ELI HAS LOT TO PROVE
After backing from brass, reloaded roster, Eli has something to prove
ELI MANNING comes to his 15th season armed with so much to prove — if not so much to himself and his true-blue teammates, then to John Mara and Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur for believing that this 37-yearold quarterback can get off the canvas. And to cynics, who are convinced that Father Time is roaring around the edge on him more ferociously than Lawrence Taylor ever did.
Manning is forever grateful he was able to keep his dream job after all the 3-13 turmoil and heartbreak of having his 210game ironman streak broken so witlessly and unceremoniously last December in Oakland by the previous regime, and such was his mission of payback that he reported to training camp feeling forever young.
“I feel healthy, feel strong, and feel as good as I have felt going into any camp,” Manning said. And looks it. “I just saw this really motivated Eli this offseason,” Evan Engram said, “and was making sure we were the same way. He was moving around really well and throwing the ball really good.”
Manning has never had an arsenal of weaponry like this, and for the first time since the Snee-Seubert-O’Hara-Diehl-McKenzie days, he has bodyguards who can keep him from running for his life. And ultimately, it is on him to bring the Giants back.
It is up to him to win his first playoff game since Super Bowl XLVI. P-p-p-pressure? Nah. “No one has higher expectations than I do for myself and this team and what we want to do,” Manning said. “So, hey, I see the talent there. You never know ... when that opportunity is going to come and how many more you have, so you try to make the most of it each and every year. So, I don’t think pressure is the right word to use, but I think I want to go out there and make something special this year.” The window is closing. This is his last hurrah. You bet the Giants wasted six years of Eli Manning’s prime.
Manning, ever the good soldier, publicly begs to differ.
Now he gets this precious last chance, this chance he so desperately wanted, this chance to go out the way he deserves to go out.
If you choose to root for anyone in this town, root for Eli Manning.
Root that phenom running back Saquon Barkley, behind this upgraded offensive line, gives Manning the kind of balance and identity he hasn’t had in an eternity.
That the rookie is so much of a receiving weapon out of the backfield that the play-action game can inflict damage again.
“Excited to get some pads on and see what he can do,” Manning said.
Root that Nate Solder can serve as the elite blindside protector Manning has craved since Super Bowl XLVI.
“I’ve been impressed with Nate and what he’s been able to do, also his professionalism just coming in and knowing what he has to do to learn the offense, asking questions, getting that whole offensive line together and on the same page, and just his leadership role for that whole offensive line room I think will make a difference,” Manning said.
Root that Shurmur is the best play-caller Manning has had.
“I think he does a good job of not overcomplicating things, keeping things as simple as possible, but giving you an opportunity to be successful and be complex enough to attack the defense,” Manning said.
And, of course, root that Odell Beckham Jr. is 100 percent healthy and maybe even happy with a contract extension once the season starts.
“You never know when he can make a big play, and turn a short pass into a big gain or a touchdown,” Manning said.
If you believe Manning is on the 18th fairway, then you point to the fact that he failed to score 30 points in his two seasons with Ben McAdoo as head coach.
That his 6.1 yards per completion was his lowest since his ghastly rookie season.
When you know your quarterback no longer makes everyone around him better, it is your obligation to try to make him better him by making everyone around him better.
Manning knows there are no excuses, and he has never wanted any. It’s all sitting there on a tee for Eli Manning. Don’t bogey the hole.