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NFL New York Giants

New York Giants Should Absolutely Not Bench Eli Manning

By @Bigwoolf5

Eli Manning, New York Giants

Brad Penner-USA Today Sports

A lot of the talk around the New York Giants this week is about Eli Manning and his future with the team. I am here to tell you that if you are a fan of the Giants, Manning is the absolute least of your concerns.

We are at a time in the NFL where the quarterback position is easily the most important, and without a very good one you don’t have a chance of winning championships. In the league today there are arguably five elite quarterbacks (Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck), leaving 27 teams without one. 

While Eli may not be an elite quarterback, he is still a very good one who has led the organization to two Super Bowl victories and taken home two Super Bowl MVP awards. There are not many players out there who can say that. 

Yes Manning turns the ball over a lot, yes he is coming off a five-interception game and yes he takes up a ton of the Giants’ cap space; but when looking at the grand scheme of things, he is worth it. 

Before last Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, Manning was actually having quite a good season — and he still is. He had only thrown six interceptions before that game, which is even more impressive considering he is in the first year of a new offense. 

It was his first truly bad game of the year, and even after that game he still ranks 11th in the NFL in total QBR ahead of guys like Joe Flacco, Alex Smith and Russell Wilson. You don’t hear anybody talking about benching any of those quarterbacks. 

Manning plays in New York which means that people are generally going to overreact to every game he plays, but it is important for fans to look at the big picture when it comes to Manning. He has some days, like last Sunday, where he looks dreadful, but more often than not he is the reason the team is winning, not the other way around. 

In a league where there aren’t many really good quarterbacks, there are about 12-15 teams that would love to have had Manning as their quarterback in the past, and would love to have him as their quarterback in the present and future. 

No, he is not his brother, but the fact is that not many people are. Eli is his own quarterback and a pretty darn good one at that. 

You know what you’re getting with Eli; he turns the ball over a lot, but also has the ability to pick apart defenses in big moments. It is time that people, especially Giant fans, started to respect what Eli has given the organization in his 11 years and realize there just aren’t many better options than him out there. 

If the Giants were to replace Manning, that quarterback would be lucky to have a quarter of the success Eli has had in his career. Right now it would make no sense to bench Manning, and to take it a step further, he should have his contract extended this offseason so he remains a Giant for life. 

It is now up to the front office to surround Eli with enough talent on the offensive line, and at the skill positions, to relieve him of all of the pressure so that he can truly play to his full potential, because in the last two years he hasn’t had that chance.

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