turning into a mess
Alec Ogletree Jerseys 2019 , Pat Shurmur is sticking with Eli Manning as the New York Giants quarterback.Shurmur never hesitated Friday when asked if he was considering a change in the wake of a 34-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that dropped New York to 1-5."We believe in Eli," Shurmur said.It was as simple as that. There will be no change to either veteran Alex Tanney or rookie Kyle Lauletta.Shurmur acknowledged Manning made some mistakes in the loss Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, but so did a lot of other players.When he was pressed about whether he would give Lauletta a chance to play if the season slipped away, Shurmur stopped the question."Listen, we're not talking about a quarterback change," Shurmur said.Statistically, Manning has played well. He has hit 158 of 230 passes for 1,662 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. His nearly 69 percent completion percentage would be a career best.The problem is the 37-year-old Manning is not mobile and that is hurting the offense. He rarely turns a potential sack into a scramble that results in a first down or a big pass play. He has been sacked 20 times. The Eagles took him down four times and had 13 other hits."My confidence is always the same," Manning said. "I know I can play better than last night. I have to make better decisions and get back to doing my job, not trying to do anything more, forcing things. Just find completions, move the ball and try to score points."Manning is surprised the Giants have the same record at this point as a year ago, when they finished 3-13.New general manager Dave Gettleman and Shurmur turned over more than half the roster, bringing in both talented players and standup guys who put the team first."We expected to go win games," Manning said. "We're not playing as well as we need to and we will work on fixing that."Manning said the past two seasons have been tough, winning just four of 22 games. However, he said this year feels nothing like 2017, where it was hard to be optimistic with injuries and internal turmoil."This year, you see it can get better," Manning said. "We have good players. We have good character guys. Guys are working. I think there is a great opportunity for us to improve and win a bunch of football games. That's what we believe."Many football analysts and writers said over the past 24 hours that Manning's time as the Giants' leader is coming to an end in his 15th season. Many were calling for a quarterback change."It bugs me that we are 1-5," the two-time Super Bowl MVP said. "What people say has never gotten to me, never bothered me. You work extremely hard to go have a big year and you are excited about things. To be in this situation, yeah, it bothers you, but the only thing you can do is keep working, grinding and try to bring this team together."Manning and Shurmur both said the Giants need to execute better."We are certainly not where we want to be record-wise," Shurmur said. "We will acknowledge that. But I do know this: This group of players will stay in there and keep working and fighting to win a game."The Giants don't play again until traveling to Atlanta to face the Falcons on Oct 22. The players will be off the weekend and won't practice until Tuesday."What is important is you try to reflect where you are at and where you want to go," Shurmur said. "Right now, we're not where we want to be record-wise, so I encouraged them to reflect on that and then try to think of ways they can get individually better."NOTES: WR Cody Latimer (hamstring) was the only injury of note Thursday night, Shurmur said. ... Shurmur seemed to accept Odell Beckham Jr.'s explanation that he head-butted a cooling fan to psych himself up during the game. Still, he wants his players to be more composed. "Is that what I would have done? Absolutely not," Shurmur said. "Is that what I want my players doing? No. That's it." The New York Giants lost 34-13 o the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. They fell to 1-5, all but ending their season before October is even half over. Each week we have looked for the games to tell us things about the 2018 Giants, and on a short week, against a division rival
White Jonathan Stewart Jerseys , with their season on the line, this game was going to be the most instructive yet.Unfortunately, we didn’t learn much that is positive.The Giants WANT to play conservative offenseOne of the things about football on a short week is that it reveals the kind of football that coaches want to play. After watching the Giants put forth a good offensive performance against the Houston Texans and the their best, most passionate, performance in years against the Carolina Panthers, there was some thought that the Giants might keep doing what they have done well. Instead, they reverted to the careful, highly risk averse, check-down heavy offense which was utterly futile against the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. While it’s true that the offensive line was woefully outclassed by the Eagles’ defensive line, they were outclassed by the Texans’ and Panthers’ fronts as well. To a large extent, this was the offense the Giants wanted to run, and of the Giants’ first seven drives only two of Eli Manning’s completions went beyond the line of scrimmage. One for about one yard in the air, and another for about two yards in the air. Gettleman’s offensive line rebuild has failed Will Hernandez is going to be a very good player. That is the extent of the optimism with respect to the Giants’ offensive line. Eli Manning was under siege throughout the game and was simply getting destroyed by the fourth quarter. The Giants did get a decent push in the run game, usually as a result of Hernandez’s blocks, and one great block from Sterling Shepard. However, after a mid-game adjustment, the running backs were once again being met in the backfield by Eagles’ defenders. Giants’ fans celebrated when Ereck Flowers was released, wiping away the last holdover of Jerry Reese’s offensive line. However, that also means that THIS offensive line is Dave Gettleman’s, and he bears the responsibility for it. For all the (deserved) criticism of the Giants’ offensive line in 2017, it is somehow worse now and that is on Gettleman. Unfortunately, it’s a problem the Giants will have to live with for the rest of the year.Apparently, the “S” stands for SaquonI have been remarking on Saquon Barkley’s athleticism and ability as a runner and receiver for weeks now, but what he did in this game is something special. It didn’t do much good, but Barkley put his cape on, put the offense on his back and carried it against the Eagles.The Giants had 401 total yards, 229 of them were generated by Barkley, as were 7 of their 13 points.Olivier Vernon is a difference makerThe Giants’ defense had some problems through the first five weeks, but the biggest of which was an utter inability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.Olivier Vernon returned and made an instant impact. Working against Jason Peters, Vernon consistently got pressure on Wentz, flushing him out of the pocket and giving other defenders the opportunity to effect the pass — such as Kareem Martin’s two tipped balls. Later in the game, Vernon finally got home for a sack, raising the team’s season total to 7. He was also a difference maker, consistently setting the edge in the run game, stopping runs around the line of scrimmage even when he didn’t get the tackle. Now he will get extra long week — until Monday night — to recover from his first game back.That’s good news for a Giants’ team with few positives right now.