NFL news- Eli Manning to Start Sunday for the GIANTS

[dr.strangelove]

Sorry to bother non-sports DUers with this, but as a Giants fan, its about time. Warner was a stopgap, and he did a good job. But it is clear that the Giants don't have a championship team with Warner at the helm. Keeping Warner in just takes quality starts from Manning. So we will let Manning throw downfield against a weak Atlanta defense to tune up for the beating he will take from the Eagles. I don;t think the Giants will win either of these games, but it will be fun to watch. Every snap he takes gets him ready faster. He is the future of this team (as long as he is not another Akili Smith or Ryan Leaf).

[Oreo]

1. Thanks!

Unfortunately I have Warner as a starter in my Fantasy League without much to back him up :P

[On the Road]

2. I Think It's Time for Eli, Too

I was behind Kurt at the beginning of the season, but the losses to the Bears and Cardinals were the last straw. I do appreciate the lack of interceptions Kurt threw, but the sacks, fumbles, and critical incompletions were too much. I also think some of the fault lies with consistently safe play-calling by Coughlin.

The Giants are still on the uptick, as far as I'm concerned. They can beat the Falcons.

[DinahMoeHum]

3. It doesn't help that the Giants have injuries to key players. . .

their staring defensive ends, for instance.


:bounce:

[Beware the Beast Man]

4. Glad the Giants got their money's worth, finally.

Our rookie is 7-0.

[c0lin]

5. bad idea..

simply because he'll get in there and just get f'd up.

1) Giants fans will expect to win their division this year with him in there. He won't. He can't. It is too much pressure for a rookie QB to pick his team up and lead them to the playoffs (cue Roethlisberger comment, and I'll just say to you "The Steelers played a game. They didn't start hot and get peoples expectations up.")

2) Playing Manning in this situation (with a depleted Giants team) is going to do nothing for him. "Hey Eli! Get in there pal, hope you have fun with no supporting cast and a weak O-line!"

anyway, I could go on but I gotta go - have fun giants! ;)

[dr.strangelove]

7. Nothing for him?

The NFL game is faster than the college game. Many NFL players said Oliver Stone's camera action in "Any given Sunday" was very accurate in its portrayal of the speed of the game. Manning needs reps in the game. If yuo start him next year, he will need the same number of reps.

I know Big Ben has done it without the reps, but that is far from teh norm. Almost every QB takes a few games before they are ready, some take a few seasons (see Detroit).

I also don't think any Giant fan still expects to win their divison when you can;t beat the Lions and Bears at home, much less the Cardinals on the road. The Giants season is now a wild card hunt, and the chance to get killed by the Eagles. Why not let the year go the wayside and give ELi the reps now.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Big Ben Has A GREAT O-Line, And. . .

. . .he has two top 20 receivers to throw the ball to. He obviously has the goods, but he's not behind a line that gives him 3 seconds before being killed. The Steelers' offesive line is giving him 4 seconds or more on nearly every play.

Also, Ben had the play-action fake thing down in college. So, with two good RB's, a good fake can freeze two guys that opens up the underneath zones. Since he's obviously very sharp, he will recognize that in a hurry and always know he can get a quick 8 yards if he needs it. Then, with those two wideouts, he can get big chunks.

Manning doesn't have that luxury. The line is nowhere near as good, and his wideouts are ordinary. I predict this will result in a serious beating against both of these next two teams.
The Professor

[dr.strangelove]

15. Atlanta's pass rush is very strong

I don't care who is on the line.

