November 16, 2004
Eli Manning
Eli Manning is the new Giants starter. Archie Manning plus all Giants fans will be watching according to Steve Serby in the New York Post. Steve Politi in the Star Ledger hopes that Giants fans aren't expecting too much from a rookie QB. Andrew Marchand reports that Phil Simms says Coughlin will keep things simple for Manning.
Peter King thinks that he thinks that Warner should still be starting. He says that Kurt Warner hasn't lost his job yet. If getting outplayed by Craig Krenzel doesn't mean losing your job (and it didn't for Warner) than we live in a crazy world. King has some very nice things to say about the Falcons pass rush which spells trouble for the Giants.
Now I'm not going to make any predictions or comparisons (they like making comparisons in Pittsburgh) but I will pose a few questions for Manning's start against the Falcons.
1. Will the Giants go deep?
Sure we'd all love to see a deep ball but why haven't we been seeing them recently? If Warner's arm was the problem, we can expect Manning to throw deep. If conservative play-calling is the problem, the switch to Manning means nothing.
2. Will Manning get sacked 6+ times?
Maybe Warner holds on to the ball too long and Manning doesn't. Then we won't see as amny sacks against the Falcons. Maybe the offensive line is just hopeless in pass protection and we're screwed no matter who the QB is.
3. Will Manning imitate Peyton?
Maybe the play action pass will become a factor in the giants game. I'm sorry to say it hasn't been so far and considering how scary our running game is, it shoud be a factor. Maybe the play-calling is a problem here.
Maybe Manning will read the defense like his brother, and be able to beat the blitz or the zone or wahtever. Maybe he's just a rookie who needs time to develop.
4. Will Manning make rookie mistakes?
Maybe Manning will show up Roethlisberger (who has a better line and better receivers than the Giants). Maybe he will look like all the other rookie quarterbacks who have struggled in their first few games over the years.
5. Will watching Manning be more exciting than watching Warner?
Yes.
Posted by James Trotta at November 16, 2004 5:44 PM