Good morning, New York Giants fans! Hopefully you feel good this morning about whatever your favorite NBA team did Thursday night in the NBA Draft. Let's get your focus back on football with a look at this morning's headlines.
Eli cracks NFL.com list of top 10 QBs
How good is Eli Manning? That is always a divisive question. Well, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com believes the two-time Super Bowl winner is good enough to rank No. 9 on his list of the league's 10 best quarterbacks. Giants fans will like Brooks' explanation:
Seeing Manning's name here will raise eyebrows, but skeptics should focus on the efficiency with which he played down the stretch in 2014 under new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. The two-time Super Bowl winner posted a passer rating of 100.0 or better in four of the Giants' last six games, and he developed a strong rapport with youngsters Odell Beckham, Jr. and Rueben Randle on the perimeter. With Victor Cruz expected to return from a knee injury, the Giants should have a dynamic receiving corps with the firepower to overwhelm opponents with its collective speed, athleticism and explosiveness.
Given another offseason to master the intricacies of Big Blue's quick-rhythm system, Manning should build upon his solid performance in 2014 (passer rating of 92.1 and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 30:14). He could play at a top-five level with one of the best supporting casts in football enhancing his performance.
Manning critical of practice restrictions
So, this is turning into the Eli Manning Morning Report. That's because your Giants QB is also in the headlines for being heavily critical of practice restrictions imposed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement:
"You kind of don't feel you should be limited once you get to the top level of anything. I understand the arguments of why it's being done. They want to keep everything fair and everything even between the teams. They don't want rules where coaches can make players be here all year even when they weren't supposed to.
"I somewhat understand it, but I don't like it at all times, being limited to how much you can work. Even when we are here, you want to go throw with the guys and then, 'Nah, you can't throw on the field after 12 o'clock.' It's just hard."
More Giants headlines
Giants to wear alternate white pants for two games in '15
The Giants will wear their alternate white pants -- which yours truly much prefers to those awful gray ones they normally wear, for two home games this season -- Thursday, Sept. 24 vs. the Washington Redskins and Sunday, Nov. 15 vs. the New England Patriots.
NFL's Most Underrated: 32 teams, 32 players who don't get their due - CBSSports.com
Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is listed as the most underrated Giant. As long as Hankins stays healthy my belief is people will understand how good the guy is by the end of the upcoming season.
NFL all-muscle team | Sporting News
Yes, of course punter Steve Weatherford is on it.
Around the NFL
Cowboys' Randy Gregory watching film of Simeon Rice - NFL.com
Former NFL defensive end Simeon Rice never cared much for the Giants or Michael Strahan. So, somehow this is fitting.
"I watch a lot of Simeon," Gregory told NFL Media's Tiffany Blackmon from the Rookie Symposium on Thursday. "His length is probably the biggest thing I've taken notice of. He uses it very well and that's something I've really been trying to do. My long arm I think is getting better in camp and it's only going to get better the more I play, and Jason Taylor, he's real athletic, tall guy, long, kind of myself. So they're real athletic. They do a lot of good things and I'm gonna take the things that Coach Marinelli preaches and get off the ball. I'm trying to get off the ball as much as I can."
John Moffitt set to sign with Eagles, report says - NFL.com
Moffitt, 28, left the NFL after the 2013 season to deal with apparent drug issues. He could end up as the replacement for Evan Mathis in Philly.
Clemson OT Isaiah Battle to enter NFL Supplemental Draft - SBNation.com
La’el Collins glad NFL made exception so he could attend symposium | ProFootballTalk