The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Manning downplays age factor
Giants quarterback doesn’t see himself slowing down
Don’t bother talking to Eli Manning about his age.
Entering his 14th season, the 36-year-old New York Giants quarterback just smiled Friday when asked about the number and comments by general manager Jerry Reese that the two-time Super Bowl MVP will be on somewhat of a pitch count in training camp.
The goal seemingly is to limit the wear and tear on the “old guy’s” arm heading into a season when the Giants have high hopes following their first playoff berth since winning the Lombardi Trophy in February 2012.
“I know how old I am,” Manning said after the Giants held their first training camp workout. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being 36. I’m proud of it. Hey, I feel good. I can still make all the throws. I can still run around when I need to. So, it is what it is. But I don’t see myself slowing down at all and I feel like I still got great football ahead of me.” Giants co-owner John Mara agrees. “He shows no signs to me of slowing down,” Mara said. “He is highly motivated to win another championship. To me, he looks as good as he ever had, so we are excited about him.”
The Giants’ offense did not have a good season in 2016 despite making the playoffs. The unit was ranked 25th overall, with the run game at No. 29 and the passing game at No. 17.
Manning hit 377 of 598 passes for 4,027 yards, 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His quarterback rating of 86.0 percent was in the lower third of the league.
One of the major problems was the offensive line. There was no running game and Manning was knocked down more than the Giants wanted, getting sacked 21 times and punished by hits much more than that.
“Eli has to take care of himself and get himself ready to play mentally and physically,” Reese said Thursday. “When guys get up in age, you have to take care of them. There are a few guys on the squad that coach McAdoo and our staff, we’ve talked about, ‘OK,
let’s make sure these guys get to the game, get to the season.’ You’ve got to protect them in some ways.”
Manning downplayed the so-called pitch count. He said he has been on one since Ben McAdoo took over as offensive coordinator in 2014 and then became the head coach last season.
Beckham’s bucks
Odell Beckham Jr. is very aware that quarterbacks get the biggest bucks in the NFL. And that NBA players, even those who sit on the bench nearly all the time, have fully guaranteed contracts.
He also firmly covets being pro football’s highest-paid player, as he proclaimed in a recent online video.
That doesn’t mean the star receiver isn’t going to show up when it’s mandatory, and try his hardest in practices and games.
“I am not here to hold out,” he said at the Giants’ first workout of training camp. “I am here to practice. I am here to get better each and every day. I feel I have stuff I can improve on, stuff I need to work on, and really, stuff I am willing to work on.
“I am 24 years old. I’m trying to play football until I can’t play football any more. I can’t get caught up taking days off and not playing.”
Heading into the fourth season of his rookie contact, he will earn just under $1.84 million, not even close to the $17 million yearly average pulled in by Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown. He is due for a major raise and likely will get one in the next year.
“He deserves to get paid,” Giants owner John Mara said. “We’re going to pay him. It’s just a question of when we enter into the contract. I don’t have a timetable on it right now. I just don’t feel like there is any need to rush into it. But he is going to end up getting paid.”
Retooled receivers
The Patriots have had more than their share of luck when it comes to getting the most out of their receivers during the Bill Belichick era.
Last season that guy was Chris Hogan, a modestly used player during his first four NFL seasons in Buffalo. Unsure of their long-term plan for him, he went into free agency last offseason in search of a new home.
He found it in New England, where his work ethic and big play ability were rewarded with 14 starts, a career-high 680 receiving yards and the first two playoff touchdowns of his career.
This season, the Patriots are hoping Brandin Cooks can have similar success as he joins a loaded receiving corps that includes Hogan, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and second-year wideout Malcolm Mitchell.
“There’s competition everywhere,” Edelman said. “Competition makes the best out of players. We’ve got a room with a lot of guys that can do a lot of things, so it’s going to make us better.”
The addition of 23-yearold Cooks not only brings in a player that is coming off back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons, but injects more youth to a unit that was beginning to trend older.
Edelman and Amendola have been two of quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite and most dependable targets in recent years, but both entered training camp at 31 years old. Hogan is 28 and Mitchell just turned 24.
While both Amendola and Edelman are expected to continue to play big roles in the offense, having a deep ball threat like Hogan and elusive players in the open field like Cooks and Mitchell give the offense more dimension.
Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said Cooks’ quickness has been a marvel even in the short time he’s been able to work with him.
“He’s probably one of the fastest people I’ve ever seen in person,” Garoppolo said. “That’s nice having at your leisure as a quarterback. That type of speed, it’s rare. He uses it to his advantage to create space and it makes our job a lot easier.”
Skipping the skeptics
There has been plenty of chatter about the New York Jets this offseason, and none of it has been particularly positive.
They’ve got a three-man quarterback competition, a revamped roster that’s minus lots of familiar faces, and a growing number of skeptics who believe the Jets will have trouble winning a game, let alone contend for a playoff spot.
“The outside world’s not in here,” nose tackle Steve McLendon said as the players reported for training camp . “That’s the difference. We’re not really worried about what they say. It’s not about proving them wrong, it’s about doing what we’re supposed to do. And the first thing we did today was show up.”
As for the new-look locker room, the defiant Jets insist they don’t share the doomsday sentiments.
“We believe in each other,” McLendon said. “It’s that short and sweet. We believe in each other.”
After a 10-6 season in which they barely missed the playoffs in Todd Bowles’ first year as coach, the Jets struggled through a brutal 5-11 campaign derailed by injuries and inconsistency. General manager Mike Maccagnan cleared the roster of several high-priced veterans, with the likes of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, Nick Mangold and David Harris jettisoned by the Jets.
The rebuild for the future is in full effect, and that means there are likely some rough days ahead.
Ray injured
Just two days into the Denver Broncos’ training camp, rookie head coach Vance Joseph has lost two key players to wrist injuries.
Linebacker Shane Ray will undergo surgery Saturday to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist a day after running back Devontae Booker underwent surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his left wrist that was misdiagnosed for a month as a sprain.
Ray, a first-round pick in 2015, will miss six to eight weeks. The Broncos are hoping to have him back by their third regular-season game, at Buffalo on Sept. 24.
Booker, who is expected to miss six weeks, learned he needed surgery after reporting for his camp physical Wednesday.
Just like Booker had, Ray figured his injury wasn’t a big deal at first.
He hurt his wrist Thursday but played through it. On Friday he wore a brace but he fell on it during one of the final drills of practice and was sent for X-rays.