New York Giants News And Notes: Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, Terrell Thomas And More

Here are your New York Giants news and notes for this Thursday morning.

Quarterback Eli Manning was asked Wednesday about the improvement in the Giants' passing attack the past couple of weeks.

"I knew we had good talent and we just needed guys to step up and I thought they could. I knew it wouldn't always be pretty but we would get better and that is what we have done in every game," Manning said. "We still have a ways to go. We have done some good things and found ways to win games, which is great. When things aren't going well at times, we don't get frustrated, which is great. We would like to get off to a faster start in some of these games and we still have two turnovers in last week's game so we have to fix that. There are definitely things to improve."

Some great quotes from wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who is developing into one of the league's best receivers. He had 10 catches Sunday for a career-best 162 yards. He is doing it to without also becoming one of your prototypical diva wide receivers.

"I play to be the best," Nicks said. "That's my personal goal. But as far as other people acknowledging it, that doesn't make a difference to me. I do it for myself and God. I play for God. He's the one that gave me these abilities.

"I feel like I'm scratching the surface. I don't feel I've reached it yet. It's still year three for me. I don't ever want to feel like I'm getting too big-headed. I always stay humble, within myself. I feel there's always stuff for me to work on."

Seattle coach Pete Carroll coached Terrell Thomas at USC and said his season-ending knee injury "broke our hearts."

"We are so close to those guys. As you can imagine, finding those guys when they are juniors in high school and taking them all the way through their careers, you get connected to those guys," Carroll said. "That sent a big shock wave to all the networks of the SC guys involved in ball still. We sent a message out to him letting him know we still love him and that he will be back. You hate to see your guys get hurt."

Giants' Mario Manningham not frustrated with lack of action vs. Cardinals | NJ.com

"You’ve got to have a short term memory playing wide receiver or DB," he said, adding: "We had a good first day, good preparation. We’ll be ready to go on Sunday."

After illness, Sage Rosenfels seeking job - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Rosenfels thought he had turned the corner in early September as the final roster cuts approached. But when he told the Giants about lingering soreness in his back, an MRI was taken that revealed what Rosenfels described as a "hot spot." Rosenfels was sent back to the hospital and placed on injured reserve as the Giants pared their squad to the NFL-mandated 53 players and stuck with David Carr as Eli Manning's backup. The transaction also left Rosenfels ineligible to play again for the Giants in 2011.

"Fortunately, that (back problem) went away really quickly," said Rosenfels, who has since regained the 10 pounds he lost during his ordeal. "For most of the last month, I've just been getting back into top physical shape. The Giants didn’t push me out the door. They were very professional about allowing me to slowly come back from this thing and work with their strength coaches and trainers to where I’m strong enough to play again."

Here is an interesting photo essay from the Giants-Arizona Cardinals game on Sunday.

Good friend Pat Traina of Inside Football has been doing weekly player Q&A posts, allowing fans to submit questions for Giants players. Steve Weatherford will answer questions this week. If you have a question for Steve here is the link to the form.