There’s very few who have anything going on in the New York/New Jersey area at the moment. Most are isolated or in voluntary self-quarantine as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is no exception.
Now in the early stages of his retirement, Manning has been refined to his home with his wife, Abby, and their four children, including a one-year-old who is just beginning to walk.
“Right now it’s really about the kiddos. … Abby is kind of handling the older two kids [Ava and Lucy], and I get the 5-year-old [Caroline] and the 1-year-old [Charlie], so I gotta entertain them. … That consists of like playing dominoes, coloring … the 1-year-old’s walking around, and just kind of preventing him from hurting himself too badly,” Manning told the New York Post, later expressing confidence in this country’s resilience.
“I think this country, and the Northeast and New Jersey and New York, are resilient and we’re tough and we kind of find a way to fight through things. That’s what we’re gonna have to do. You just kind of figure out a way. It’s not gonna be easy, it’s not gonna be perfect, and there will be ups and downs and struggles. But we’re gonna help out each other, we’re gonna lend a hand when we need to, and that’s kind of what this is about: It is an unknown, it is something that’s new. But, it’s something like that we will figure out and get a handle on and beat it.”
It’s been an interesting start to Manning’s post-playing career, and the complete devoid of sports across the entire national landscape has only added to his new and strange routine. Manning admits he hasn’t thrown a football since Week 17 of last year and has been primarily focused on his family.
However, Manning has kept a close eye on the Giants and offered his approval of the Blake Martinez and James Bradberry additions.
“I think [Martinez] is a good player. I haven’t studied him extremely well, but he makes a ton of tackles, and he’s around the ball, so I think he will be a good fit and make a lot of plays. I don’t know much about just from a leadership standpoint and all those things, so hopefully he’ll be a great leader and be able to get the defense back on track,” Manning said.
“[Bradberry] does a good job making plays on the ball. It seems like he’s a smart guy reading things and kind of knowing when he can be aggressive and jump certain routes. I feel he is a good player who should be able to fit into the system and play well.”
But Manning doesn’t envision completely smooth sailing for the Giants, who must adjust to an entirely new coaching staff, new offensive and defensive schemes, and do so with the NFL offseason being delayed/shortened and the threat of additional delays.
“It has the potential to be,” Manning said of Daniel Jones’ second year being interrrupted. “A couple of things could make it difficult in the fact that it’s gonna be a new offense that he’s gotta learn, and things get pushed back and you’re not there to be around your teammates. It’s not just him learning it, it’s kind of everybody learning it together. Hopefully they can get back soon and he can grow as a leader of the team.”
The good news? Jones will have veteran coach Jason Garrett to rely on.
“Coach Garrett’s been successful and has a good offensive mind. Obviously has ties to the Giants and to New Jersey and this area, and so I think it’ll be a good fit for him. He’s had some very successful offenses over his entire career with Dallas. He’ll do a good job and work hard, and I think probably excited to get back into calling the plays and being involved in implementing that offense and putting his offense in,” Manning said.
Manning, like many across the NFL, also expressed a surprise in Tom Brady’s decision to leave New England for Tampa Bay and the entire Philip Rivers saga. But one thing he did not address is whether or not he’ll be joining the organization in some capacity in 2020 or at any point moving forward.
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