N.Y. Giants: Eli Manning Continues To Re-Write Giants Record Books

From the desk of:  DO IT FOR THE DUKE

 

I want to scream too!

 

Everyone Shares Blame For This Season.

The Giants Do Not Necessarily Suffer From A Coaching Problem,

Or An Eli Manning Problem.  Jerry Reese Had Personnel Issues.

NEW YORK GIANTS FOOTBALL: I've Been Here Before.  Others Need To Learn How To Deal With It.

Eli Manning continues to re-write the Giants record books.  I'm not old enough to have seen Charlie Connerly play.  I do perhaps remember every one of Phil Simms' interceptions though.  And I also remember Jeff Rutledge, the quarterback who formerly owned the Giants record for most INTs in a game all to himself.  With Sunday's performance, Eli eclipsed Charlie Connerly, and Rutledge now has company.

With five interceptions against the Seattle Seahawks, Eli tied Jeff Rutledge's mark, who first accomplished the dubious feat back during the 1987 strike season.  And now with 169, Eli Manning owns the Giants all-time record for interceptions, breaking the record of 167 formerly held by Charlie Connerly.

In the first game of the season, Eli threw four interceptions against the Dallas Cowboys.  He then went on to throw 16 more before Sunday's record setting fiasco.  Eli is now up to 25 INTs, his career high, with still two more weeks to go.  In fact, this is the second time Eli has thrown as many as 25, and the third time he eclipsed 20 in a season.  Eli is also in the midst of leading the NFL in INTs for a third time in the last seven years.

Most concerning of all, Eli has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns for only the second time in his career.  The first came during his rookie season, when he only started nine games, and threw 9 INTs, with 6 TD passes.  This season, Eli only has 16 TD passes in fourteen games.

Eli will be 33-years old in January, and already, lament of his demise has started.  Even I have to admit, Eli has endured a terrible season that still has not ended, but I can not rest all blame for the offensive woes, or his own misadventure, on him.  This disastrous season has largely been a sum of its parts.  Lest we forget, when Eli was a rookie, he played behind the best offensive line in football; a record setting offensive line in fact; and additionally handed the ball off to the number one backfield in football.  This season, ten years later, Eli had neither.

Where INTs are concerned, Eli throws for the most aggressive offensive coordinator in perhaps all of football.  Don't worry, we'll crush Gilbride in the off-season for not adapting this year's game plan.  For now, we know if the ball is not thrown deep down field, Gilbride feels the pass is not worth throwing.  With high risk, comes high reward, or the high potential for failure.  We've experienced the dark side of that equation this season.

Game wise, I expected two things from Seattle - to get their hands on Eli Manning, and for their corner backs to shut down Big Blue's receivers.  Why?  Because that's what they do!  Or, haven't you been paying attention?  Otherwise, it made perfect sense, because as we know, the Giants offensive line is a mess.  They allowed 4 sacks, and six other QB hits.  The Giants ran the ball 14 times, and only averaged 1.8 yards per carry, and only gained 25 yards on the day.  That means Seattle's defense dominated the line of scrimmage, and enjoyed way too much time in Big Blue's backfield.

Sunday, Eli could have also benefited from more effort by his receivers.  Rule one is to go up, and get the ball at its highest point.  His receivers made little effort towards that end, and were blanketed all afternoon.  That may come from knowing you have nothing to play for, which equates to an unprofessional effort.  Hey, defeatism is a bitch.

I get it.  The season effectively ended a week ago in California.  This last game essentially amounted to getting kicked while already down.  Unfortunately, I also remember the last time the Giants posted a losing record, and the last time they've been eliminated from playoff contention this early.

We'll live on life support for two more weeks before being able to pull the plug on this pig of a season.  I've been here before.  Others need to learn how to deal with it.




Mike.BTB