New York Giants: Eli Manning is still the man to Dave Gettleman

Despite all of the backlash from the recent moves by New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman, he still stands behind it all, including Eli Manning.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has taken a lot of heat recently. The reason is obvious. Trading away Odell Beckham Jr. has angered a vast majority of the fan base. It may have angered just about everyone but Mike Francesa, but that’s for another day.

Another figure in the world of the Giants that faces a lot of scrutiny is Eli Manning. He has had a storied career that has included two Super Bowl MVPs. He will go down as one of the most beloved figures in franchise history.

But where is Eli in his career? Is he finished? Does he have good years left? Giants fans could debate this topic throughout the entire off-season.

Obviously they stood by Eli last year, as they took Saquon Barkley in the draft with Sam Darnold sitting there available.

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Could they still feel the same way? It would appear so.

Early mock drafts were associating the Giants with Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins. He seemed like a logical heir apparent to Manning.

But then the reports started coming out to the contrary. The Giants aren’t even doing their due diligence on Haskins.

Why? Because despite everything, Gettleman is not ready to move on from the Giants long-term quarterback.

Monday, Gettleman held a conference call with the media and he was asked about his quarterback. Here is an excerpt of what he had to say, (via NFL.com):

"“This narrative Eli is overpaid and can’t play is a crock,” Gettleman told reporters Monday during a teleconference. “I’m telling you. So at the end of the day you guys got to say Gettleman’s out of his mind, or he knows what he’s talking about when he evaluates players. That’s really what it is. That’s really where it’s at. “And I’m OK if you disagree with me, that’s fine. But what I’m telling you is, if you turn around and look at what he’s making right now and look around the league and see what quarterbacks are making, alright, if you were in my shoes you’d say, you know what, there really is not, the way he finished the season and what he’s making, there really wasn’t a decision to make.”"

If you look at Over the Cap, you will find that Manning counts for $23.2 million against the Giants salary cap, good for seventh in the league at the position.

Over the last six seasons, the Giants have posted a losing record five times. Manning’s sack totals have gone up steadily over the last three years until they hit a career high of 47 last season.

That’s a high number although a big part of that was the inconsistent offensive line.

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Now, the Giants did go 4-4 in the second half of the season, and Manning did post a career high 66% completion percentage.

That’s a high number, but will he sustain it at 38 years old? It certainly is a fair question.

Odell Beckham Jr. caught six of Manning’s 21 touchdown passes last year. That was over 12 games, so in a full season that projects into a double-digit touchdown season.

In other words, much of Manning’s work went to Beckham. Without him there, will that offense make it? Do we think recently signed Golden Tate can fill the work load? I’m not so sure.

If they don’t select an heir apparent now, when? It can all come crashing down at once, just ask his brother Peyton Manning. He went from a 39 touchdown season in 2014 to being injured and throwing just nine in 2015.

The Giants had better secure the position now. If they don’t, it could become too late really fast. Don’t tell Gettleman that, however. He’s all in for Eli.

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