New York Giants' news 10/8: Simms, Gannon pile on Eli Manning

A couple of former NFL quarterbacks piled on struggling New York Giants' signal-caller Eli Manning Monday night during 'NFL Monday QB' on CBS Sports Network.

Here is former Giants' quarterback Phil Simms ripping into Manning:

"You always have to give a lot of the blame to the quarterback. Especially when you’re throwing interceptions at the numbers that he has. All quarterbacks know this situation. It’s hard to dial back. You’re so used to having success being an aggressive player. You’re using to standing up there and hitting the driver on every Par 4 and hitting it down the middle. Well now you have the hooks. So when you start hitting it offline, you have to pull back and play a different football game. You have to be much more conservative because that’s good for you, but more importantly it is good for your team. That’s what they mean when they talk about managing the team. That’s what you have to do as a quarterback, Simms said.

Rich Gannon also didn't mince words:

"I don’t even recognize this operation right now. That’s how bad the Giants are. They’re not good enough to be able to absorb these self-inflicted wounds that keep creeping into their game each week. It’s the penalties, the missed assignments, the mental errors. And of course the turnovers – 14 of them coming from their signal caller, Eli Manning. He is not playing very well right now," Gannon said.

Manning has, obviously, played poorly so far in 2013. His 12 interceptions is the most in the league. Only Josh Freeman and Blaine Gabbert have passer ratings worse than Manning's 65.8. It isn't all Manning, however. He has been sacked 15 times already after being sacked only 19 times all of last season. The Giants are fourth in the league with 14 dropped passes. They are last in the league in rushing yards per game at 56.8.

As coach Tom Coughlin said Monday, the team's 0-5 record and struggling offense are not all Manning's fault. He certainly has to play better, however.

[FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED SUNDAY: Check out my latest post about the Giants for Yahoo Sports.]

Victor Cruz: Blame not just on Eli

Wide receiver Victor Cruz Monday echoed Coughlin's sentiment that the entire offense needs to take blame for the unit's poor play.

"He's so proud of the way he plays and wants to play great each and every week and when things go the opposite way... The type of person he is, he takes a lot of that blame. But that's not the way it is. It's everyone," Cruz said. "It's the receivers. It's the offensive line. It's everyone that's to blame for some of these losses and some of the things that have happened out there, but it's a full team effort. It's not just one guy. You can't just put the blame on one person."

Spencer Paysinger voices support for Coughlin

Linebacker Spencer Paysinger Monday voiced his appreciation for Coughlin's deflecting blame from the players and taking it upon himself:

"Coach Coughlin is honestly one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He’s one of the best coaches in the NFL, hands down," Paysinger said. "When any player has a coach that can take the blame on him, you do learn to respect that. I, myself, have the most respect for Coach Coughlin, but I do know when I’m on the field, I’m there to make a play. I’m there to help the defense as well as everybody else. For us and me in general, I know I have to make those plays and can’t put all the blame on our coaches."

Around the Inter-Google

SB Nation offers a 'Quarterback Hate Index.' Where does Manning fall?

Ralph Vacchiano of the Daily News won't give Manning a pass for the mess the Giants are in this season. He certainly shouldn't. Manning has not played to his pedigree this season, but as we have established already neither has anyone else not named Victor Cruz.

Gary Myers of the Daily News offers five things the Giants can do long-term to fix their current mess.

The Chicago Bears, Thursday's night's opponent, find it "kind of surprising" the Giants are winless.

Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com breaks down how to go 0-5 by the numbers.

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• New York Giants' news, 10/7: Dissecting another debacle
• Coughlin: Eli Manning 'too good a player' to play like this
• Eagles 36, Giants 21: Post-game reaction from Giants' players