NFL

Giants’ new regime sets ridiculously lofty goal for Eli

The Giants are trying to improve the accuracy in Eli Manning’s right arm by changing what he does with his two feet.

That’s a major focus in the reclamation of Eli, the two-time Super Bowl MVP, a player who last season dropped near the depths of the quarterback ratings list and, at age 33, is receiving professional intervention in the form of a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterbacks coach and an entirely new offensive system.

And a new goal, lofty and perhaps unattainable: Hitting on 70 percent of his passes.

An emphasis has been placed on Manning “trusting his feet,’’ a phrase used repeatedly in the spring and on into the summer. The West Coast offense demands the triggerman master and utilize certain steps and movements that lead directly to the ball going where it is designed to, quickly, decisively and with precision.

“We want our footwork to match what’s going on downfield,’’ Danny Langsdorf, the first-year quarterbacks coach, said Monday at training camp. “So if our footwork is correct, is such that it’s telling you it’s time to throw the ball, then we want to trust our feet in knowing it’s time to get rid of it. Or it’s time to get out of there.”

Danny LangsdorfPaul J. Bereswill
This change manifests itself more often when Manning is in the shotgun, where in the past he was more flat-footed.

“Some of those things are different, just taught differently than what we’ve done in the past,’’ Manning said. “It’s not only remembering the play and protection but also remembering … do I take a step with my right foot first or my left foot, those things that are now becoming second nature.’’

There’s no reason to set goals if they aren’t a bit of a stretch. But is it reasonable to think Manning can complete 70 percent of his passes this season?

“Yeah, absolutely,’’ Langsdorf said.

History says “Nah, absolutely not.’’ Consider that Manning’s best season as far as accuracy was 2010, when he completed 62.9 percent of his passes. He’s gone down every year since and dipped to 57.5 percent in his horrid 27-interception 2013 performance. Even at his best, Manning, operating a more high-risk, high-reward offense, was never close to the NFL leaders in completion percentage. His career 58.5 percent is fairly pedestrian.

There’s a new system in town, though, the quicker throwing, shorter passing West Coast offense imported by first-year coordinator Ben McAdoo. Langsdorf spent the past six years at Oregon State — his only previous NFL experience was with the Saints from 2002-04 — and he sees no reason why Manning cannot reach new accuracy heights in this offense.

“Well, we’d love to be there around 70 percent,’’ Langsdorf said. “It hasn’t been done very often. That’s an impressive statistic if you look at the history of the league.’’

Indeed, only five quarterbacks have ever completed an entire season with a completion percentage of 70 percent. Drew Brees (71.2 and 70.6) did it twice and Ken Anderson (70.6), Steve Young (70.3) and Joe Montana (70.2) each did it once. Alex Smith was completing 70.2 percent of his passes for the 49ers after 10 games in 2012 before he was replaced by Colin Kaepernick.

Anywhere near 70 percent for Manning would be an astronomical leap. Consider that in a decade of throwing the ball he’s managed to hit the 70 percent mark in only 15 of his 153 career regular-season games. He’s also done it three times in the postseason, including Super Bowl XLVI.

This is the first NFL quarterbacks coach assignment for Langsdorf and naturally he arrived with some preconceived notions about Manning, figuring Manning would be a willing worker and a receptive to change and thus far that’s been the case.

“I think he’s been a true professional that way, really eager to continue to learn and progress and kind of see what’s different and what’s new,’’ Langsdorf said. “He’s in here early, stays late and he’s always asking questions. He’s really kind of a gym rat.’’

There was a surprise or two for Langsdorf, though.

“He’s a better athlete than I thought,’’ said Langsdorf, laughing. “He moves a lot better than I thought.’’