Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News
Eli Manning gives Giants their best shot at first back-to-back crowns.
Eli Manning goes into the 2012 season as the best quarterback in the NFL, so it was shocking when GM Jerry Reese uncharacteristically revealed his draft plans for Thursday night when the Super Bowl champs first-round pick comes up at No. 32.
Best player regardless of position? Of co urse.
The draft has nothing to do with who is on the team right now, Reese said Thursday.
Okay, what about a quarterback?
COLTS WILL PLUCK LUCK WITH NO. 1 PICK
If Andrew Luck is there at 32, he will be a Giant, Reese said. Without a doubt. If Andrew Lucks down there, you think we wouldnt pick him?
Reese, it should be noted, was smiling. Luck will be the first pick, by the Colts, and he will take over for the other Manning brother, who has moved to Denver. If Luck makes it to 32, then either 31 other teams fell asleep when they were on the clock or some shocking information on Luck surfaced at the last minute maybe he decided to go to grad school to become a chemical engineer.
Eli as the starter with Andrew backing up would not be without precedent for the Manning and Luck families. When Elis father, Archie, played in Houston, his backup was Andrews dad, Oliver. Andrew has been a camper and a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy, but Luck will start the Colts season opener in Chicago, and David Carr will be the Giants backup against the Cowboys.
So, it looks as if the Giants will be stuck with Eli again, which isnt really such a bad thing, regardless of how he performs on Saturday Night Live on May 5.
I might be doing something a little bit out of my character or uncomfortable, but Im looking forward to working hard that week, have a lot of laughs and be prepared, he said.
Manning becomes the first Giant and second Manning to host Saturday Night Live. He rarely shows his personality or sense of humor to the public, but teammates swear that those traits are on display every day in the locker room. Manning is the team leader in practical jokes, but was reluctant to reveal his favorite fearing it would prevent him from using it in the future.
The Giants have had a quiet offseason other than the typical turnover that usu ally hits Super Bowl champions. Brandon Jacobs, Mario Manningham, Aaron Ross, Dave Tollefson and Devin Thomas are gone. They are all replaceable.
Osi Umenyiora didnt show up for the start of offseason workouts, but hes never here this time of year, so its hard to say hes boycotting in protest of not having a new contract. Victor Cruz, due to make $ 540,000 after his breakout season, promised Tuesday he will not hold out of training camp and said he will play this season under his existing contract if a new deal cant be worked out. He may have cost himself some leverage, but he eliminated a potential huge distraction.
Heres what the Giants must determine before they invest big money in Cruz: Are they sure he is not a one-year wonder? Do they need to see more? Or was last season just the start of big things? For a young guy who has cashed in big-time in the offseason on his new celebrity he was a presenter at the Grammy Awards Cruz still comes off ve ry level-headed.
What the Giants need to figure out is how to maintain success after they have achieved it. They either stink the year after winning the Super Bowl or one of their best players shoots himself in the leg and blows apart their season.
They will try to get it right this season after winning the Super Bowl for the fourth time. The first two times, they didnt make the playoffs the next year. The last time, after defeating the undefeated Patriots four years ago, they were the best team in the league going into Thanksgiving weekend, when Plaxico Burress decided he needed to pack some heat for protection on a night out on the town and instead shot a hole in his leg. The Giants still wound up with the NFCs No. 1 seed but lost their only playoff game.
There are now just 12 Giants left from that team. They will try to learn from what went wrong.
I thought we got off to a great start that year, Manning said. We were pla ying great football. Towards the end, we didnt finish as strong. We lost a few guys, had some injuries, things went on.
No kidding. His best receiver accidentally shot himself.
The 2011 Giants are the only 9-7 team to win the Super Bowl. Their 2007 team was just 10-6. Neither of those teams was as good from start to finish as the 1986 and 1990 championship teams. They just got hot at the right time.
The Giants will get their rings next month. They will schedule a White House visit. It will be part of Mannings job as a leader to make sure complacency doesn't set in as the Giants try to repeat as Super Bowl champs for the first time. If will be up to the SNL writers to provide him with some funny jokes.
Did you hear the one about the Giants trading for Tim Tebow?
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