zingers to the returning Kadarius Toney.
“That’s the way I wanted to start the game. You just have to go up there and rip it – can't think, can't worry, can't second guess anything. Just have to go out there and rip it,” he said.
However, after that, the Giants went three and out and then couldn’t get into field goal range late in the first half, and Fromm’s short but disastrous second half lasted all of five plays, one of which was a bad interception and one of which was a sack that doomed his final drive before it got started.
“It was tough. I just kind of felt something happen there mid-throw. That's football. Stuff happens and you just have to respond and answer. I didn't respond and answer,” Fromm said of the pick, adding this of the sack: “The deep slot did a good job. He sent it over the top and came free and played football. Sometimes stuff happens.”
After that drive ended in a three-and-out, so did Fromm’s day.
“I just got told by the quarterbacks coach that they were going to switch it up and put Mike in there. That's just frustrating for myself,” Fromm said. “I wish we weren’t in that situation; I wish I would have gone out and handled my business, led us to victory, and we'd be having a nice ride home.”
Related
Whether or not Fromm gets another chance as the starter, either next week against Chicago or in the season finale against Washington, remains to be seen, but he did at least get a vote of confidence from his backup turned replacement.
“I reminded him before the game that he belongs here. He's had a lot of success leading up to this point. There's a reason why he was such a decorated player coming out of Georgia and all the wins he had there,” Glennon said. “I just told him he's here for a reason, that he belongs, and should go out and have fun. You know, obviously, it didn't go as planned.”
As Glennon noted, no matter who is under center, the key is execution, which the Giants just didn’t do enough of.
“We had short fields there a couple times during the game and needed to put up six points. I just really wanted to get in the end zone. It didn't happen, it's frustrating. I'm going to grind my tail off to fix it,” Fromm added.
That said, there’s only one thing left to do:
“Two games left in the season. Come back to work on Wednesday and get ready to go,” Glennon said matter-of-factly.
The only question left, then, is who is going to be the one going under center come next Sunday.
Joe Judge’s take in the immediate afterglow of the loss?
“We'll decide based on how they practice. We'll see how these guys do.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch