It wasn’t until after the third interception – the second of the afternoon by Minnesota’s Dwight Smith – that Pat Williams noticed a difference in Eli Manning.
“I think he got frustrated,” the defensive tackle said. “I saw it in his eyes. His eyes glazed over, like he was shell-shocked. It was like he was saying, ‘Is this the kind of game I’m having? Is this really happening right now?’ ”
Smith, however, saw it earlier.
“When you have guys up front in your face, you a get little uneasy and try to get rid of the ball fast,” Smith said. “The first pick, it looked like he really didn’t want to get hit. Eli threw the ball right to me . . . it just so happened he threw the ball to us today.”
Regardless of when he fell apart, both could agree Manning threw four picks against the Vikings for the second straight game. This time, three of them were returned for touchdowns in a disastrous 41-17 loss at Giants Stadium – and the Vikings entered yesterday’s game with the worst pass defense in the league.
Darren Sharper was in the secondary for the previous game, on Nov. 13, 2005, when he had three picks. Sharper got things started yesterday by returning one 20 yards for a touchdown that gave Minnesota a 14-7 lead.
“I’m not necessarily saying we have a good read on Eli,” Sharper said. “I just think we played well.”
As for any secrets the former Packer might have in defending the Giants’ quarterback, he wasn’t sharing.
“We might have to play against these guys in the playoffs,” Sharper said. “So I don’t know if I want to say.”
Maybe future opponents would like to invite Peyton Manning back to the Meadowlands, as the Colts quarterback spent his off Sunday watching his little brother yesterday. On this day, Eli not only didn’t merit comparisons to Peyton, he barely merited comparisons to Danny Kanell.
Even though Eli looked lost on the field and was showered with boos, Sharper said he didn’t believe Manning should have been pulled.
“You don’t do that,” Sharper said of Manning, who completed his first three passes. “He’s your franchise quarterback. I played with Brett Favre. I’m not saying [Manning] is on his level, but I’ve seen [Favre] throw six or seven interceptions. You’re not going to get any better by pulling him.”
Sharper doesn’t believe Manning will suffer any ill effects down the road.
“You have to bounce back,” Sharper said. “This is more of an aberration. He hasn’t played like this in the past 10 or so games. Sometimes games go like this. Some games are flukey like that.”
The Giants certainly hope that’s the case.