He’s bailed us out so many times and he will again. He’s the last guy we’re worried about. You don’t need to worry about him, he’ll be fine. We won, that’s the most important thing, style points don’t count.
Yes, yes, sure, no doubt and all-righty then. No one is worried about Eli Manning. We get it. That’s what they are saying. Feel free to not believe they are telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
How can the Giants not be concerned when their franchise quarterback is performing like some journeyman and the plan at the moment is not to have Eli cost them the game? Eli Manning, game manager? You got to be kidding. This modus operandi has worked against the Vikings, Eagles and Raiders in the three-game winning streak, mainly because those teams came at the Giants with damaged goods at quarterback and couldn’t score enough points in a 7-on-7 practice drill. Heck, Eli the Conservative might even work again this Sunday, when the Packers arrive with Scott Tolzien as their starting quarterback as he subs for the injured Seneca Wallace, who was subbing for the injured Aaron Rodgers.
Eli as Game Manager is not going to cut it against teams with real quarterbacks that can actually score points, like the Cowboys, Redskins, Chargers, Seahawks, Lions and Redskins again. Those are the last six games of the season, and down the stretch no one should expect the Giants to be able to run the ball 32, 31 and 38 times, which is what they have done in this three-game winning streak. Andre Brown’s presence is huge, but to think the Giants are suddenly going to be able to reinvent themselves into a smash-mouth team with Manning as a dink-and-dunker is ridiculous.
You could sense something in Victor Cruz after the 24-20 victory over the Raiders. The ball never should have come Cruz’s way on what became a Tracy Porter pick-six in the second quarter. Cruz said he could have “backpedalled’’ into the end zone had Manning hit him on what should have turned into a 5-yard TD pass on third-and-goal in the fourth quarter with the Giants nursing a one-point lead.
Just listen to Cruz describing the fateful interception:
“When you run a route, you kind of know who’s in your area and you kind of know when you’re going to get the ball and when you’re not. And when he threw it, I was a little surprised, because it was a coverage we had gone over. I’m assuming he just didn’t see him and just kind of threw it in that area. That’s why I was surprised when he threw it.’’
Irritated? Not really? Confused? Probably. If the Giants cannot count on Manning to make the plays to win games – down the field, deep passing plays – this bizarre playoff run is going to disintegrate before too much longer.
Other notables:
— The Packers may sign their former backup, Matt Flynn, on Monday after Flynn works out for the team, but even if they do, the plan is to start Tolzien against the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Tolzien was a two-year starter at Wisconsin before going undrafted, spent time in 2011 with the Chargers in training camp, sat the bench in 2012 with the 49ers and began this season on the Packers’ practice squad. He made his NFL debut this Sunday, coming in for Wallace and completing 24 of 39 passes for 280 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 27-13 loss in Green Bay to the Eagles. He’s a pocket passer with a decent arm and one game of real NFL experience.
— The last time the Giants had a 100-yard rusher at running back, Brandon Jacobs in Chicago on Oct. 10, was also the last time Jacobs was seen on the field, as he continues to sit with a strained hamstring. The Giants should keep that in mind after giving Andre Brown 30 carries in his first game of the season after he recovered from his second broken left leg in the past year. Peyton Hills sure fell out of favor quickly, as he fumbled away a screen pass in the first quarter and got just five rushing attempts (for 21 yards) against the Raiders. Hillis also missed a blitz pickup that directly led to Manning getting sacked.
— Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell got pretty creative on a fourth-quarter play that resulted in a strip-sack by Mathias Kiwanuka. Fewell put Justin Tuck in a two-point stance, standing on the right side of the defensive line, directly behind Jason Pierre-Paul, clearly wanting to direct all of the Raiders’ attention to protecting Terrelle Pryor’s right side. Meanwhile, Kiwanuka was able to loop around the left edge and come in from behind to nail Pryor. It didn’t hurt that the coverage down the field was solid, forcing Pryor to hold the ball a second or two longer than he should have.
“It was a good designed call, I was just fighting and continuing to rush, and at the point where if he still had the ball in his hand, I was gonna try and take it out,’’ Kiwanuka said.
Asked to elaborate, Kiwanuka smiled and said, “We’re not gonna give it all away, we’ll leave it at that. It was a good design. Maybe it confused him. I don’t know what he was thinking.’’
— The Giants had lost 10 straight games when they trailed at halftime before coming back on the Raiders after trailing 17-14 at the half (and 20-14 in the third quarter). No doubt the Raiders helped fuel the Giants’ comeback, but this has to help the mindset moving forward.
— How bad were the offenses the Giants have faced in their three-game winning streak? The Raiders managed only 213 total yards, the third consecutive Giants opponent that failed to gain 215 yards. The Vikings had 206 yards and the Eagles finished with 201 yards. That’s darn good defense, but, to be fair, darn lousy offense, too. Heck, the Raiders has 106 net passing yards, the fewest by a Giants opponent since Miami threw for 101 yards on Oct. 30, 2011. The Raiders’ 12 first downs were the fewest by a Giants opponent since Minnesota had 10 on Dec. 13, 2010.
— Another problem with the passing attack is Manning might be too predictable. He’s forcing the ball to Cruz, who is almost constantly double-teamed. Of Manning’s 22 pass attempts vs. the Raiders, Cruz was targeted 10 times and had only three receptions. Hakeem Nicks was on the field for 53 of the 65 offensive snaps and was targeted four times (he caught all four for 49 yards).