New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman hasn’t addressed the local media since the beginning camp. A lot has transpired since then and he didn’t avail himself to the public to provide answers.
Until Tuesday.
In his year-end presser, Gettleman attempted to justify the uneven logic behind the questionable moves the Giants have made this year along with another dismal 4-12 finish. The Giants beat pool wasn’t about to let him get off easy, making for a session where the friction made the air uncomfortable.
The mantra coming in was that the Giants would try to compete, yet rebuild and transition towards the future at the same time. None of it worked, of course.
Eli Manning was allowed to return for the final year of his contract at his full cap hit ($23.2 million) only to start the first two games before giving way to rookie Daniel Jones.
Then, midway through the season, Gettleman made his most curious move to date — the Leonard Williams trade in which he sent a third- and fifth-round pick to the Jets for the impending unrestricted free agent. It made no sense when it was done and even less sense now.
“Leonard Williams wants to be here and now we know what we have. We felt we needed him,” Gettleman said.
Gettleman acknowledged the contradiction of saying the team must be built through the draft, then giving away draft assets for a pending free agent in Leonard Williams.
It's hard to have it both ways. That's why so many have issues with what he says publicly.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) December 31, 2019
Gettleman was retained while his head coach, Pat Shurmur, was dismissed. When asked what he wanted to see in his next head coach, it seemed like he was denigrating Shurmur.
GM Dave Gettleman: “We need a head coach that can bring together an enthusiastic staff. We need leadership and intelligence and someone that can connect with the players.”
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 31, 2019
The poor performance of the team does not lie solely on the shoulders of the ones who took the fall. Gettleman acknowledged that he has also under-performed.
DG on how he assesses his last two years: "Not good enough. Not good enough. It'll get better."
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) December 31, 2019
Some other interesting tidbits from the GM on Tuesday:
“(Losing) is frustrating for all of us. We’re all frustrated including ownership.”
“We’ve been ramping up the analytic and technology piece. That’s where we’re going. And I really feel good about the direction we’re headed.”
“When I came here I had two major goals. One was to find the quarterback and I believe we’ve done that. The second was to set the team up for sustained success.”
On how fast they can turn things around… “It all depends on how quickly the puppies come along. We have a very young team.”
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