Dave Gettleman in one corner, the media in the other corner, they should have held this one inside the squared circle at Madison Square Garden.
Round 1: Gettleman has his nose bloodied by a haymaker: why trade third- and fifth-round draft picks for Leonard Williams when he was about to enter free agency?
“We felt he could be a disruptive force inside. And he has been,” Gettleman said.
Why not wait until free agency?
“Because now we know what we have.”
Two draft picks in order to get that information?
“The juice was worth the squeeze.”
10-9, media.
Round 2: A stiff jab opens a cut over Gettleman’s right eye on devoting $23 million in cap space to Eli Manning to play two games.
“We really believed in Daniel (Jones). We didn’t know he’d come that fast. Who better to learn from, and who better to have his back?”
10-9, media.
Round 3: Gettleman ducks under a question about his controversial Odell Beckham Jr. trade.
“We’re not gonna know about that trade for two years.”
Round: Even
Round 4: Gettleman goes rope-a-dope and absorbs a low blow about mocking analytics when he drafted Saquon Barkley at a time when the Giants are making an analytics push.
“I did that kidding around … Saquon’s special. And that’s what I should have said. He’s an outlier…”
10-8, media.
Round 5: Gettleman eats a jab on how head coaching candidates might think he’s tough to work with.
“Obviously as we move forward in the coaching search, it’s the Dating Game, and there’ll be that opportunity for them to look me in the eye and say, ‘Hey Dave: Waddup?’”
Round: Even
Round 6: Gettleman counters a culture punch nicely by citing Jackrabbiit Jenkins and his tone-deaf comments.
“He’s it…he was it.”
10-9, Gettleman.
Round 7: Gettleman blocks a rabbit punch on John Mara putting him on personnel batting average notice.
“I feel that pressure every day, whether I’m in my first year, or 15th year.”
10-9, Gettleman.
Round 8: A triple jab stops Gettleman in his tracks. Gettleman resumes the rope-a-dope for:
Not being trusted for trading Beckham less than a year after signing him.
“I told him, ‘Come in, we’ll get it done,’ and we did. From that point on you make decisions.”
For horrific run defense even with Williams.
“It takes more than one guy.”
For not taking accountability all season.
“We probably need to address it, and it may change next year. But there are very few GMs that talk in-season…I felt guilty that Pat (Shurmur) was up there taking the bullets.”
10-8, media.
Round 9: He bobs and weaves on the next head coach possibly thinking long and hard about working for a GM on the hot seat.
“I think that the power of this franchise…this is an iconic franchise…the power of this franchise, and the stability of this ownership, will allay the fears of any coach that thinks about that.”
10-9, Gettleman.
Round 10: A thunderous left hook rocks Gettleman on his stated desire to build a team through the draft and surrendering assets Williams.
And he’s down!
“The contradiction? From your view, yeah.”
He takes the mandatory eight count.
“Leonard’s 25 years old, he’s young, he’s about to enter his prime. I felt that what he gave us, with the potential he gives us, was worth those two assets.”
10-9, media.
Round 11: Gettleman counterpunches the perception that everything is OK after 9-23.
“It’s getting better. “
The referee calls time to examine Gettleman. He lets the fight continue.
“Ownership’s not happy, we’re all frustrated. But unfortunately, it takes time.”
10-9, media.
Round 12: Gettleman charges into an uppercut on how he will be better next season.
“I know this may sound crazy, but I met recently with a big analytics guy. I’m gonna learn from my mistakes. I never stop asking myself the question: ‘What could we have done differently? What could we have done better?’”
A left hook on his lack of availability for the fan base makes Gettleman resemble Chuck Wepner, the Bayonne Bleeder.
“I’m concerned about that very much, and that’s why we’re gonna address it.”
Round: 10-9, media.
The final bell sounds but the fighting continues. Gettleman weathers a blow to the solar plexus on whether he understands why paying customers are skeptical that he can get this job done.
“Do I understand why? Sure.”
A shocking Tysonesque bite to Gettleman’s ear follows: how would he grade himself?
“The last two years? Not good enough.”
Gettleman survives. The media wins on points. It was never going to be a fair fight.
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