Eli Defends himself... throws Plax under bus

[Danny White]

I didn't see this posted anywhere, so my apologies if it is.

Good to see the Giants turning on one another:


Eli backs self, but not Plax

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Eli Manning stands by his play but hints he's unhappy with Plaxico Burress'.
Eli Manning says he has no doubts about his play of late.

In fact, the quarterback defended his performance Sunday, saying he had a good game until his disastrous game-costing interception at the end against Tennessee.

"I do not doubt myself," Manning said yesterday at Giants Stadium. "I thought I played pretty well for the most part and then had a bad last play. That is the way football goes."

Whether Manning has doubts about his top wide receiver is another matter. Manning subtly expressed disappointment in Plaxico Burress not going all out on a deep pass along the sideline that resulted in Manning's first interception in the fourth quarter. The play set up Tennessee's first touchdown in the Titans' shocking 24-21 win.

"You hope the ball gets knocked down or you fight for it a little bit," Manning said when asked about Burress stopping on the play when the ball sailed over his head. "The last thing you expect is an interception. (Burress) didn't want the guy to intercept it. The corner (Pacman Jones) did a good job of knocking him off his route and cutting him out. It is disappointing the way it happened."

Manning repeatedly credited Jones for making a play, but when pressed further about Burress, he said the Giants have to go all out to make plays of their own.

"It is a matter of everybody doing the right thing and competing and working hard," Manning said. "If one person does something just a little bit wrong or off it affects the whole play. You are not going to always call the perfect play but you can hope for perfect execution. You can expect guys to do the right thing.

"I don't know if it would have been a completion but hopefully knock it down or get called for interference," Manning added. "Do something - an interception is the last thing that you want."

While many were making a big deal out of Burress' play, it had nothing to do with Manning's interception with 23 seconds left and the game tied at 21. Inexplicably, Manning rolled right and dreadfully underthrew a pass intended for David Tyree. Jones made a leaping interception that set up the 49-yard field goal by Rob Bironas that completed a colossal meltdown by the Giants.

Manning has come under siege for not throwing the ball away. The quarterback has not thrown more than one touchdown in a game in his last five outings. During that stretch, he has four TD passes and seven interceptions.

"I don't think I'm in a slump," Manning said.

Manning also said he had no problem with Tom Coughlin criticizing his late-game interception when most coaches go out of their way to defend their quarterbacks.

"My teammates know this is not going to affect me," Manning said. "We have been through tough times. I have been through tough times here before. I am going to keep competing."

[superpunk]

"Manning pleads with Plaxico to compensate for his incompetence"

This story's a bit of a reach, but that's basically what he's saying - Plaxico...bail me out. That throw actually wasn't that bad. It's like Plax never expected it to even be close.

Schefter said one of his sources says the team's on the verge of a mutiny. If they beat Dallas, that won't happen yet. Let's make it happen!

[Future]

"I don't think I'm in a slump," Manning said

denial much?

wait, you have to play well before you can be in a slump

[lurkercowboy]

If Dallas can keep the Giants down at the start of the game, they will probably fold. Agreed?

[ravidubey]

If we beat them they are done.

[superpunk]

If Dallas can keep the Giants down at the start of the game, they will probably fold. Agreed?

They will explode. I don't see how they can't. They have built this game up, in their own minds, to epic proportions - kind of like what Fassel did a few years back to their superbowl run. If they win, it will propel them enormously. If they lose, they may not win again.

[31smackdown]

Plax is what 6'4" ..6'6"?.. Pacman is what 5'9"? As a QB you have to like your chances on a high ball thrown there.. you definitely don't expect the short guy to catch it.

[Danny White]

denial much?

wait, you have to play well before you can be in a slump

Eli needs to find himself a "slump-buster"

[REDVOLUTION]

"Manning pleads with Plaxico to compensate for his incompetence"

This story's a bit of a reach, but that's basically what he's saying - Plaxico...bail me out. That throw actually wasn't that bad. It's like Plax never expected it to even be close.

Schefter said one of his sources says the team's on the verge of a mutiny. If they beat Dallas, that won't happen yet. Let's make it happen!

Hold on a sec... YES he threw Plax under the bus... but he is not completely wrong... Plax did not give his all...

[ghst187]

It's the "Manning-way" to complement your opponents while taking jabs at them and placing blame on teammates.
Peyton has done it for years.

