AWAKEN GIANTS
The questions made complete sense, if they had not been not so nonsensical, given what recently transpired.
Will Eli Manning try to get Victor Cruz involved early in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Jets? Will he purposefully look in Cruz’s direction and maybe even force the ball his way, given that this is the receiver’s first game in 685 days and everyone is so anxious to see what he has to offer?
Manning, smiling a knowing smile, said: “It doesn’t always work that way. Hopefully it works out and we can get him the ball, but it’ll depend on the coverage, on the play and what’s going on. I’m not going to bypass somebody to get him a catch in a preseason game. Hopefully it works out, and if he’s out there enough he should get a catch.’’
Given what went on last week in Buffalo, the notion Manning and the offense can dictate where the ball goes and who gets the catches is laughable. No one cares much or remembers the details of any preseason affair, unless something dramatic happens. Cruz hauling in three touchdown passes in the summer of 2010 on Rex Ryan and the Jets, for example, was such a stunning performance it actually locked the unknown rookie into a roster spot.
What went down six days ago against the Bills easily can be dismissed, as long as the sad-sack offensive display does not bleed over into this week as the Giants and Jets duke it out at MetLife Stadium. Manning and the starters were on the field for four series against Buffalo and the net result was abysmal: 37 total yards, one first down, no points.
Even those hardened to preseason struggles could not shake off such utter ineptitude.
“We talked a little bit after the game and some emotions were flying around and we put it in perspective earlier in the week,’’ coach Ben McAdoo said.
The response was a three-hour, fully-padded practice on Wednesday. All concerned seemed interested in moving on, as this is the last real opportunity for the starting offense to get something accomplished before the Sept. 11 regular-season opener against the Cowboys. The final preseason game, against the Patriots, arrives five days after the Giants face the Jets and the starters will play some, but not much. A few will not play at all. Putting in two and possibly three quarters of work, the Giants cannot accomplish next to nothing and then pay lip-service to feeling good about their readiness for the real season.
“It is very important for us,” offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan said. “It’s no mystery, it was very disappointing in a lot of areas the last time we were out.”
On defense, the starters have flashed the improvement anticipated from a unit revamped and refortified via free agency and the NFL Draft. There have been no such signs on offense, where, for the most part, continuity reigns and a fast start out of the gate is expected.
“I mean, it didn’t just disap- point people, it disappointed us,’’ running back Andre Williams said of the meltdown at Buffalo. “Going on the field and turning the ball over four times, putting up no points on the board, I think we had one first down the whole game, it’s disappointing for us, too. But at the same time you got to look at the circumstance and understand where we are and know that is not who we are as an offense.’’
Knowing it and showing it are two different things. Perhaps Cruz, coming back from knee and calf surgeries that kept him out for more than 22 months, will rejuvenate the attack, as his teammates — as well as the coaching staff — are anxious to see signs he can once again be an explosive receiver. The offensive line, often criticized in 2015 and unchanged in 2016, needs to put up far more against a rugged Jets defensive line than it did at any point tangling with the Bills.
“I think the offense as a whole feels that it is important to put a better product on the field,’’ McAdoo said.