Pat Shurmur still thinks Eli Manning has years left as a quarterback

Big Blue View was launched Feb. 19, 2007 — 4,319 days ago. In some way, shape, or form it is probably only a slight exaggeration to say we have somehow spent around 4,000 of those days discussing Eli Manning and his viability as quarterback of the New York Giants.

Today has undoubtedly been one of those days. Just read these two posts, if you haven’t already:

• 2019 NFL mock draft: Do Giants select a replacement for Eli Manning?
• Giants-Titans “Kudos & Wet Willies” review: A collective failure by the Giants

As I have said many times, today included, the only opinions that matter are those of the Giants’ decision-makers. If you take what coach Pat Shurmur said Monday about Manning at face value, it certainly sounds as if the coach is casting his ballot for keeping Manning at the Giants’ helm for a 16th year in 2019.

Shurmur was asked if he wanted Manning back next season. His answer?

“Yeah, I want all our players to be back. I really do. I believe experience matters, I believe that what we’re trying to learn to do -- we’ve grown two games better than we were a year ago here, we’ve got two more opportunities. When you start talking about roster-shaping down the road, you need to learn how to win again and the experience of playing through adversity. I learned some more about a lot of players yesterday, when we’re playing through a game that felt a little bit like some of the games earlier in the season.”

Shurmur was asked if, as he indicated when he was first hired, he believes Manning still has “years” of productive play left. His answer?

“Yes, I do.”

Finally, Shurmur was asked why he believes that. His answer?

“Because I’ve seen him play good football, and I’ve seen how when we have a coordinated effort of protecting him, running the football effectively, and being able to run the ball throughout the game, it helps us. We threw the ball more than I would have liked to in the game that was really one score, but seven of those throws were two-minute before the half, and then there were 15 in the fourth quarter when we were down by 17. That skews the numbers. The important thing about yesterday in our coordinated effort was we didn’t get enough out of the runs when we chose to run the ball.”

All of that certainly sounds like a coach willing to cast his lot with Manning again next season.

The rest of this season

Shurmur said Manning would start this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts

“We’re going to do what we have to do this week and then we’ll go from there,” Shurmur said. “Eli playing quarterback, I think, gives us the best chance to win.”

Shurmur would not commit to playing or activating rookie Kyle Lauletta in either of the final two games. Lauletta went 0-for-5 with an interception in his debut Week 14 vs the Washington Redskins.

“I think Kyle’s got a bright future, but we’ve said this all along – or at least I have, and I believe it – that he’s got a long way to go in terms of doing the things necessary and although he can get in there and function, there’s a lot to learn playing quarterback in this league,” Shurmur said. “He’s got a bright future and he’s made great progress this year, and so it is what it is.”