[stasheroo]

Sounds like a player trying to convince himself to me.

"Not in a slump"?

"Played well"?

What game film has he been watching?

In my opinion, Eli is still the Manning "baby" who never dealt with advesrity or negativity.

He plays in the NFL biggest media circus, has teammates that don't support him, and can't handle adversity at all.

Adds up to a bad combination.

[REDVOLUTION]

Plax was labeled lazy and a quitter and a hoodini for that matter while in Pittsburgh... he was at best a #2 WR there.... in NY he is their #1....

doesnt make sense in signing this guy... he had problems when signing too right?

[cobra]

Eli is right.

He isn't in a slump.

A slump implies a downtime and suggests there will be a return to a better normal time.

In reality, he just sucks. It isn't a slump. When he plays better, he is having a streak of luck. The play of late is the real Eli Manning. Not the slumping Eli Manning.

[superpunk]

Eli needs to find himself a "slump-buster"
lmao @ the awful pic that previously graced this post.

And at slump-buster.

[superpunk]

In reality, he just sucks. It isn't a slump. When he plays better, he is having a streak of luck. The play of late is the real Eli Manning. Not the slumping Eli Manning.

You've hit the nail on the head. I've been preaching this since his alleged great start to last year, that was fraudulent as well. This is Eli Manning. He can get better - but he will always be mediocre.

[VACowboy]

Burress wasn't running hard or had given up on the play. He'd have caught that ball had he been going full speed. Was it a risky pass? Yes. Is Manning sucking? Yes. But he's not the only one.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I can't help but smile to myself on this one. I recall a statement by Troy Aikman basically saying that the time Shockey and Burress and the rest are taking away from TC and off season are crucial to the development of Manning and that the timing and chemistry developed between QBs and receivers during this time is not something you can ever get back.

I also remember Eli basically telling Aikman that he didn't know what he was talking about and that he was over the hill and should basically shut the hell up about things he didn't understand, like the Giants team.

Well..... well...... well..........

When those chickens come home to roost, they do it with a vengance. Do they not?

:lmao2:

[Yakuza Rich]

While Plaxico's effort wasn't great by any means, they were still awful throws and decisions that are most likely to get picked off in the NFL. Plaxico's attempt to tackle wasn't very good, but Jones is one of the best returners in the league and Plaxico is a WR who's never been asked to tackle.

I don't think I've ever seen a team so ready to throw each other under the bus at the drop of a hat like the Giants in the Coughlin era.



YAKUZA

[Rampage]

While Plaxico's effort wasn't great by any means, they were still awful throws and decisions that are most likely to get picked off in the NFL. Plaxico's attempt to tackle wasn't very good, but Jones is one of the best returners in the league and Plaxico is a WR who's never been asked to tackle.

I don't think I've ever seen a team so ready to throw each other under the bus at the drop of a hat like the Giants in the Coughlin era.



YAKUZA
most of the throws towards burress are like those. how many times do you see burress get a ball in his chest? not to often, eli usually makes him jump

[jazzcat22]

"Manning pleads with Plaxico to compensate for his incompetence"


Is that like the Alcoholic trying to get everyone else to drink more, to justify their own drinking more ?

[dogunwo]

You've hit the nail on the head. I've been preaching this since his alleged great start to last year, that was fraudulent as well. This is Eli Manning. He can get better - but he will always be mediocre.
Peyton is the anomaly. Archie Manning wasnt that great either. Good, but not all that, and they blame it all on the Saints.

[superpunk]

I also remember Eli basically telling Aikman that he didn't know what he was talking about and that he was over the hill and should basically shut the hell up about things he didn't understand, like the Giants team.

It's fun to bash, but that's taking what he said and extrapolating a WHOLE lot out of it, isn't it? IIRC, the issue was brought up and Eli basically just brushed it off as unimportant. He didn't imply any stupidity or out-of-touchness on Troy's part. I'd like to find that quote either way, just for some Gints fans I know.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Peyton is the anomaly. Archie Manning wasnt that great either. Good, but not all that, and they blame it all on the Saints.


Well, if you saw the Saint back in those days, you have to believe that they deserved all the blame they could get.

[superpunk]

Is that like the Alcoholic trying to get everyone else to drink more, to justify their own drinking more ?

Nah. If we're doing alcoholics, it would be the guy who wants everyone else to stay sober so that they can keep him from taking a dump on a fire hydrant.

