Giants’ Eli Manning: Offense hasn’t done enough

The New York Giants are 2-9, and they are atrocious on offense. Eli Manning is 36, he has two Super Bowl MVP trophies, he’s surrounded by a JV supporting cast and he’s being asked to run a simplistic “don’t make any mistakes” offense that you would normally hand to a rookie, not a 14-year veteran.

Reporters who saw Manning Thursday night and who spoke with him via conference call Friday afternoon were taken aback by how down the quarterback seemed after Thursday’s 20-10 loss, a game in which he threw for only 113 yards.

“It’s definitely a frustrating year. We’re not playing great football offensively,” Manning said on Friday. “The defense is playing well, keeping us in the games and especially some second half of games, we just haven’t been able to move the ball, not been able to get first downs, not being able to get completions and it’s frustrating. It’s not the style of football that I’m used to playing. Not being able to complete the ball, so yeah it’s frustrating, it is tough.”

Thursday was the third time this season Manning had passed for few than 150 yards. That had not happened since 2013, when it occurred twice.

“It’s no fun. It’s obviously a team game. All three sides have to do their part to win a football game, but you don’t want to be one of the groups that is contributing to the losses and that’s what the offense is right now. We’re not doing our part,” Manning said. “The defense is getting the stops, they’re getting the turnovers, they’re getting the fourth down stops, they’re getting in good field position. We got to do our part. We got to stay on the field, we can’t have three and outs and we got to score more points and build them a lead. If we can get a lead, we can do some things to cause the other team to turn the ball over. We got to do our part.”

Giants players will have a few days off before getting back to work next week to finish out the season’s final five-game stretch.

With so many injuries at wide receiver and on the offensive line the Giants have a adopted an extremely conservative “don’t make any big mistakes” style of offense.

“It is a different style and it is a little bit more run, run and then throw it on third down,” Manning said. “So yeah it’s different, but hey, it can be effective, it can work and understand that’s the situation we’re in, but we still got to do the part and finish that job and convert on those third downs and put our guys in a position where they can give them a chance to be successful.”

Giants players have a few days off before coming back ext week to get ready for the season’s final five-game stretch. Manning said he simply hopes to rest, spend time with family and “get rejuvenated for these last five games.”

Games which, unfortunately, won’t mean much of anything.