FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The sky isn’t going to fall and Eli Manning isn’t going to get demoted if he and the other Giants starters on offense tonight are incapable of getting much of anything accomplished in the preseason finale against the Patriots. But, for the sake of alleviating concern and silencing the legitimate criticism, Manning would like to make his brief time on the field result in something positive.
“We have to play better,” Manning said. “We have to be better in the red zone and convert on third downs, so there’s some room for improvement.’’
Yeah, there’s room for improvement. A canyon-sized room for improvement. In three preseason games, the Giants have scored two touchdowns, both on big plays (57-yard Manning to Victor Cruz against the Steelers and an 84-yard run by David Wilson against the Jets). There’s been no sustained touchdown drive, no touchdowns in eight red-zone trips and 24.5 percent conversion on third downs. Manning is as guilty as anyone, completing 43 percent of his passes with a meager 5.9 yards per attempt.
Manning will stay on the field for 12-15 plays and then he and the other starters will take up residence on the sideline. So, if they start slowly, there won’t be much time to crank anything up.
“I’d like to see some continuity and some execution, some performance,’’ coach Tom Coughlin said. “I’d like to see us get the ball in the end zone. I’d like to see us do well on third down. I’d like to see our passing game with our protection look like some type of an efficient operation. I’d like to see progress. That’s really what I would like to see.’’
* The Giants will wear their alternate white game pants for two home games this season: Nov. 10 against the Raiders and Nov. 24 against the Cowboys.
The white pants have a red stripe bordered by gray and blue. The Giants last wore the white pants in 1999.
* LB Aaron Curry, cut by the Giants last week, is retiring.
He took to Twitter yesterday to write: “After a lot of prayer. Consulting with God. The best thing for my family and myself is to retire from the NFL. I enjoyed it.’’
The Giants took a flier on Curry, 27, after his flameouts with the Seahawks — who took him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft — and last year with the Raiders.
The six-year, $60 million contract the Seahawks gave him included $34 million in guaranteed money.
* This is the ninth straight year the Giants and Patriots finish up the preseason against each other.
The Giants last year won a 6-3 thriller.