Giants news, 12/19: Pro Bowl reaction, Dave Gettleman’s future, more

Good morning, New York Giants fans!

No Pro Bowlers?

Giants coach Pat Shurmur was asked on Wednesday what he thought of his team not having any players selected to the Pro Bowl.

“I don’t really have a response to that,” Shurmur said. “You know what, every year that question is posed to me in some way. I don’t know totally what goes into it. We just need to get better as a team, and certainly, we need to do things better. When you’re winning more games, then more of those Pro Bowl accolades come your way.”

Engram earns Good Guy Award

Evan Engram has been elected the winner of the 19th annual George Young Good Guy Award, as voted on by the Giants’ chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America (including yours truly).

The award, named for the late general manager of the Giants, is given annually to recognize a Giants player for his consistent and outstanding cooperation with the writers who cover the team on a daily basis. Though he has endured a frustrating year because of injury, the third-year tight end has been consistently accessible and candid with reporters during a difficult season for the team. As an example, Engram spoke to reporters on Wednesday despite having been placed on IR the previous day.

Safety and special teams captain Michael Thomas finished second in the voting for a second straight year.

More headlines

An in-depth look at why the Giants shouldn't think about firing GM Dave Gettleman | SNY

Ralph Vacchiano offers a vote to keep the GM. He writes:

Despite all the cries from an understandably angry fanbase, it would be absolutely crazy for Mara and Tisch to fire their current general manager just two years into his tenure. It would be the ultimate knee-jerk reaction, a sign of severe dysfunction, and an acceptance of the kind of instability they’ve always tried to avoid. They’d be starting from scratch again, two years after they last started from scratch.

Simply put: It’s the kind of things that bad franchises do.

For the moment, it’s still unclear if the seat under the 68-year-old Gettleman is really hot at all. There are plenty of people around the league speculating the Giants may soon clean out their entire franchise. Meanwhile, one team source said there’s no indication at all internally that a GM change is coming. Of course, that’s not something that’s likely to be telegraphed throughout the organization. Only two people likely know, since it’s solely an ownership call.

One thing everyone acknowledges, though: The owners -- Mara in particularly -- don’t want to change GMs. Mara has spoken in the past about how difficult that can be, how it can cause a massive, internal overhaul of executives, scouts and support staff. It can also change a team’s philosophy dramatically. It could take years for the new GM to build a program the way he wants it to be run.

That last part is key, because Gettleman has only been given two years, which isn’t a long time for a general manager at all. Yes, he wears the same 8-22 record that’s the current Scarlet Letter on his head coach, Pat Shurmur. But it’s impossible to truly evaluate a GM that quickly, since most of his decisions play out only over the long term.

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