The Kansas City Plan.As in what the Kansas City Chiefs did at qua

rterback. With Alex Smith still capable the Chiefs traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017. They let Mahomes sit for a year and learn behind Smith Andrew Adams Color Rush Jersey , then moved on to the young rocket-armed quarterback in 2018.That worked out pretty well for the Chiefs as Mahomes threw 50 touchdown passes and was voted All-Pro as the Chiefs went 12-4.I have suspected for a while that the New York Giants would like to emulate that plan, and a report Saturday evening by Paul Schwartz of the New York Post confirms that “More and more, this appears to be the scenario about to unfold for the Giants.”There is a lot to unpack from Schwartz’s report. The upshot, though, is that if Schwartz is correct — and as well-connected as the veteran Post writer is there is no reason to doubt his reporting at all — Manning will be back in 2019. A highly-drafted heir apparent could well be alongside him. If the Giants can find that guy.Truthfully, this is a scenario I favor. If, of course, the Giants can find a guy they believe can be their quarterback of the future in a weak quarterback draft class.I continue to believe that the Giants will open 2019 with a veteran placeholder/mentor at quarterback and that if they are going to do that there is no one better-suited to the role than a 15-year starter and two-time Super Bowl MVP.Schwartz writes:Schwartz also writes that the Giants will be undertaking a “high-alert effort to find his successor” and that the search “will be undertaken in the draft, not free agency.”Again, I favor this approach. No one, pro- or anti-Manning, should be under the impression that whoever opens the season at quarterback in 2019 is doing anything other than keeping the seat warm for the next franchise quarterback. Whether the Giants find that guy in this draft, or have to wait until 2020. Also, let’s not think the Giants are going to find the next Mahomes simply because they appear to be choosing to follow that blueprint. Those guys don’t grow on trees.Schwartz writes that the Giants are not yet sold on Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State, but that he appears to be “the only quarterback in this draft possibly worthy of the No. 6 pick.”What about Kyler Murray? Per Schwartz, it “does not appear” the Giants have interest in Murray. I wrote recently that I would be “shocked” if GM Dave Gettleman were to stake his legacy as GM on the diminutive Murray. This report seems to agree with that line of thinking.Schwartz indicates that, failing to get Haskins, the Giants might consider a quarterback in Round 2.In a weird way, you wonder if the odd week experienced at the Senior Bowl by Daniel Jones might put him in the Round 2 discussion for the Giants. Jones had a rough practice week that led many to conclude he could slide out of the first round, then turned around and won MVP honors during Saturday’s game by completing 8-of-11, running for a touchdown and throwing for one.None of what Schwartz wrote carries the official seal of an “announcement” from the Giants. Still, it appears we are beginning to get some clarity on the path the Giants will choose to take.Odds ‘n endsSome really smart writing from Conor Orr of SI asking whether it’s even possible under the current circumstances for NFL games to to adequately officiated. Orr asks the simple question “have we simply started asking too much out of referees?”In my view, that is absolutely the right question. The rule book is voluminous. There are degrees to everything. From year to year the league changes its priorities and places various pressures on officials. There is gray area all over the place, with officials having to judge intent.Here is part of what I wrote on this topic in Saturday’s BBV mailbag:“Every human being has made mistakes — many of them. It is part of life. You want to train officials the best you can and give them the best chance to succeed — just like coaches want to do with players.“I don’t believe the NFL has put officials in the best position to get things right. I believe they are asked to do far too much, to judge too much intent, splice through too much minutiae and wade through rules that are far too complex in a game moving at a frenetic pace your television set can’t come close to conveying.”I hope to have Orr on the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast during the week to discuss that and more. Conor is a former Giants beat writer for NJ.com, so we will of course get into some discussion about the Giants.It amazes me sometimes that some folks — fans or bloggers — can’t tell the difference between speculation/opinion and real reporting. Dan Duggan of The Athletic opined the other day that it would be “stunning” if the Giants exercised the second year option on veteran running back Jonathan Stewart.That, of course, led to a myriad of “reports” that the Giants had decided not to pick up that option. Which, of course, has not happened. Even Duggan admitted that his source was “common sense.” Duggan Wayne Gallman Color Rush Jersey , of course, is absolutely right. It would be a stunner if the Giants picked up the second year option on Stewart’s deal.I’m actually rooting for Tom Quinn to get the special teams coordinator job with the Green Bay Packers, a position for which he has reportedly interviewed. Quinn, fired by the Giants after the 2017 season, did a classy thing by returning to the team last season to help when Thomas McGaughey — his replacement — was forced to miss time due to cancer treatments.Dates to rememberIf you haven’t been following the terrific “A Date to Remember” series you are missing out on chances to reminisce and read stories about some of the great moments in Giants history. BBV contributor Jeff Roberts is doing a great job with those, and we have had a chance to speak with Carl Banks, Osi Umenyiora and Lawrence Tynes to get their personal remembrances. There are still a few posts to come in that series. Don’t miss ‘em!Podcast stuffThose of you who listen to our podcasts may have noticed that we switched hosting services. You can now find and subscribe to Big Blue View Radio from its new home page.You can still find all the shows on our Big Blue View Radio Hub Page.You can also still find the shows and subscribe to them directly via all your favorite podcast apps. Those include:Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSSFinally, be sure to check out the home page for all of the shows across the expanding Vox Media Podcast Network. