New GM again explains process of working to fix the Giants

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was on WFAN Tuesday afternoon, and he reiterated or expanded upon a lot of the points he had made Friday during his introductory press conference.

Let’s go through some of the takeaways.

On Eli Manning ...

“I’m going to study the tape on Eli,” said Gettleman, a former Panthers GM who also spent 15 years working in the Giants’ front office. “I’m going to look at it chronologically. I was only able to watch a couple of Giant games front to back, and one of them happened to be Philadelphia — the second Philly game. The guy that I saw that day was the guy that helped put two rings on my fingers.”

On what he wants in a head coach ...

“The head football coach is really a CEO. One of the first things you’re looking for is intelligence and vision, because you can’t have a guy who’s sitting down in the weeds,” Gettleman explained. “He’s got to get up on top, he’s got to see the big picture, and he’s got to proactively see issues that are coming down the road, instead of being reactive in putting out fires.

“You’re looking for leadership. You’ve got to have someone who has that quality about him that makes people really believe in him and want to go play for. … And then the other thing you need is you need toughness.”

On possibly drafting a quarterback with the second overall pick ...

"When I finish my film work that's what's going to tell me which way to go. It's what going on between the white lines. The film. It's not pretty. It's not a quick view."

"It's about the film work. It takes time. You've Gotta be objective. You can't look at it with any emotion. It's business."

On Odell Beckham Jr., with who he said he had a “nice conversation” on Saturday ...

“He’s a very gifted player for his position,” Gettleman said. “And there’s no doubting the talent.”

On making tough decisions ...

“This job is not for the faint of heart,” he said. “Like I said, you’ve got to put your big-boy pants on for this place, and for this league. You can’t be afraid of it. My gosh, I’m so excited I can’t see straight. Wherever you go, there’s challenges.”

On free agency ...

"The whole purpose of free agency is to set up your draft. You never go into a draft saying 'I gotta have a,' whatever that 'a' is.You don't want to be in that spot because now you're shopping hungry."

"We'll use free agency. There's always the trade route, there's always the waiver wire. You've gotta do your film work. It's not pretty, it's not easy but you've gotta get it done."

On upgrading the offensive line ...

Gettleman pointed to the Giants signing Shaun O’Hara in 2004 as an example of finding an under-valued player to upgrade the. In Carolina, Gettleman found undrafted guard Andrew Norwell. He has been a four-year starter for the Panthers.

"You've gotta get into the fim and you've gotta dig it out. There's always guys there that can play that have been underlooked.

"You watch the film and you get convictions. It isn't necessarily you have to sign the stars and whatever. You've gotta work at the evaluation process. You've gotta grind through tape because there are guys there. There always are."

On relating to players ...

"I told the players yesterday my door's always open, you're more than welcome to come in and say hello. Just understand I'm an old man, I ain't got time to fool around, so I'm going to be straight and direct. I'm not going to be mean, but I'm going to be straight and honest and we'll come to an agreement and we'll move forward."