New York Giants: The Eli Manning situation from a fan's perspective

Taking another look at the Eli Manning saga from the perspective of a New York Giants fan.

If you read my columns you are very aware that I am no New York Giants fan. I am a football fan, but my New York allegiance comes in green. So my perspective on the Eli Manning situation comes as an outside observer. The majority of Giants fans everywhere feel just a bit differently. Giants fans are angry and continue to be angry several days after the decision was made.

Why? My column clearly indicates that I don’t get it. So I consulted with my cousin who is a life-long fan of the Giants. He’s a season ticket holder and been a fan since we were kids. He gave me his view on the situation. Here is some of what he had to say:

"…The guy literally holds virtually every single NY football QB record there is and on top of that he has two rings. He has been the most dependable player in the entire league since he took the helm in 2004…While his performance on the field was enough to gain respect, his performance off the field has been even better.To do what they did to him, in the middle of a season filled with disappointment, filled with guys literally acting as if they are peeing on the end zone and quitting on the field, you take the one guy the fans still care about and root for and sit him down?"

He goes on to make the suggestion that they should have shown more deference to Eli and his history. They should allow Eli to start and if the games get out of hand, play Davis Webb. Move Webb to the backup role and deactivate Geno Smith. It certainly isn’t unfair to say that we know what Geno is all about.

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None of the argument is unfair at all. The Giants fan perspective makes a lot of sense but here is the other side.

First of all, they did offer Manning the chance to continue his streak and he turned it down. It’s hard to blame him there as he wouldn’t want something to tarnish his streak. But it isn’t as if he wasn’t given the chance to do so. They did give him at least the appearance of respect and he turned it down.

Giants fans want loyalty to their quarterback who has been loyal since he arrived. In this day and age, there is no more loyalty. From an ownership perspective, loyalty does nothing for the brand going forward. As I said in the previous post on the subject, take the name out of it. Nobody would be saying word one about sitting a quarterback that is 36 years old when the record is 2-9. Saying Geno Smith gives them a better chance to win is absolutely insulting. Looking at what you have at the quarterback position with the playoffs out of reach isn’t.

Next: Pugh close to his Giants return

It does, however, give some interesting insight into the Giants organization. Think about it for a minute. The Giants have this situation with a classy player like Eli Manning but do nothing with the classless Odell Beckham Jr.? He disrespects the game routinely, Manning is all about respect. The Giants let Beckham do what he wants. Do the Giants believe “OBJ” is a better representative of the Giants brand? What would Wellington Mara think if he were still here?

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New York Giants: The Eli Manning situation from a fan’s perspective

By Alan Schechter | Dec 2, 2017

Taking another look at the Eli Manning saga from the perspective of a New York Giants fan.

More from Empire Writes Back