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Call Odell Beckham Jr. the eternal optimist.When the New York Giants‘ flashy wide receiver was asked Friday what he hoped his 1-7 team would do for the remainder of the season, Beckham didn’t pull any punches.“I think the goal is to win eight games, go 9-7 and go to the playoffs,” Beckham said.Even though no NFL team has ever pulled off such a comeback?“It’s not an easy task,” Beckham added. “But that’s the goal. We want to win every game and I want to do everything I can to help that. The Giants have been there before, gone 9-7 and got into the playoffs. Anything is possible. It’s not impossible to win eight games. It wasn’t impossible to lose seven. Anything can happen.”Beckham remained upbeat as his team prepared to face the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California on Monday night. He was certain his team is ready to turn it around, albeit in miraculous fashion — provided the Giants do a better job of scoring touchdowns.“We’ve lost a lot of close games that we just didn’t pull through,” Beckham said. “We know what situations we’re in when we are in those close games. We just haven’t found a way to pull them through. It’s easy to sit up here and be like we want to win eight games knowing that it’s very tough to do. You just got to pull it all together now.“I know we’re not in a very good situation, but you just got to make the most out of that.”Beckham signed a five-year, $95 million contract, with approximately $65 million guaranteed, during training camp in August, so he’s the new face of the franchise moving forward. He was asked if he felt he had any pressure to be the one who kick-starts the offense.“Not any more than I ever have,” said Beckham, who has caught 61 passes for 785 yards and two touchdowns this season. “Hopefully I can start catching some of these things and start taking them to the crib, making bigger plays. I put more on myself. Whatever happens is what’s going to happen, but I know that my mentality is not going to be to quit. I’m not going to be out there not trying to go hard every play. Any chance that I get, that’s just always how I’m going to be.”Beckham was also asked if the Giants could eliminate some problems in scoring touchdowns once they get inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.“I think that any chance I get, and all of us get a chance to take something to the house, it’s time to go,” he said. “There’s no more holding back, playing it safe Jon Halapio Color Rush Jersey , or waiting for the next play, because you don’t know if you’re going to have a next play, and that’s just the mentality we have to take. Any chance I get now, and I catch one of these slants, there’s no motion wasted. It’s just got to be somebody has got to come catch me. You trust your training, you trust your speed — somebody has got to come catch me. I’m trying as much as I can to make these plays, explosive plays, and we all need to do that.”Fellow wideout Sterling Shepard also recognizes his team’s struggles in the red zone.“Explosive plays are always good themselves, but if you can take them all the way, then that obviously is better for the team,” said Shepard, who has 40 receptions for 542 yards and two touchdowns. “You just take them as they come and some of them will pop, some of them won’t, but an explosive play all around is good for the team. I think it’s we’re just not being assignment sound. I feel like one guy is always off or two guys off when we get into the red zone, and that can kill your chances of scoring.”Beckham Jr. is befuddled why the Giants aren’t scoring more.“Not to say that the opportunities haven’t been there, but they’ve been limited,” he noted.But Beckham feels the tide is about to turn for him personally.“I don’t know, but towards the back end of the season, I feel like I do better,” Beckham said. “As the season goes on, people’s bodies start to break down. I really try to maintain and I really try to be better than I was in Week 1 or Week 10. I feel a lot stronger going in towards the back end of the season. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. Now, it’s just time to do that.”NOTES: Coming off a bye, the Giants had a full team at practice Friday. WR Jawill Davis (concussion), who had been out, returned to practice, so he will more than likely be the Giants’ main return option on punts and kickoffs Monday. Starting LB Alec Ogletree (hamstring) returned to practice, as did OT Chad Wheeler (ankle). . Olivier Vernon said that there was no difference in preparing to face 49ers QB Nick Mullens, who will be making the second start of his pro career. “We have to disrupt him and make him feel uncomfortable,” Vernon said. “There’s not a whole lot of film to watch on him, so we just have to have the mindset to get after him and get him out of a comfort zone.”