While I was on vacation, shutting it down as best I could, Amani Toomer said Tony Romo was better than Eli Manning. Statistically. Or something to that effect.

A few folks reached out to me asking for my take on the situation, to which I pretty much said, "Do you really need me to put down this (remote control/7-iron/ice-cold beer) to add to the legions saying how dumb that statement is?"

Frankly, I couldn't have said it any better than Michael Strahan, anyway.

Today, during an appearance on WFAN's Boomer and Carton show, Manning gave what I believe was his first take on the situation.

"You’ve got to laugh about it," Manning said of offseason commentary and criticism in general before turning toward Toomer's comments specifically. "I saw Toomer not too long ago. I just walked up to him and said, 'You know what, I thought Ike Hilliard (was) a better Giants receiver than you were. Willie Ponder was probably a better receiver than you were.' … You’ve got to laugh about it instead of getting upset. There’s no point.

"Amani’s been a good pal of mine and still is, so you’ve got to laugh about it."

So there. Manning's feelings aren't hurt, just like they weren't last year with all of the backlash to the "elite" stuff.

"Working to try to become one," he said, his tongue seemingly planted in his cheek when Carton opened with a just-as-facetious question about whether he thinks he's elite yet.

Oh, and Manning also was asked if he heard Michael Vick's saying the Philadelphia Eagles could be a dynasty.

"Of course, of course. You always have to have some breaking news in the offseason," Manning said. "Obviously, we’ve got to play football. I know they’re a talented team and they’ve got great players. We’ve got some good players on our team as well, so we’ll see Philadelphia down the road. Right now, we’re just getting ready for training camp and seeing how we can get better."

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Manning on rookies David Wilson and Rueben Randle: "They both had a good spring. The thing about David Wilson is he’s the fastest running back we’ve ever had. I mean, this guy’s; quick, he’s explosive, so that’s kind of exciting. Our running backs over the years have been the powerful, big guy. With those young guys at running back, it’s all about learning protections. If I start changing plays, they have to know exactly what they’re doing, the routes off that and blocking guys. You slowly work them in, you have a small amount of plays in a special package for them that they can get comfortable with and then you get them in the mix.

"So training camp will be a big help for (Wilson), getting him in some live games in the preseason will help and the same thing for Rueben. I thought he had a good spring. He has a good feel for things, very smooth, catches the ball well, I think he picked up our offense pretty well for the first time hearing it. So the same thing - training camp just more repetitions, some live action and making decisions, making adjustments on the routes based on the coverage and just learning all those things."

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Manning was asked if he's heard from WR Hakeem Nicks on his recovery from a broken foot.

"Yeah, (I've) been around Hakeem, talked to him throughout the summer. He said he's feeling good and getting better," Manning said. "Obviously, just gotta wait until Thursday and see him at training camp and see kind of what his progress and what his training camp schedule practice-wise will be."

I'll have more from Manning later this week as a conclusion to our Giants summer questionnaire series.

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One other note: free-agent S Deon Grant told the Augusta Chronicle he expects to return to the Giants at some point during training camp. While that may well wind up being the case, my sense is that's anything but a foregone conclusion on the Giants' side, as they first want to take a look at what they have on the roster. We'll keep an eye on this situation as camp develops.

(Minutes after I posted this entry, Justin Tuck tweeted the Giants should re-sign Grant.)

Mike Garafolo: mgarafolo@starledger.com