Eli’s not the problem, it’s the defense!

The Giants defense, or at least those 11 men who are on the field when the other team has the ball and are generously referred to the the defense, is very lucky to have Eli Manning as their quarterback.

While everyone is complaining that Eli's getting old, they're not noticing that the defense is aging him even more. Would it kill them to make a stop in a crucial situation? It's not New Jersey law that other teams be able to march down the field in the 4th quarter, forcing Eli to make another game saving drive.  It happened, or should I say didn't happen again in the last few weeks against both Indianapolis and Dallas, pretty much like it's been happening all year. He may have done it if he had Odell Beckham on the field, but that's another story.

Where once the Giants had great pass rushers who could put fear into Tom Brady in those Super Bowls that we still hear about, now not so much. Now we have Eli being asked to once again create a comeback that can stand despite this defense. FYI, The Giants have scored more points than anyone else in the NFC East at 369. They also gave up the most, 412.

Eli Manning threw for 4299 yards, a 66% completion percentage and a 92.4 QB rating. If the Giants want to keep consistency and grow the offense, it would make sense to bring Eli back. Though you can't be sure from what general manager Dave Gettleman said today. Then again, if Gettleman had gotten him better blocking than Nate Solder and Patrick Omaneh, maybe Manning would've been even better. But again Manning's not the problem, it's the defense.

Regardless of what you might think of Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, he's not better than what was available in last years draft, and if the Giants didn't take a quarterback then with the second pick then, I can't see them dong it with the sixth pick now. If they do in fact select Haskins, he better be better than Sam Darnold, because that's who he'll be compared to for his Giants career.

There are much better pass rushers in this draft than there are quarterbacks and with the 6th pick, the Giants could get one that can make an obvious difference on the defense. That's the move. If they do take one and it doesn't work out, hey, they can always blame Eli.

More from New Jersey 101.5: