Their second road game is actually their first, so pardon the unbeaten Giants for a slight case of confusion as they embark on a short week, their first trip of the season and a Sunday night game in San Diego.
“It’s definitely a road game,” a smiling linebacker Carlos Emmons said, thinking back on the absurdity of the Giants officially getting credit for a road win for Monday night’s 27-10 victory over the Saints at Giants Stadium. “Maybe they’ll paint the stadium Giants colors.”
Just then, Emmons was reminded that for this particular encounter, it’s unlikely the Chargers will be in a gracious mood. Not with Eli Manning coming to town, the same Eli Manning who spurned an entire franchise, warning not to take him with the first pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. When they did, Manning would not place the San Diego cap on his head and refused to play out west, triggering the blockbuster trade to the Giants.
“Oh, yeah,” Emmons said.
Let the rhetoric start flying, start distributing the “it’s nothing personal” quotes from Manning and the “we’re 0-2 and have bigger things to worry about than Eli Manning” comments from the Chargers. Most of this, of course, will not be the truth. This will be the most hostile environment Manning has ever been thrust into.
How hostile? Already, there’s a Web site started by Charger fans that proclaims, “We welcome all non-fans of Eli Manning.”
Chargers GM A.J. Smith, who initially was ripped for the trade but then praised after his club went 12-4, usually is not shy about stirring the pot, but not this week. He will not do any interviews but did issue a statement.
“Eli was one of the four players we were considering at the first pick in the draft,” Smith said in his statement. “Eli, his family and Tom Condon of IMG felt that the Chargers were not a good fit for Eli’s future. The rest is history. We wish him well in his NFL career.”
That comment needs word balloons to reveal the true sentiment.
“I’m sure Eli will deal with it the same way he’s dealt with everything that’s come his way at a young age,” coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday. “He’ll deal with it with class, he’ll have poise about it. We’re certainly not going to make an issue about it here.”
The Giants at 2-0 are one of only seven undefeated teams in the league, one of three in the NFC.
“It feels real but in another sense you say, OK, we did the same thing last year, we started out really hot,” receiver Amani Toomer said. “So you really got to be wary in a sense because we have a lot of football left. Two games is just two games.”
Last season, the Giants were 5-2 before injuries ravaged them and they descended into an eight-game losing streak. This team appears built more for the long haul.
An encouraging sign is that Manning is progressing slowly but steadily. In two games, he’s completed only 23 passes for 337 yards and against the Saints misfired badly on potential scoring passes to Tim Carter and Toomer. Manning also threw no interceptions and was not sacked. In a league filled with parity, it’s often what a key player doesn’t do that makes all the difference.
“I thought I made some throws that I stuck in there, moved around the pocket to buy some time, made good decisions,” Manning said. “And missed a few throws. Those are touchdown throws and you only get a few opportunities to hit those. When they’re there you got to make ’em.”