Eli Manning isn’t the slightest bit scared about practicing or playing on his surgically repaired ankle. Having to get used to an entirely new offensive system and coordinator? That has the two-time Super Bowl MVP sweating a bit.
“Yeah, it is different. You come into the season a little nervous; you just don’t have [the same comfort],’’ Manning said Monday as the Giants opened training camp. “You have a good feel for it, but not to where I want it to be. That’s with repetition and more plays.
“It’s a different feeling this time of year than in previous years. We’ve still got a lot of work to do and a lot to improve on to get comfortable, myself with my teammates and everything that goes on with being successful in an offense. I know we’ve got a lot of work to do. But we’re excited about that challenge.’’
Manning insists he won’t be challenged physically, saying he’s fully recovered from his April ankle surgery. And even though he didn’t run with his Giants teammates Monday, Tom Coughlin said, “He didn’t run last year, either.’’ Manning did throw on another field with coaches, and after practicing fully in last month’s mini-camp isn’t expected to be limited at all.
“The ankle feels great, 100 percent. Don’t feel it, don’t think about it. It’s not an issue,’’ Manning said. “I’m excited; excited to be in another training camp, get the season kicked off and get back to work. It’s an exciting time. This is what you look forward to.”
Manning will be doing a lot of adjusting, although none of it surprising.
After the Giants suffered through a 7-9 season and Manning struggling through the worst campaign of his career — throwing for 3,818 yards and 18 touchdowns, but a career-high and NFL-worst 27 interceptions — Big Blue parted ways with offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.
Gilbride had coached Manning for the quarterback’s entire career, the first three years as quarterback coach and the rest as coordinator. Now, Manning has to get used to new coordinator Ben McAdoo, and an offensive line with three new starters — and without longtime right guard Chris Snee, who retired Monday.
“When he called me [Sunday], I had a feeling of what might be coming. I kind of never really thought it was going to happen or never wanted to really think about it happening,’’ said Manning, now the last Giant left from that 2004 rookie class. “He’s been such a tremendous teammate, a great friend of mine.
“We were roommates on the road and before games that first year, sat next to him on the planes during each trip, on the bus. He’s been a tremendous player, always right there in the huddle. Worked extremely hard, played through every injury and did things the right way. [I’m] definitely going to miss his presence on the field, in the locker room, in practice.’’
Giants co-owner John Mara said just having Manning — and Coughlin — to give the team stability helps.
And the quarterback acknowledged despite the turnover on the offensive line, they’ll just have to be pushed hard and often.
“You’ve just got to challenge them each day,’’ Manning said. “We’ve got to have a lot of communication, make sure we’re communicating the same thing on our calls and on our checks, changing up cadence. You throw everything out there that you want to do — you can’t hold things back because you’ve got some new guys.’’