The suggestion: Maybe Eli Manning needs to take his family and go pumpkin picking.
“Maybe, you never know,’’ Manning said on Friday, actually appearing as if he might consider an Autumn getaway. “Sure.’’
Why not? Nothing else has worked in a six-week stretch that has forced Manning and the Giants to peel back the layers on the dark days of the franchise to reveal the worst of times. Based on the Thursday night loss they just left behind and a 10-day respite before a Monday Night Football meeting with the Vikings, coach Tom Coughlin has instructed his players and his coaching staff to take this weekend off, mainly to “Think. Get some rest, think about the situation we’re in and how your part can be a part of the solution.’’
The 67-year old head coach has never before at any level been the shell-shocked owner of a record of 0-6. He did not reveal if he would heed his own decree this weekend, saying, “I haven’t had that lecture yet with myself.’’
The Giants team facility will be a lonely brick building this weekend as the bulk of the NFL gears up for another slate of games and the team with the worst record in the league tries to forget how it got into this sorry mess.
“It’s very much needed right now,’’ Antrel Rolle said of the respite.
Everyone needs a break from what is shaping up to be a historically bad season. David Wilson, who said he has been told he may have spinal stenosis — a narrowing of the spinal cord — will head to Los Angeles to consult on Monday with a spine specialist and the Giants await word if their second-year running back will miss part or the remainder of the season.
Rolle has tried to keep hope alive, sharing his belief the Giants at 0-4 could go 12-0 the rest of the way, a claim that now feels like a punch line.
No one needs a break more than Manning. The quarterback who earned two Super Bowl MVPs by bringing the Giants from behind in the fourth quarter came up painfully short against the Bears, firing his third interception of the game, this one a high fastball that glanced off the hands of tight end Brandon Myers and into the grasp of cornerback Tim Jennings, with 1:54 remaining to seal the deal in a 27-21loss.
Sifting through all the dime-store psychology and symbolic messages, the last pass sailed too high because, well, it just did.
“Just a bad throw,’’ Manning said. “That was it. Could have pulled it down whatever, a foot, six inches and we got a completion and a good play. Usually I can tell the ball’s going to come out high if you throw it. Not sure why it came out a little higher than it did.’’
No one is sure about anything anymore. Coughlin said he told the team: “I am as disappointed and upset about this loss as I have been about a loss in a long, long time.’’
He bemoaned the lack of a pass rush, saying Jay Cutler “pretty much stands there and does what he wants to do.’’
Rolle went where few have ever gone, stating Manning’s teammates “have to be hard on Eli’’ in order to get the best out of him.
“He’s a tough guy, he can handle constructive criticism, he’s a guy that can deal with pressure,’’ Rolle said. “We have to be hard on Eli, but we love and respect Eli. We know what he brings to this team. Realistically speaking, we don’t win without Eli, that’s the bottom line. He’s won several games for us and dug us out of plenty of holes before, so now it’s time for us to lift him up and keep encouraging him.’’
Manning looks as though he could use the pick-me-up. He showed more emotion following this game than ever before and on Friday his voice was thin and his inflection flat. A corn maze or some hot cider might do him good.
“I think [I might] try to enjoy a little time off,’’ Manning said of his weekend plans. “This week’s been a grind after a short week. A little break and try to enjoy it, come back refreshed and hopefully have a great I’ll call it the second half of the season even though we’re not halfway there.
“I’ll try my best and put it behind me, try to be with family and friends and just enjoy the little break.’’