NFL colleague says NY Giants GM Dave Gettleman has media fooled

A former colleague of NY Giants’ GM, Dave Gettleman, insisted on a popular podcast this week that the executive has the media fooled.

It has been a rocky first two years for Dave Gettleman since he took over as the general manager of the NY Giants. After coming in with plenty of tough talk and bravado, the team has failed to get any better while possessing some of the same holes it had when he took over.

Back when he still had the juice to do so, Gettleman rattled many when he mocked analytics over the mini-controversy that was drafting a runningback at #2 overall. The GM famously imitated someone typing on a computer with a silly face to insinuate those people don’t really know how football works.

While he may actually have a point, to some degree (as many analytics experts have now gotten carried away), it did not help his old school image to act like analytics were not important. All of the successful teams in the NFL embrace new-age analytics, and many of his moves reek of a fly by the seat of your pants type of guy, rather than a measured, information-based executive.

It has become the major running theme in the media when discussing Gettleman in general, with many pointing to this reason as to why he’s unfit to run the NY Giants.

Count former Carolina Panthers colleague – and now successful Buffalo Bills GM, Brandon Beane – amongst those who feel this is mostly an act.

Beane had this to say on the popular ‘Pardon My Take’ Barstool Sports podcast.

Via ‘Pardon My Take’:

"“Can’t trust him. Dave’s smart, man. He’s throwing all the curve balls out there,” Beane said of Gettleman’s viral home office photo. “He’s actually pretty tech savvy. Don’t let him fool you in all seriousness.”"

The Bills GM went on to talk about Gettleman’s ‘swaggy-ness’, but I’ll spare you those details (you’re welcome).

NY Giants fans can only hope this is the truth, although it’s obviously worth noting that these two worked closely for three years and their success together in Carolina landed Beane the GM gig in Buffalo.

So, maybe take these words with a grain of salt. Gettleman recently had #GiantsTwitter in a frenzy when the team released a photo of his home draft setup, causing many to poke holes in what they saw.

To me, it was just more funny than anything and I certainly wouldn’t be concerned at a GM’s draft setup in a staged picture.

We can only hope that Beane ends up being on the right end of the spectrum, here.