Through 15 years, there have been rough times for Eli Manning. Plenty of them. Accolades sure, but more recently, growing doubt on the outside, and perhaps even a little bit on the inside, about his ability to continue to function and thrive as the franchise quarterback of the New York Giants.
His Giants were 1-5 after six games in 2017, a season that ended with the firings of the head coach and general manager four games before the merciful end of a 3-13 plummet.
The Giants are 1-5 again this season, and given that Manning is 37 and has more often been part of the problem than part of the solution, it is no stretch to state this is the toughest time in his career — even tougher than his one-game non-start last December.
“Hey, it’s tough, it’s very tough,” Manning said Friday in a near-empty Giants locker room. “You don’t like being in this situation. I think it’s different from last year because last year we were banged up, lost a bunch of players, it was hard to kind of see the bright side of it. This year you see the bright side. You see it can get better. We have good players. We have good character guys. There’s a great opportunity for us to improve and win a bunch of football games.”
It is unlikely the Giants will win a bunch of the remaining 10 games on their schedule. The Giants after Thursday night’s 34-13 loss to the Eagles get the entire weekend off, sort of a mini-bye week. When they return to work, there will not be a change at quarterback.
“No,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “We believe in Eli.”
There was virtually no chance the Giants would make a move this early in the season, but if they continue to falter, there is little question Shurmur will want to see what rookie Kyle Lauletta can do with snaps in a regular-season game. Alex Tanney is the backup quarterback only by virtue of his activation on game days, something Lauletta has not experienced. Lauletta, a fourth-round pick from Richmond, is considered by the Giants to be something of a prospect, and he would get the call if they decide Manning should take a seat.
Of Lauletta, Shurmur said the Giants are “developing him behind the scenes, just like we would any rookie.’’
Lauletta, occupying his locker a few minutes after Manning held court, said, “Eli’s the guy. We’re confident in Eli. Eli’s confident in himself. The coaches are confident in Eli. Eli’s healthy. He’s playing pretty well. I think last game there were some throws and some plays he wished he had back, but he’s played really good football. He’s getting the ball out where it needs to go to. We’re confident in him.”
Pressed on the timing of a change at quarterback, Shurmur said, “Listen, we’re not talking about a quarterback change yet.’’
For those ready to pounce on the “yet’’ end of that statement, it is common sense. Last season, Ben McAdoo, in concert with ownership and the front office, decided in Week 13 to make a move. It was handled clumsily, and Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive starts ended when Geno Smith replaced him against the Raiders in Oakland. McAdoo’s plan was to give Smith two starts then go with rookie Davis Webb for the final three games. That plan was scrapped when McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were fired the day after the loss to the Raiders, and Manning was reinstalled as the starter for the remaining four games.
Manning, in his 15th season, is completing a career-high 68.7 percent of his passes but it is empty consumption. He has only six touchdown passes to go along with his four interceptions. He has already been sacked 20 times, a function of his inability to evade the rush but more directly an indictment of a rebuilt offensive line that simply is not capable of performing at an acceptable level.
And so, there are again calls for Manning to take a seat, louder than ever. When his star receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., was asked last week in an ESPN interview if the Giants have a problem at quarterback, Beckham said “Umm,” and never came to the defense of Manning.
Manning was more emotional than usual as he stood in front of his locker the day after his record as a Giants starter dropped to 112-108, after the Giants’ 19th loss in the past 23 games, counting the one-and-done in the 2016 playoffs.
“It bugs me we’re 1-5,” Manning said. “What people say has never got to me, never bothered me. You work extremely hard to go have a big year and you’re excited about things, and to be in this situation, yeah, it bothers you and it’s tough. The only thing you can do is keep working, keep grinding, try to bring this team together.”
Manning said his confidence has not wavered and admitted: “I know I can play better. I didn’t play well [Thursday] night.”
He will take a break this weekend and try to get away from all this for a few days.
“I think you have to,” he said.