Giants general manager Dave Gettleman believes he knows what it takes to build a Super Bowl contender, having been a part of a number of teams that have gotten there throughout his career. He says he's never been a part of a Super Bowl team that had a culture problem.
So as he tries to rebuild the Giants into such a team, does he think there's a culture problem?
"Not anymore," Gettleman told NJ Advance Media's Steve Politi in a story posted Sunday.
That indicates he did think there was a problem before, and the first, most obvious conclusion to be drawn from Gettleman's comment is that he believes Odell Beckham Jr. was part of a cultural problem. Perhaps he felt Landon Collins was too, since he didn't even place the franchise tag on the safety.
Gettleman said after trading Beckham to the Browns that the move was "purely a football decision." SNY's Ralph Vacchiano reported that the Giants felt Beckham "had become too much of a pain in the ass."
In a tweet posted just after midnight Monday morning, Beckham wrote, "I never understood "the truth shall set u free..." WOWWW , I finally get it.. sorry y'all just thinkin out loud... don't read to deep into it."
I never understood "the truth shall set u free..." WOWWW , I finally get it.. sorry y'all just thinkin out loud... don't read to deep into it 😊
- Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 22, 2019
Gettleman has taken a lot of criticism for his transactions, and he and the Giants have come under fire for committing to Eli Manning for the 2019 season -- and possibly beyond.
But the 68-year-old stands behind what he's doing.
"What I find interesting, there are people reporting and making judgments on what I do and how I do my job who don't know the game, who have never been involved with a team, and have just been on the outside looking in," Gettleman told Politi. "That's not your fault, by the way. It's just the way it is. But the problem is, to me, is when a reporter makes a judgment and doesn't have all the information. That's a thing I just shake my head at."
"I've been to seven Super Bowls," Gettleman added. "I feel very strongly that I know what it should look like, what it should smell like, what it should taste like. And, so, you can look at me and say, well, I either know what I'm doing or I'm a big fat rabbit's foot. Neither one's bad, right? I like my resume so far."