Don’t call me sir
Mentor Manning gives Giants’ new QB 1st lesson
Eli Manning’s first impression of Davis Webb is that the youngster is respectful — perhaps too much so.
In that way, Webb reminds Manning of himself.
Not long after the Giants took the quarterback from California in the third round of last week’s NFL Draft, he received a call from the Giants’ franchise quarterback, who at 36 is 14 years older than Webb. Manning has been doing this for several years, getting the numbers of the players selected by the Giants in the draft and calling them.
“I just wanted to welcome him to the team, let him know if he has any questions or needs anything in the next few days, I was here for him,” Manning told Giants.com. “He responded to that with, ‘Yes, sir.’ I told him we were off to a bad start. Please do not refer to me as sir. I appreciate the manners, but we’re teammates. I was always taught the same thing. Anyone older than me, I have to call them sir. But hopefully, we straightened that out.”
This is the fourth time since Manning arrived in 2004 the Giants have taken a quarterback in the draft (Andre Woodson in 2008, Rhett Bomar in 2009 and Ryan Nassib in 2013), but none of the others was taken before the fourth round. And Webb is the only one viewed as the possible successor to Manning. Webb will fill the No. 3 quarterback slot on the depth chart, with Geno Smith and Josh Johnson competing for the backup job.
“In the quarterback room, a lot of times you only have three quarterbacks and a couple of coaches,” Manning said. “It’s always a tight room. Communication is so important. I’m constantly communicating with the coaches and with the other players. I’m not a coach. I let the coaches do the coaching. I’m always happy to lend a hand. If they have any questions, it’s always good to be on the same page.
“Anything I’ve learned or know, I’m always willing to flesh it out or lend a hand. When the quarterbacks are in there and I see something that might give a young guy help, I’ve always done that in the past. All the guys, I’ve always had a good relationship and good friendship with all the quarterbacks in there. Nothing will change with that.”
Manning said he is more familiar with some of the other quarterbacks in this year’s draft, based on their past attendance at the Manning family passing camp in Louisiana, than he is with Webb, who did not attend those camps.
“I really don’t know much about Davis,” Manning said. “I know he started off at Texas Tech and transferred to Cal his senior year. I know he’s a big kid, and it sounds like he has a strong arm. I know a few of the other names and several other quarterbacks that were in the draft.
“I look forward to meeting Davis, welcoming him to the team and see if he needs any help from me. I’m always happy to give it.”