Eli Defends himself... throws Plax under bus

[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.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

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!