Eli Manning takes his demotion in stride

Eli Manning tried to reinvent himself in the off-season to hold up to the rigors of a 16th NFL season. Unfortunately, the team's 0-2 start and his different skill set wasn't enough for him to overcome the hook.

Patricia Traina, The Giants Maven

Giants quarterback Eli Manning--make that backup quarterback Eli Manning-- tried to look on the bright side.

"I’m not dying and the season’s not over, so there’s a lot to be positive about, a lot to be grateful for," he said Wednesday in front of his locker surrounded by a crowd of reporters about five people deep.

Still, the questions came about his demotion, the second of his 16-year career and one that this time is expected to last a lot longer than the one-game debacle of 2017 when he was demoted for Geno Smith.

Unlike that time, when Manning had to fight back tears over the hurt and anger he felt from that demotion, this time around he seemed more at peace with the decision made by head coach Pat Shurmur to put the reins of the offense in the hands of rookie Daniel Jones--even though he probably felt the same way about this decision as he did about the one made two years ago.

The difference though is that this time around, Manning saw the handwriting on the wall the minute the Giants drafted Jones with the sixth overall pick.

"You just know when you draft a young quarterback, there’s a possibility that they’re going to play him if things don’t go well," Manning said. "We didn’t start fast, and that’s the situation we’re in now."

To be fair to Manning, he is not the lone reason for the Giants 0-2 start, their second under Shurmur and their third in a row.

But the head coach, who admitted to arriving at the decision to pull the plug on Manning shortly after watching Josh Allen of the Bills, the second of two straight mobile quarterbacks the Giants struggling defense faced, tax the Giants defense, the move had to be made.

"I think about all this stuff all the time, and again, it’s not all about Eli; there are other factors involved, our team, where we’re at and moving forward," Shurmur said. Most of the thought for me happened after the game."

Shurmur was asked if he believes Jones is the better quarterback right now.

"Daniel Jones is ready to play, and we are going with him," he began before adding, "Yes, and the reason I say that is we do everything we can to win football games, and at this point, we feel like he’s the guy we want to move forward with."

When he spoke to reporters, it's unlikely those stinging words had reached Manning's attention. But even if they had, he took the hits to his legacy with the same toughness and sportsmanship he's always exhibited in adverse situations.

"There’s no other option but just to handle it and do my job, support my teammates, support the Giants, and do what I can do to try and go help win some football games," he insisted.

"Right now, that’s getting Daniel prepared and helping him and supporting him. I signed up for this, knowing when you draft a young quarterback this can happen. I’ve got to live with it and make the best of it.

"When you’re a football player, you do what you’re told, and this is what I’ve been told, and I’ll handle it."

He's handled it well, refusing to go into detail about what was said in his conversations with the head coach, general manager, and team ownership.

He's also refused to play the blame game, even though he'd have a legitimate argument given the mash unit that's been his receivers and his head coach's insistence on asking him to do things such as designed rollouts that aren't necessarily playing to his strengths or putting him in a position to succeed.

He's even vowed not to be a distraction by pouting or causing trouble and reiterated that he is there to do what he can to help support Jones if it means giving the team a chance to win games, something he could only accomplish five times in the last 34 games played.

"There’s always disappointment in not winning games, but you’ve just got to move on past that and handle the new situation and make the best of it," he said.

"I’ve been trying to help (Jones) in every which way I could throughout the preseason and training camp and whatnot, so now I’ll still do that," he continued.

"I’ll support him, answer his questions if he has any, don’t get him thinking too much, but just give him information that I’ve learned over 15 years that I think he could use."

The Giants offensive captain even has a message for those fans who have stuck with him through thick and thin as the Giants get ready to turn the page beginning this Sunday in Tampa.

"Be great fans and support the team and whoever’s in there," Manning said.

"Daniel will do a great job, he’s worked hard, and he’ll handle the situation well."