What Giants rookie Davis Webb said to get off to a bad start with Eli Manning
The New York Giants potentially drafted Eli Manning’s eventual replacement last weekend. The Giants selected Davis Webb in Round 3, and though Webb needs work and Manning shouldn’t worry about him this season, there could be a debate at some point — say, in two or three seasons — about Webb being the next in line at QB.
Manning wasn’t upset when he heard the news, or at least it didn’t stop him from calling Davis shortly after the team picked him in the third round of the NFL draft.
But Manning did admit the two didn’t get off to the best start, via the team’s official website.
“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 said. “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.”
There comes a time in every man’s life when he realizes he’s no kid anymore, and that time often comes when they’re first referred to by someone younger as “sir.” It’s just awful to hear. You run through the possible responses, including “my father is a sir,” and it just all feels wrong and … how could this be happening?
Manning — who turns 37 prior to next season’s wild-card playoff round — did the right thing. He set Webb straight immediately. This aggression-masked-as-pleasantry shall not stand. Had Eli brought up Tom Brady, who just won a Super Bowl at 39 (and whom Manning has bested twice in the big game), we wouldn’t have blamed him a bit. Heck, Adam Vinatieri turns 45 before the end of the year, and he was bombing field goals better than most kickers half his age last season.
Look, we like Webb. He’s a confident kid based on what we can gather from our chats with him at the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine, and he might well turn into a fine QB one day. But it’s good that this “sir” business will serve as his first “Welcome to the NFL” moment. Getting put in his place before he ever sets foot on a practice field isn’t the worst thing ever.
And good for Manning for calling the kid out. After all … SIR! Who the heck does he think he is?!
(OK, maybe this just hits a little too close to home for our own fortysomething selves … maybe Webb didn’t really mean anything by it … yes, fine we overreacted. And yeah, we know Manning was kidding with his bone-dry wit. Cut us some slack, all right? Getting old[er] sucks!)
– – – – – – –
Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
