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Kurt Warner Rips Giants For Benching Manning ... He's Not The Problem!!!

Kurt Warner is going to bat for Eli Manning -- the guy who replaced him as the starting Giants' QB back in the day -- saying Eli definitely was NOT the problem in New York this season.

"If u watched the film, ELI was one of the few guys playing winning fball for that team!!" Warner said.

"Maybe I’m biased but there is nothing worse in fball than a team making the QB the scapegoat for losing when it’s WAY bigger than that!!"

Of course, Kurt and Eli were teammates during the 2004 season. Kurt started the first 9 games but was eventually replaced by Eli (a rookie at the time) after a 2-game losing streak.

Kurt left NY and signed with the AZ Cardinals the next season. Eli has been starting in NY ever since.

... until Tuesday, when the 0-2 Giants announced Manning will ride the bench this weekend and 1st round draft pick Daniel Jones will start.

Kurt never specifically says who's to blame in NY, but calls on Giants brass to start taking a harder look at the roster before benching Eli.

"Guess I am just a believer in playing best guy and if u gave him the job & he didn’t lose it by playing badly - start replacing some other guys first!"

Warner added, "[Manning] has earned better than two games in his last season (if it is his last there which we would all expect)!"

Giants officially kick off the Jones era at 1 PM PT against the Buccaneers on Sunday. Getchya popcorn ready.

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