“First pass, he got that out of the way quick, the turnover, but he’s been sharp since then”.
Advertisement
“I used to just kind of roll out of bed and go practice”, Manning said. “He just keeps playing”. “I see the difference and have stayed with it”.
“Twelve Giants seasons, two Super Bowls and yet no universal term of endearment like the Mets’ “Dark Knight”, Matt Harvey, the Rangers’ “King”, Henrik Lundqvist, or the retired Yankees’ “Captain”, Derek Jeter”.
“It looked like he got kicked”. It’s a role Manning accepts. “Obviously, until spoken to or said otherwise by someone else, I thought I was going to be with everybody else and I was going to play however many number of snaps there are, but yeah, I expected to play”.
“I’m not frustrated”, he said. “I don’t want to be out here feeling less of myself or feeling anywhere below of how I feel I should be out there”.
In other words, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. may not be on the field as long as, say, rookie safety Darian Thompson, who is penciled in as a starter.
However, they have a lot to learn, as do the seven other free-agent receivers in camp. “So, just excited for him to be out there and play”.
There’s one veteran who may benefit from Manning’s help, too.
Cruz worked relentlessly to return to the field, and though it’s the preseason, he is eager to play in his first game since October 12, 2014. Cruz did meet with reporters Tuesday, after he only did individual drills in practice, and said he was not concerned about the groin injury.
That extended his time off the field to almost two full seasons and made his attempt to resume his playing career this summer one of the big storylines of Giants camp. He says it all the time, “If Eli wasn’t playing football, he’d probably be the world’s greatest poker player.'”.
Manning will get a chance to see how far the offense has come when the Giants host to the Miami Dolphins on Friday night.
Advertisement
“We’re going to be consistent”, McAdoo said Tuesday. “To keep improving, learning, knowing limitations and what you have to improve on from year to year, enjoy the process of learning, continue to learn, continue to teach, be a teacher, be a coach to the receivers, get them up to speed but also be a student, ask tons of questions from McAdoo, coach Cignetti, Sully and try and pick their brains and know what they know so we’re all on the same page”.