[superpunk]

Peyton is the anomaly. Archie Manning wasnt that great either. Good, but not all that, and they blame it all on the Saints.

I never saw Archie. I dunno. But if fans were wearing bags over their heads...

[ABQCOWBOY]

It's fun to bash, but that's taking what he said and extrapolating a WHOLE lot out of it, isn't it? IIRC, the issue was brought up and Eli basically just brushed it off as unimportant. He didn't imply any stupidity or out-of-touchness on Troy's part. I'd like to find that quote either way, just for some Gints fans I know.


No, I think that's exactly what Eli was trying to say. That's just my opinion of the article but in my mind, when a future Hall of Fame QB trys to give you advice, you shut up a listen.

[REDVOLUTION]

Burress wasn't running hard or had given up on the play. He'd have caught that ball had he been going full speed. Was it a risky pass? Yes. Is Manning sucking? Yes. But he's not the only one.


Agreed 100%... I just saw it again... he would at the very least defended... I think he catches it though

[superpunk]

No, I think that's exactly what Eli was trying to say. That's just my opinion of the article but in my mind, when a future Hall of Fame QB trys to give you advice, you shut up a listen.

ok, here's what I've found so far - the first is after the criticism, and after Troy called to apologize.

http://www.giants.com/news/transcripts/story.asp?story_id=16236

RE: Troy Aikman’s criticism of the receivers not working with Eli during the off season.
A: I’ve talked to Troy about it and stuff. I also talked to Shockey and Plaxico and those guys. So, I think we’ve worked together. We’ve got a year. It’s my third year going with Shockey. We have a good comfort level going with each other, know what to expect from each other, and have good timing. We have enough time during training camp and mini camp to get that down. So, we’ll be fine once the season starts.

Q: Does the criticism bother you?
A: About? No, no it doesn’t bother me. What Troy said, I don’t think he was trying to criticize me in any way. I didn’t take it as that. I don’t read much into the papers and what other people are saying. I think you’ve got to listen to your coaches. You’ve got to listen to your players and what they have to say. Besides that, you just kind of go with what you feel is right, and what you have to do to get better.

Q: Did you seek out Troy about that? Or did you run into him?
A: No, he called me the other day. He called and just kind of wanted to explain what he was saying. Sometimes what you say can come out the wrong way or other people can interpret it in different ways. He was just saying that he wasn’t trying to call me out in any way or say I was doing anything wrong. So, he was just saying that.

Q: What was he saying? What was his point?
A: His point was just that he felt that Shockey and Plaxico need to be here during the off season for us to get our timing down. I told him no. I told him what I told you all: that we have enough time during training camp and during mini camp that we’ve been around each other enough that we’re going to get all of that down.

Here's what Troy said

http://www.lindyssports.com/content.php?id=357

"I think it's unfortunate that here he is, as a quarterback going into his third season, and he's not given the opportunity to throw to his top three wide receivers throughout the off-season," Aikman said. "I think that's a real mistake, for Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress and Sinorice Moss not to be there with Eli Manning, getting some timing down. I don't think you can get that in just a mini-camp, I don't think you can get it in four weeks of training camp.

"It takes a lot of time and a lot of repetition, and they're not getting that kind of time, and maybe that lends itself a little bit to some of the inaccuracies that Eli had last year."

Aikman was referring to the fact that Shockey and Burress choose to work out at the University of the Miami during much of the off-season. Aikman was wrong about the rookie Moss, who was with the team after the draft, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him begin working out in Miami.

Added Aikman, "I think his development is really where it should be. He went through a stretch where he was able to win some games late, and immediately he got labeled as if he had already arrived. Then when he went through a period last year when he was struggling a little bit ... and everybody then wanted to say, 'What's wrong with Eli?'

”I don't think anything has been wrong with him. I just don't think he's been given an opportunity to really grow into the position and learn the game at this level at the rate that most quarterbacks get. He really hasn't had a chance his whole life to do that. He's always been measured against what his brother (Peyton) and his father (Archie) have accomplished.

"I think he's doing just fine. There are areas of his game he's got to get better (at) if he's going to be able to continue to make the improvements I know he wants to make. If that team is going to be able to make the improvements from where they were a year ago, a lot of that improvement is going to rest on the development of Eli Manning."

