At a time when NFL camps far and near open for business and players of varied shapes and sizes profess their ravenous craving to prove ’em all wrong, Eli Manning is looking to bite off something completely different.
The 37-year-old quarterback reports this week for his 15th Giants training camp with greater support cushioning him than a new, extra-firm mattress. After a fitful 2017 season, a franchise steeped in stability fired a general manager and a head coach, in unison, for the first time in 40 years. Yet Manning was not merely spared, but actually emboldened after a series of moves and decisions all designed to reach the same conclusion: In Eli we trust.
Manning did not simply retain the keys to the offense. He was awarded an upgraded model, customized to fit his precise specifications. Rather than invest in a younger, sleeker replacement, the Giants did everything but surreptitiously turn back the mileage on Manning’s odometer. The Giants are not grudgingly fitting the ball back in Manning’s hands, they are presenting it to him with open arms.
Soon enough comes the hard part: Showing all this trust is warranted.
“It means they have faith I can go play at a high level,’’ Manning told The Post as he neared the end of this offseason. “I want to go do that. I want to go prove ’em right. That’s my goal, to go out there, do my job, do it at a high level, play well, make the guys around me better and go have a big year.’’
Proving the Giants right means Manning will have to stem the tide of what has been a harshly downward trend. His team is 33-46 in regular-season games he’s started the past five years and 0-1 in the playoffs. Manning’s statistical contribution has not fallen off the charts — he has 128 touchdown passes and 84 interceptions the past five years, compared with 134 TDs and 80 INTs the five years before that — but a player renowned for coming up biggest in the big games could not steer his team into games of great significance.
It would have been an unsentimental, backhand dismissal but not irrational if general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur arrived, assessed the franchise’s losing spiral and determined parting ways with Manning was the rightful move. You know, moving on a year too early rather than a year too late.
Manning is and forever will be a Giants icon, but nothing lasts forever and only a chosen few get to make the call when they ride out of town. He continues to present a boyish aura and his body is remarkably unscarred — Shurmur calls Eli “the fittest 37-year-old I’ve ever seen.’’
Adding Nate Solder, rookie Will Hernandez and Patrick Omameh to the offensive line should provide greater protection. Having a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. running routes will give Manning a dreamy option every play. And the selection of Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick in the draft should give balance to the offensive force far more effectively than Obi-Wan ever could. Plus, Manning, late in his career, is gifted Shurmur, one of the NFL’s most quarterback-friendly offensive designers. Go ask Case Keenum about that.
“If Eli doesn’t have one of his better years of his career, that would not be good,’’ Phil Simms, CBS analyst and the former Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XXI MVP, told The Post. “I think it’s all set up for him to have one of his better years of his career, and he’s going to take advantage of that. Just because of the versatility, and he’s going to do things he hasn’t done in a while. It’s not going to be sitting in the shotgun every play, taking the ball and throwing a slant to Odell Beckham Jr. It’s gonna be a little bit more than that.
“It will be fun for him. I’m sure he’s excited as hell about it. It does make you feel young. It does, there’s no question.’’
“Forever Young” is a song and not an NFL reality, yet for Eli Manning, this is a new lease on his football life. He prefers not to view it this way, at least, not for public consumption. The whole “next chapter” deal is dramatic stuff and, in case you haven’t noticed, Manning’s idea of high drama is watching reruns of “The Office.”
So, new lease on life is not going to get you far with Eli.
“Not necessarily,’’ he said. “I think I look at it as an opportunity to go out there and have a big year. I think we have talented guys, I think we made some right additions in some different spots. Still, on paper and on the field are two different things. Got to go out there and make it happen.’’
It has not happened on the field, not nearly enough, for far too long. The setup is there for Manning to reverse course and start scoring and winning again.
“He sees the offense, he sees Barkley behind him, he sees what’s around him and it makes you feel different,’’ Simms said. “You’re gonna look different. It’s inspiring.’’
It will stay inspiring only if Eli proves ’em right.