Valentine’s Views: Eli Manning’s finale, Dave Gettleman, Chase Young, more

Here are a a few things I’m thinking about today as your New York Giants get set to face the Miami Dolphins.

The Eli effect

Let’s be honest, there hasn’t been much energy or excitement at Giants’ home games in recent weeks. With good reason. The team is having another terrible season, and many of the seats that have been occupied have been filled by fans of the opposing teams.

Sunday, though, could be the final time we see Eli Manning play at MetLife Stadium. Pat Shurmur is itching to get Daniel Jones back on the field, and Jones is itching to play. This, for all intents and purposes, is probably Manning’s farewell game.

I’m wondering how full the stadium will be, and how much energy fans will bring.

Face it, Super Bowl titles don’t come easily or often. No matter what has happened the past few years and what you believe Manning’s culpability is, the Giants won two Super Bowl title s during his time and he was a huge part of the reason why.

He deserves the thanks of every Giants’ fan for that.

I hope he gets it on Sunday afternoon.

Engram, Peppers and fifth-year options

Mike Sando of The Athletic recently projected which 2017 first-round draft picks would have their fifth-year options picked up. The Giants have two players they have to make decisions on, and Sando projected that both tight end Evan Engram and safety Jabrill Peppers would have their options picked up.

I think I agree.

Peppers, selected 25th by the Cleveland Browns, is a no-brainer. He was acquired in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade to be part of the team’s long-range plans, and his season-ending injury doesn’t change that.

The projected cost of the option is $6.8 million. I think it’s worth paying no matter who the GM is.

Engram, at a projected cost of $6 million, is trickier. His injury history is lengthy, but his talent is immense. Even if he isn’t in the long-term plans, exercising the fifth-year option makes sense. It might make him easier to trade, and his skill set isn’t easily replaceable.

Dave Gettleman’s future

I have taken the position that I could understand if the Giants keep Dave Gettleman as GM. I could easily see Giants’ ownership coming to the decision that the players provided by the GM haven’t been utilized well by the coaching staff, and allowing Gettleman to continue.

Still, there are a couple of things I worry about.

One is Gettleman’s health. He will be 69 in February, has had a battle with lymphoma and you just wonder if he feels healthy enough to continue. I have no idea what the state of his health is, I just wonder.

The other thing I worry about is Gettleman’s reputation. Deserved or not, we know Gettleman has been lambasted by a number of veteran players he has decided to move on from. I just worry that his reputation might make some top-tier coaching candidates not want to work with him. Again, I don’t know that, I just worry.

Chase Young and the draft

I know Ohio State defensive end Chase Young said Friday that his plan is to return to Ohio State next season, but I have to believe that is just Young deflecting draft talk since his collegiate career isn’t over.

Young, as we have indicated a number of times, seems like the right target for the Giants if he is available to them. I’m not getting all bent out of shape about something he says now about the draft.