MINNEAPOLIS -- Kurt Warner agrees with the Giants' plan to stick with Eli Manning as the starting quarterback for the 2018 season. Warner doesn't believe the Giants could have made the decision to move on from Manning after the 37-year-old played behind a porous offensive line with a depleted cast of play-makers this season.
"I think it's impossible to be able to evaluate anybody, especially when you're making an evaluation if he's done or not. You have to at least see him not be able to do it with the pieces in place," Warner told NJ Advance Media on radio row at the Super Bowl. "You've got to be able to go back and go, 'OK, that guy was open and that guy was open, he had plenty of time and he just didn't get it done. The defense played well enough and he just couldn't do it.' You can't say any of that about last year. I just think it's impossible to evaluate that."
Warner didn't detect any physical slippage from what he did see of Manning this season.
"Not at all," said Warner, who played until he was 38. "You have to give him another year with these pieces in place just to see. I'm just a guy that doesn't believe very many guys just fall off a cliff. Outside of a major injury or something physically just deteriorating, guys don't forget how to play the game. I don't think Eli is that way either."
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Warner pins the Giants' 3-13 record on the disarray surrounding Manning.
"I just think they went through a bunch of crap this year," Warner said. "He's still out there fighting and battling and going through it. I just think they need to take a step back, figure out what was going on with their defense, get that right again, get their play-makers healthy, fix the offensive line and get some improvement there, and I think Eli is your guy for a couple more years until you figure out what the future looks like and who's that next guy."
Warner thinks Manning can help turn things around if the Giants provide an upgraded supporting cast.
"I think they still have enough pieces there that they can be successful if they add a few," Warner said. "Eli, to me, I don't know if he's always been a guy that could carry you with his right arm. But he's always been a guy that if you have the right pieces around him, he can be successful. I still think he's that guy."
Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.