Eli Manning and Pat Shurmur trying to stay cool amid NY Giants' skid
EAST RUTHERFORD -- If Odell Beckham Jr. and John Mara are the fire of the Giants, then Eli Manning and Pat Shurmur are the ice.
While the star wide receiver and co-owner are engaged in a war of words, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and his new head coach are taking a completely different approach to the team’s unacceptable 1-5 start.
As Manning points out, Shurmur isn’t throwing chairs around in team meetings and isn’t cursing at underachieving players. Their approach is simple: work harder.
More time on the practice field, more time in the meeting rooms should translate into more wins, according to Manning and Shurmur.
If only it were that simple.
“It takes everybody,” said left tackle Nate Solder, who knows something about winning from his days with the Patriots. “We have to support each other. We’ve got everything we need in this room, it comes down to us. We have to put our foot on the gas.”
Let’s see if the Manning-led offense can keep up with the Atlanta Falcons’ high-octane offense on Monday night. If it can, this has all the makings of an offensive shootout, even though Beckham has only one touchdown reception and Falcons star Julio Jones has none.
“We have to play a complete game,” Manning said. “We haven’t done that yet. We have to avoid negative plays. We have to focus on the things you can control. We’re ready to play better football.”
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Of course, he’s said that in the past, and he and the rest of the offense haven’t produced.
There’s no denying that the Giants have made the playoffs only once in the last six years, and the two Super Bowl wins Manning engineered are in the franchise’s rear view mirror.
Tight end Evan Engram’s expected return, after nearly three games on the sideline with a knee injury, gives Manning another offensive asset, and maybe the Giants can spring Saquon Barkley loose against an Atlanta run defense that’s ranked 24th in the league. The Falcons’ pass defense is ranked 29th and is 31st in points allowed.
“We’ll be prepared for everything,” said Manning. “They’ve got some guys banged up on defense.”
More than banged up. Both their starting cornerbacks are on injured reserve, part of the reason the Falcons are underachieving at 2-4.
“We will not play the role of the victim with injuries,” said Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn. “We have a locker room full of competitive guys. I expect us to play well, and we will.”
Shurmur expects the same out of his guys. In his own way, he pushes his players to be better. He does that with a mindset that’s completely different from the intimidation Bill Parcells was fond of using. Shurmur prods, but rarely intimidates.
“He’s handling it perfectly,” said wide receiver Sterling Shepard.
In the only way he knows how.
“I know as adults, sometimes you don’t just do it and say whatever the heck you want,” Shurmur said. “This is about team building and trying to do it the right way, and along the way we have to win more games. I’m aware of that. My team knows my true personality. For me to rant and rave or say something that can be written and reported about – me making it about me – I don’t think that makes you strong, and I don’t think that makes anybody think that I care any more than the players in the locker room. They know my true feelings. That’s what I care about. We’ll take it from there.”
Olivier Vernon limited in practice
Linebacker Olivier Vernon (ribs) was limited in practice Thursday after he had a sack against the Eagles. Although Vernon missed the first five games because of a high-ankle sprain, Shurmur doesn’t sound overly concerned about his availability for Atlanta.
“Just some wear and tear,” the coach said of Vernon’s sore ribs.