NFL

Eli tries to improve with Giants’ new QB coach

Mike Sullivan turned in one of the best coaching jobs on the Giants staff last year taking the receiving corps from weak link to one of the more productive units on the squad. While the general public may not have given him credit for developing Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, his head coach took notice and promoted Sullivan to quarterbacks coach this season.

Now in his seventh year with the Giants, Sullivan is working to help Eli Manning have an even better year in 2010 than he did in 2009 when he set career highs for completions (317), completion percentage (.623), yards (4,021) and touchdowns (27).

It might seem like a cushy job, but Sullivan is taking a close look at everything from Manning’s footwork to decision-making to find areas where he can improve.

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“He’s such a class act and such a professional,” Sullivan said of Manning. “It’s exciting for me to see a guy who’s constantly trying to get better. We’re doing some drills and things that you would think someone with his experience would not take seriously. But he’s right in there. It makes my job easy when you have someone who is so committed to improving.”

Sullivan approached coach Tom Coughlin about becoming the quarterbacks coach when Chris Palmer left to join the UFL. Palmer had joined the staff before the 2007 season and molded Manning into a Super Bowl winning quarterback. While the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” theory might apply, Sullivan isn’t afraid to do some tinkering. He said he has spent much of his time looking at film of Manning “to identify areas where we can improve and focus on specific drills.”

Manning said the transition from Palmer to Sullivan has gone smoothly.

“A lot of it is just communication,” Manning said. “How I see things; how I read things from a quarterback’s perspective. A lot of it is meetings and talking to each other and seeing how each other thinks. I asked him to watch some things closely and to tell me if there’s something that I’m not doing right. We’re communicating very well.”

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride will still handle the play calling, but Sullivan expects to be more involved in the offense than he was as the receivers coach.

“I enjoyed my time with the receiving corps and couldn’t be more proud of our accomplishments,” he said. “But being able to expand my horizons, to coach a new position, a position that is involved with every aspect of the play call, the run game and the pass game, it gives me a chance to sink my teeth into more of the offense.”

The other quarterbacks on the roster include Rhett Bomar from Sam Houston State, Riley Skinner, a free agent rookie from Wake Forest, and Jim Sorgi, the free agent pick up from the Colts. But it’s Manning who will get most of Sullivan’s attention. He wants to help Manning maintain a high-level of consistency.

“That’s the challenge,” Sullivan said. “It starts with looking at a play and asking, ‘What were you thinking here?’ We want to get where he’s not over-analyzing. We want him where he just goes out there and uses his God-given ability and makes fast-acting decisions.”

george.willis@nypost.com