The term "top 20 receiver" is very relative. If Amani Toomer was on the Steelers, he would be a "top 10 receiver". He plays for a team that can't throw the ball at home. You think the Giants are a running team under their past 5 head coaches (two of whom were HUGE QB passing or "West Coast" guys before coming to the Giants (Reeves and Fassel)). The Giants run the ball b/c it is impossible to throw in Giants stadium. Pennington is the most accurate passer I've seen in years and the Jets run 65% of their plays. There is a reason for this. You can't throw the ball at Giants Stadium with any significant consistency. If you have never been there, the stadium is in the middle of a giant plateau built containing hundreds of acres of treeless swamp land. The wind shear at Giants Stadium is incredible. John Elway, among the strongest throwers in the past two decades, spoke of his hatred of playing the Jets there due to the wind. When Ben comes to the Meadowlands, he too will bitch about how the wind screws up his throws. Just as you deflate the hitting numbers for Coors field in baseball, most analysts increase the throwing numbers for Giants/Jets passers and receivers. Thats why Shockey gets so much credit. It is pretty hard to be a receiving TE in that stadium. He would have triple the receptions somewhere else.

The Steelers O-line is way better than the Giants and Ben is a great QB. I wanted the Giants to keep the picks, trade down to 7-8 and take Ben. I'm sure Ben will be as good, or better, on the career than Manning.

I do challenge your assertion that the Giants wide outs are ordinary. If they were ordinary, the Giants would never win games. You can't rate the Giants wide outs as ordinary because they don't catch long passes. There are almost never 30+ yards passes at Giants stadium. The only way for a Giant receiver to get a 30+ yard pass is to catch a short pass and break tackles. It happens, but not often.

I agree Professor that Atlanta's Coleman and Kearny will kill Manning, and Kearse will eat him up too. But Coleman and Kearse will be around for awhile. Let the man play ball against them. He'll be doing it for a long time.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. So it was said about Tony Mandarich when the Packers picked him

over Barry Sanders. A lot has been placed on this young man, and I only hope they give him the time and the space to grow. I say this from Detroit Michigan...where quarterbacks come to have their careers wrecked. :hi:

[dr.strangelove]

8. I still have hope for Harrington

But Detroit is the death zone for QBs.

[Renew Deal]

9. Cool

I plan to watch.

[LSdemocrat]

10. So, now Eli gets to get sacked six times a game.

That's going to do wonders for his development.

[dr.strangelove]

12. It sure will.

Getting sacked is part of football. What the hell are the Giants going to do this offseason to prevent sacks next year, that they have not tried for the last two years. They draft O linemen every year. they sign quality free agent O line help and they keep their best free agent on the line. WHAT ELSE CAN THEY DO?

Eli is going to play behind a weak, but fast, O-line. Why should he wait a year when he can start learning now. He knows the offense. They get NO NUMBER ONE pick next year. He won;t have much of a different class, except Dayne is gone (contract expires) so he may have a short yard back who can run.

[LSdemocrat]

13. Getting sacked early and often doesn't help a quarterback

It's actually good if the Giants don't make many O-line changes. O-lines get better by playing together. Let Warner take the hits this year (at least through the Philly game), then let Manning ease his way in.

[dr.strangelove]

14. Why are you so scared of Philly

Do you think Philly is going to hurt Eli more than the Steelers will, or Atlanta this weekend. The Eagles will get a few sacks out of Kearse and Rayburn get the pressure, but are not usually high sack guys. Kearse will get 1, maybe 2, but the Eagles are far from the best Pass Rush in the game. Letting Manning sit until the Eagles and then play the rest of th eway does nothing to protect him. Two weeks later the Giants play the Steelers. The Steelers do haver a great pass rush. Townsend, Porter and Smith are getting hard sacks every game. They will sack Eli hard. If you are worried about protecting Eli Manning, don't let him play football. As for not doing anything to change the line. The Giants are getting beat by the DEs every snap. Pettigute's back can't handle the game's speed anymore. His injuries are going to shorten his career, like most good OTs. They need to move him inside and sign two strong OTs.

Also, Atlanta's Kerny and Coleman will pressure whoever plays QB this weekend. Coleman pressures out of the backfield like no one else in the game. they are tougher on the pass rush than the Eagles are.
Why the decision to keep Warner in until the Eagles game?