Bart Scott is best known being a marginal NFL analyst for CBS after a career as a marginal NFL linebacker. This was before he said something incredibly stupid about New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
The 1-3 Giants’ issues are well documented. Scott, who is well-known as an Eli Manning hater, seems to have the solution. He believes that the Giants need to hand off to rookie running back Saquon Barkley at least 30 times per game.
“I just don’t know if they can right the ship,” Scott said in a Friday interview on WFAN. “To right the ship—we all thought Saquon Barkley was going to make it easier for him. It’s easier for him if he turns around and hands the ball off. They’re not even incorporating him in to the run game. For Eli to have play action, you’ve got to run the football. So, if they want to save Eli, you’ve got to hand the ball off 30 times a game.”
For the record, that is a fair, accurate assessment. The analysis is not where Scott totally screwed up. It’s when he suggested Manning needs to get braver and take more hits. He also said he doesn’t feel No. 10 is strong enough or tough enough to endure hits that may produce chronic traumatic encephalopathy (also known as CTE) for the benefit of his team.
‘I wonder if Eli isn’t willing to take the risk? We know what’s out there about CTE, we know what happens if he hangs onto the football, he’s going to take a punishing blow. I don’t know if he’s the guy who can take one for the team’ – @BartScott57
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— Carlin, Maggie, and Bart (@CMBWFAN) October 5, 2018
This may be the dumbest analysis ever heard on television or seen on social media.
No player would voluntarily get CTE if it would help their team. The mere notion of it is as useless as a left shoe on a right foot. The suggestion that Manning is not tough enough is also incredibly senseless.
He has the second-longest consecutive start streak at the quarterback position in NFL history. He never missed a game due to injury, despite playing behind suspect offensive lines at various points in his career. Manning acknowledges CTE could be a result of his chosen occupation but it doesn’t affect the way he plays.
It is incredibly insensitive for Scott to let this foolishness flow from his fingertips. Scott’s use of it is disrespectful to the families of the 110 players found with CTE in their brains postmortem. It’s not something for Scott to say in a feeble attempt at sounding clever.
Manning’s performance has to be dissected and analyzed. It’s part of being an NFL quarterback, especially one seven years removed from his last postseason win. However, Bart Scott was extremely off base with his comments. Angry Giants fans can’t wait for him to be fined or suspended for allowing those moronic thoughts to get on social media.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL, the New York Giants, and the NBA. Please like and follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.
