INDIANAPOLIS — Everyone is aching for the Giants to throw the ball down the field. Their starting offense has been inept at doing so in the first two preseason games and all the talk this week is about it being time for Eli Manning to get his right arm limbered up for some deep passes.
It may happen Saturday night in preseason game No. 3 against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Manning and the starters will play through the first quarter and well into the second. A few long-range completions would do wonders to allay the concerns about offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s new West Coast offense. This could be the night. Or maybe not.
“If the opportunity is there, yes,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “Is it something that is at the top of the ‘Here’s-what-we-must-do’ board? No. Naturally if the opportunity is there and you get the one-on-one matchup that you’d like to have, you’d like to see what happens with that.”
At least McAdoo’s entire playbook has been installed, a feat that transpired this past week. Victor Cruz does not have a catch, nor has been targeted for a pass, in the first two games and that has been joked about a bit by Cruz and Coughlin.
Cruz said not to worry, everything is moving along according to schedule.
“That’s the part we’re at now, fine-tuning those little details so we can get on the same page,” Cruz said. “But the offense is in, it feels good. Everybody is sharp, everybody understands the plays.
“We’ve had some ups and downs, some three-and-outs and then some big plays. We want to show the consistency of a 10- to 12-play drive for a field goal or a touchdown to show that this offense is really good.”
Former Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks is not a starter with the Colts, as he’s behind Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton. Nicks has one catch for 15 yards in the preseason. Former Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw, listed behind starter Trent Richardson, may make his preseason debut following offseason neck surgery.
Saturday will be the first preseason action for Will Beatty, starting at left tackle for the Giants, and his first game since breaking his right leg in the 2013 season finale.
“I am expecting a lot from myself,’’ Beatty said. “I am going up against [Robert] Mathis, and it is his 11th year in the league, and knowing it’s a preseason game, but his intensity to the game and how he plays it; he will look at it as a regular-season game. Each snap he gets, he is going to give it his best. This is my marker of how well I have trained during the offseason to recover and get back to top shape.’’
This is also the first preseason game for CB Trumaine McBride, who has looked excellent in camp coming off hip surgery.
“For me, it’s pretty much picking up where I left off last season,” said McBride, who has more interceptions this summer than any other Giants defensive back.