McAdoo: Eli must focus on self
Eli needs to concentrate on Eli. Sure, the Giants have an eager rookie, third-round pick Davis Webb, soon to be on the scene and anxious to learn everything he can from Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl MVP. Davis is going to want to pick Eli’s brain, just as former Jets quarterback Geno Smith will want a tutorial, as will the incumbent backup, Josh Johnson. That is fine with coach Ben McAdoo, as long as Manning focuses on himself, first and foremost.
“Eli needs to do his job, he needs to focus on getting ready to go out and play at a high level this year and be a good teammate like he always is,’’ McAdoo said Tuesday night in Manhattan before he received the John V. Mara Sportsman of the Year award at the 81st annual CYO Club of Champions Tribute. “I’m sure the young guy is going to have some questions for him, but it’s not Eli’s job to get anybody ready to play this season and it’s not Eli’s job to go out and develop another quarterback. That’s not his job description. His job is to prepare and perform.’’
That has been Manning’s job for the past 13 seasons as the franchise quarterback. He remains the starter, of course, but McAdoo went out of his way to insist nothing is chiseled in stone when asked if any of this is intended to light a fire under Manning.
“I think there is a lot of competition going on in the quarterback room right now,’’ McAdoo said. “Eli is going to get pushed from Josh and Geno and with a young guy coming in who is going to push for the number two spot, but he’s got a long way to go. There’s a lot of competition.’’
Smith, coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered last November, is not yet 100 percent.
“He’s limited, he’s working his way back,’’ McAdoo said.
Coaches often are coy this time of year when asked about their depth charts, but McAdoo this week already named Paul Perkins the starting running back. The second-year player from UCLA, a fifth-round pick in 2016, moved into the position as a rookie to work behind veteran Rashad Jennings, who was released following the season.
“Paul’s the next man up,’’ McAdoo said. “We’ll see how long he can hang onto it.
“I want Paul to push forward and I want to see him grow, take advantage of the opportunity. … It will be good to see him with a whole offseason under his belt and see him grow and gain that confidence.’’
McAdoo said he will take it slowly with Jason Pierre-Paul (coming off abdominal surgery) and safety Darian Thompson, whose promising rookie season was limited to two games because of foot surgery.
“Darian’s making progress, again, he’s not 100 percent,’’ McAdoo said. “He’s still working his way back but he’s moving around pretty good out there.’’