Eli Manning Actually Had A Reasonable Response To Ben McAdoo’s Call-Out

Ben McAdoo turned plenty of heads Monday by essentially throwing Eli Manning under the bus for a botched play. But maybe the New York Giants head coach knows something we don’t: that Manning can take the criticism.

The Giants quarterback appeared to prove as much Wednesday. When asked if McAdoo’s public criticism irked him, Manning delivered a pretty measured response.

“It’s part of being in the NFL,” Manning said, via Tara Sullivan of The Record in New Jersey. “You can’t be sensitive, and I think everyone’s gotten very sensitive — players and everybody. If someone says anything negative about you, or you did something wrong, then you’ve got a problem.

“Coach McAdoo and I have a great relationship. I think he understands that — I told him when he first got here. I enjoy being coached, (and) if I screw something up, let me know. I want to be coached, so we talked about things and there’s some things I’ve got to do that I’ve got to do better at.”

Of course, Manning isn’t the first professional athlete to take the high road. But his ownership of his mistakes still is notable, especially considering McAdoo is a relatively new, inexperienced head coach who Manning very easily could have accused of overstepping his bounds.

It’s a good thing Manning didn’t make a big fuss out of this, too, because the Giants have bigger problems to worry about — like their 0-2 record and an atrocious, rant-worthy offensive line.