New York Post

Your best grab yet, Odel!

- By ROGER RUBIN Specialto The Post

Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. chases after his puppy and saves it from traffic after arriving home from the airport Wednesday in New Jersey. ODB and Big Blue began training camp Thursday.

The Giants plan to curtail Eli Manning’s reps at training camp and his workload between games because they feel that’s what will be required to keep the 36-year-old star quarterbac­k freshest and most effective.

“You can call it a pitch count. That’s a good way to frame it,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “We want to make sure he’s fresh going into the games and late in the year and, hopefully, going into the playoffs. We want him to be fresh and ready to go.”

In no way is this an indicator that Manning is somehow breaking down — he has started 199 straight games, after all — but more about playing him in top form as much as possible.

The Giants are planning to install these measures for more than just Manning. Brandon Marshall, the 33-year-old receiver, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the 31-year-old cornerback, also are likely candidates.

“You really have to take care of guys as they get up in age,” Reese said. “There’s a few guys on this squad that coach [Ben] McAdoo and our staff have talked about [as] ‘Let’s make sure these guys get to the game, get to the season.’ You’ve got to protect them in some ways.”

Manning’s 2016 season was not brilliant, though he threw for more than 4,000 yards and the Giants went 11-5 to reach the postseason. Manning threw 16 intercepti­ons and fumbled seven times.

Some statistics suggest he may have worn down. In the first 11 regular season games, Manning threw 20 touchdown passes with 10 intercepti­ons and had a 90.1 quarterbac­k rating. In the final five games, he threw six touchdown passes with six intercepti­ons and had a 77.0 rating.

“I don’t know if it was an issue or not, but that something we’ve talked about,” Reese said.

In no way is this being sprung on Manning. He saw some reduced workload at training camp the past two seasons and Reese said it has been a topic for the coaching staff and with Manning.

“We have had some discussion about that,” Reese said. “We’ve talked about it some and actually we’ve taken a few snaps from him over the last couple years. ‘You don’t have to take every snap.’ He likes to take every snap, but he doesn’t have to take every snap.”

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