Giants QB Jake Fromm Remains Optimistic Despite Awful Debut Showing
Just last week, Giants quarterback Jake Fromm could feel the confidence oozing from his pores as he prepared for his first career NFL start against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Called up to the huddle in relief of backup quarterback Mike Glennon, who had been struggling to replace starter Daniel Jones, the young quarterback fresh off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad said he was “amped up and ready to go” for the opportunity in front of him. However, as under forty minutes in the City of Brotherly Love soon revealed, things did not exactly turn out the way Fromm envisioned they would.
Playing in his first starting minutes since he was a senior at the University of Georgia, Fromm completed only 6 of 17 throws for 25 yards, one interception, and a 19.4 overall passer rating in the Giants 34-10 loss to the rival Eagles.
The defeat officially knocked the Giants out of the postseason for the fifth consecutive season and dealt a massive blow to Giants fans’ hopes that Fromm would spark some productive football in an offense that’s struggled to put points on the board all season.
The circumstances Fromm inherited were far from ideal for a novice gunslinger looking to establish some ground at the NFL level and impacted his performance.
The Giants entered Sunday’s game losers of their last seven meetings with the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, putting the quarterback at a disadvantage from the onset. Fromm also had to try to make plays behind a feeble offensive line whose porous blocking led him to force inaccurate throws and have to step over trash to move around in the pocket.
“I would say it’s not ideal,” Fromm said about his afternoon, which ended midway into the third quarter when Glennon entered the game in relief. “I wish I would have played better. It’s not the way I wanted to have represented myself, my family, or, of course, this organization. It’s tough, but I’m going to learn from it. I don’t think it gets much worse than that.”
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It was a rough “Welcome to the NFL” for Fromm but still one he knows he’s capable of putting behind him. With the Giants officially setting their sights on their next opponent in the Chicago Bears (5-10), right behind them is Fromm, who is eager to wipe the slate clean.
As the team progresses through traditional preparations ahead of their Week 17 game at Soldier Field Sunday, optimism is the only thing flowing abundantly from the mouth of the bright-eyed quarterback. Fromm, 23, detailed how instead of remaining upset with himself over last week’s performance, he’s taken the time to watch the Eagles film and unearth what went wrong that he needs to improve on before his name is called again.
“I kind of went back to the old saying – and I just remember this back in high school, ‘It’s never as good as it seems, and it’s never as bad as it seems,’” Fromm said. You go watch [the film] and, obviously, I wish I had played a lot better, but you figure out what you did good, what you did bad, you learn from it, and you move on.”
It may be crucial for Fromm to patch up all his mistakes rather quickly because chances are his services will be needed to some extent against the Bears. With neither Fromm nor Glennon taking command of the starting quarterback position, Giants head coach Joe Judge said earlier this week that he is considering playing both players.
"We’ll prepare both guys, similar to last week," Judge told reporters. "We’ll prepare both guys. Both guys will have their share of the load this week in practice as far as sharing some reps. I would expect to see both guys play.”
Asked about the possibility of his coach’s approach, Fromm welcomed the idea and expressed his desire to contribute to a winning effort regardless of how much time on the field he sees.
“Would love that opportunity to respond and go out and do better, get better and ultimately to score some points and ultimately win a football game.”
No matter which quarterback starts and how many minutes each receives, the circumstances presented to the Giants’ chosen one could be more or less unfavorable than they were in Week 16.
Even as the season winds down for Big Blue, the injuries are still piling up, as evidenced by the team’s latest injury report. The Giants had three wide receivers–Collin Johnson (hamstring), John Ross (knee/COVID Ramp Up), and Kadarius Toney (shoulder)--listed as non-participants in Thursday’s practice, the shoulder the latest in a string of ailments for Toney.
Additionally, running back Saquon Barkley (ankle) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (ankle) were listed as limited participants, along with the team’s leading scorer in kicker Graham Gano (illness). If any of the questionable names can’t go by Sunday, the Giants quarterback duo may have to play short-handed in the challenging temperatures and oft-strong gusts of the Windy City.
Despite having all that in his mind, Fromm refuses to let the uncontrollable and the pressure of loftier expectations get to his head and inhibit his ability to focus on what he can impact in the Giants offense.
“I would say for me I can only control what I can control. That is my preparation, that is the decisions that I make and that is where that ball goes when I let it go. For me, it’s just about trying to put myself in the best situation, put the offense in the best situation to move the chains and score points.”
“I just want to get better at doing that and move forward with that.”
What matters most for the Giants in the final two weeks is ending their 2021 season on a high note, and that begins in Chicago. It doesn’t matter to them who breaks the huddle every snap so long as that individual provides them the best chance to win a football game.
Likewise, for Fromm, the young quarterback isn’t so concerned with how often he is used, if at all, on Sunday. Instead, so long as he does play, he sees this week as another chance to reconcile the golden opportunity he let pass him by in the last game and seize the beginnings of his NFL career by the horns.
As he said about his recent performance against the Eagles–“it can’t get much worse than that”--and for everyone in the Giants’ organization’s sake, we hope so. In Fromm’s eyes, the only way from here is up, and with his pride, determination, and support group backing him up, the quarterback is hungry to show those who’ve supported him that he can have a place in this league.
“I have a lot of friends and family reach out offering their support. I’m very thankful that a lot of people are in my corner,” he said. “I definitely want to prove those people right who love me and whenever I get an opportunity again to go out and do a lot better.
If nothing else, his confidence is still as strong as it was before.
“Oh yeah, always.”
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