New York Giants: Eli Manning isn’t a martyr

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning isn’t playing martyr or victim ahead of what may be his final season with the franchise that drafted him.

Ben McAdoo is no longer head coach of the New York Giants, but he’s still finding ways to get quarterback Eli Manning criticized by members of the media.

McAdoo, who was fired by the Giants along with then-general manager Jerry Reese last December, recently emerged from the abyss to speak with Paul Schwartz of the New York Post and Pro Football Talk’s Peter King about a variety of issues, including the benching of quarterback Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith.

Unsurprisingly to those who follow the Giants, McAdoo’s explanation for that call left much to be desired:

"At the time, we were 2-9, beat up, and I told Eli we wanted to see the other quarterbacks on the roster—including our promising rookie, Davis Webb. I was not ending Eli’s career with the Giants; I was making sure we knew what we had behind him with a high draft choice prior to a big quarterback draft. I gave him the option to start the games to keep his streak alive. I understand why he said no, and he was a true pro about it."

Radio host Doug Gottlieb, potentially bored during the quietest time of the sports year, used McAdoo’s words as an excuse to lash out at the two-time Super Bowl MVP signal-caller. Gottlieb said Manning was selfish and made himself into a martyr during last season’s circus that saw the quarterback’s historic consecutive starts streak come to an unceremonious end.

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Oh, where to begin? Start with Benny Mac, if only because he catapulted the matter back into the headlines.  McAdoo hinting that he and others within the Giants wanted to see Webb on the field for meaningful action in December is revisionist history at its finest. There is zero indication from anybody within the organization that the third-round pick was ready to face the bullets of live NFL action eight months ago, let alone do so for a roster that allegedly quit on its head coach and had one figurative foot on winter vacations.

Of all the things that plagued the Giants in 2017, Manning doesn’t make the top five of that list. It’s likely wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was never 100 percent following the setback he suffered during an August preseason game at the Cleveland Browns.  Beckham and fellow wideout Brandon Marshall were lost to injuries in October. New York’s offensive line repeatedly failed the 37-year old veteran quarterback. Imagine, if you will, Webb scrambling for his life after left tackle Ereck Flowers missed a block during a late December game. What good would it have done for player or club to insert Webb into the lineup at that time?

McAdoo admitting his “bedside manner” hurt him in handling Manning’s reaction to being benched at any portion of any game before the end of the season makes Gottlieb’s comments all the more humorous. If given the opportunity, everyone involved from McAdoo to Reese to team ownership would go about the situation differently, and perhaps even admit they were genuinely surprised with Manning’s initial response to potentially being dropped in the lineup during the second halves of games.

Those who have spoken with Manning know he’s not an enthralling interview subject. He rarely gives newsworthy quotes or soundbites. This doesn’t mean he’s dishonest. When Manning looks you in the eye and says he still thinks he gives the Giants the best chance to win, he means it, for better or for worse.

Football is too often a “what have you done for me now” business that it’s forgotten loyalty should be rewarded. Manning, the greatest quarterback in franchise history, deserved better by his coach, the front office and ownership last holiday season. To say otherwise is to ignore everything he’s done for the Giants since being given the keys to the offense in 2004. Manning was neither a scapegoat nor a martyr. He was done wrong by somebody who probably shouldn’t have been in the position to take such a valuable once-in-a-lifetime achievement away from him.

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What’s done is done. Manning and the Giants may part ways next winter regardless of how well or how poorly he performs over the next five or six months. Nothing lasts forever. With that said, anybody still criticizing Manning for anything that occurred with the Giants in the fall of 2017 either has an agenda or simply doesn’t get it.