[dogunwo]

"Manning pleads with Plaxico to compensate for his incompetence"

This story's a bit of a reach, but that's basically what he's saying - Plaxico...bail me out. That throw actually wasn't that bad. It's like Plax never expected it to even be close.

Schefter said one of his sources says the team's on the verge of a mutiny. If they beat Dallas, that won't happen yet. Let's make it happen!
Well, we are 4 point favorites on the road, so we can't have a letdown now.

[superpunk]

Well, we are 4 point favorites on the road, so we can't have a letdown now.

This would be the WORST time to have a letdown. Because their season is depending on it.

[Danny White]

While Plaxico's effort wasn't great by any means, they were still awful throws and decisions that are most likely to get picked off in the NFL. Plaxico's attempt to tackle wasn't very good, but Jones is one of the best returners in the league and Plaxico is a WR who's never been asked to tackle.

I don't think I've ever seen a team so ready to throw each other under the bus at the drop of a hat like the Giants in the Coughlin era.



YAKUZA

From reading the Giants boards, it also seems that Plax has a fairly painful hip flexor that possibly limited him in both the catch and tackle. That may be just another excuse... or it may be something that we should exploit on Sunday!

[ABQCOWBOY]

ok, here's what I've found so far - the first is after the criticism, and after Troy called to apologize.

http://www.giants.com/news/transcripts/story.asp?story_id=16236

RE: Troy Aikman’s criticism of the receivers not working with Eli during the off season.
A: I’ve talked to Troy about it and stuff. I also talked to Shockey and Plaxico and those guys. So, I think we’ve worked together. We’ve got a year. It’s my third year going with Shockey. We have a good comfort level going with each other, know what to expect from each other, and have good timing. We have enough time during training camp and mini camp to get that down. So, we’ll be fine once the season starts.

Q: Does the criticism bother you?
A: About? No, no it doesn’t bother me. What Troy said, I don’t think he was trying to criticize me in any way. I didn’t take it as that. I don’t read much into the papers and what other people are saying. I think you’ve got to listen to your coaches. You’ve got to listen to your players and what they have to say. Besides that, you just kind of go with what you feel is right, and what you have to do to get better.

Q: Did you seek out Troy about that? Or did you run into him?
A: No, he called me the other day. He called and just kind of wanted to explain what he was saying. Sometimes what you say can come out the wrong way or other people can interpret it in different ways. He was just saying that he wasn’t trying to call me out in any way or say I was doing anything wrong. So, he was just saying that.

Q: What was he saying? What was his point?
A: His point was just that he felt that Shockey and Plaxico need to be here during the off season for us to get our timing down. I told him no. I told him what I told you all: that we have enough time during training camp and during mini camp that we’ve been around each other enough that we’re going to get all of that down.

Here's what Troy said

http://www.lindyssports.com/content.php?id=357

"I think it's unfortunate that here he is, as a quarterback going into his third season, and he's not given the opportunity to throw to his top three wide receivers throughout the off-season," Aikman said. "I think that's a real mistake, for Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress and Sinorice Moss not to be there with Eli Manning, getting some timing down. I don't think you can get that in just a mini-camp, I don't think you can get it in four weeks of training camp.

"It takes a lot of time and a lot of repetition, and they're not getting that kind of time, and maybe that lends itself a little bit to some of the inaccuracies that Eli had last year."

Aikman was referring to the fact that Shockey and Burress choose to work out at the University of the Miami during much of the off-season. Aikman was wrong about the rookie Moss, who was with the team after the draft, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him begin working out in Miami.

Added Aikman, "I think his development is really where it should be. He went through a stretch where he was able to win some games late, and immediately he got labeled as if he had already arrived. Then when he went through a period last year when he was struggling a little bit ... and everybody then wanted to say, 'What's wrong with Eli?'

”I don't think anything has been wrong with him. I just don't think he's been given an opportunity to really grow into the position and learn the game at this level at the rate that most quarterbacks get. He really hasn't had a chance his whole life to do that. He's always been measured against what his brother (Peyton) and his father (Archie) have accomplished.

"I think he's doing just fine. There are areas of his game he's got to get better (at) if he's going to be able to continue to make the improvements I know he wants to make. If that team is going to be able to make the improvements from where they were a year ago, a lot of that improvement is going to rest on the development of Eli Manning."

This is the article and thread I was thinking about.

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58740&highlight=Giants+Manning+Troy+Aikman+Burress

[CrazyCowboy]

This is why football is considered the ultimate team sport!