By PAUL SCHWARTZ
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May 17, 2005 -- There is no experimentation going on with the Giants and their quarterback situation. The search is over. The team is entirely comfortable going into training camp — and heading into the season — with Tim Hasselbeck as the backup to Eli Manning.
Getting awarded Hasselbeck off waivers from the Redskins was no minor move in the minds of the Giants, as they coveted him, hoped he'd get cut and then sweated out the waiver process until they received word last Monday that they got their man.
"Hasselbeck was a gift," GM Ernie Accorsi yesterday told The Post. "We did not expect him to become available. We have a high regard for him. If he were a free agent he would have been at the top of our list. This is not one of these stop-gap things."
The Giants believe they have their three quarterbacks in place, with Jesse Palmer expected to beat out Jared Lorenzen for the No. 3 job, a role Palmer filled last season while not throwing a single pass.
At first, when the Giants picked up Hasselbeck, 27, it seemed as if he and Palmer, 26, would compete for the backup job. That battle likely will not emerge, as Hasselbeck is clearly in the lead for the No. 2 spot.
Accorsi went as far as to say that, other than Kerry Collins, Hasselbeck "talent-wise is as good a backup as we've had here," although Accorsi did give Kurt Warner an edge over Hasselbeck in experience.
Is there basis for the high value the Giants place on Hasselbeck? After all, he went undrafted in 2001 out of Boston College, and his five career starts all came in 2003, when he replaced an injured Patrick Ramsey.
Hasselbeck compiled a rating of 63.6 and did beat the Giants 20-7. He was deemed expendable by the Redskins this offseason after they selected Jason Campbell in the draft. When he was cut, Hasselbeck first had to pass through waivers, which goes by the order of the first round of the NFL draft.
That means 11 teams passed on Hasselbeck before the Giants — who originally owned the No. 12 pick before trading it to the Chargers — claimed and were awarded him.
Going with Hasselbeck and Palmer also negates the role of a Manning mentor, something the Giants once said was so important when they signed Jim Miller — and, after Miller went down with a torn hip labrum, when they tried to sign Doug Flutie. There will be little in the way of veteran guidance for Manning.
"The last thing we're going to worry about with Eli Manning with his family background is that he needs a mentor," Accorsi said.
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