New York Giants news, 3/2: McAdoo says Eli Manning needs to play better

The New York Giants won 11 games in 2016 despite an underperforming offense. Asked Wednesday if he had identified reasons for the offense’s shortcomings, McAdoo pointed to turnovers and did not hesitate to put blame on the shoulders of quarterback Eli Manning.

“We all know that turning the ball over 27 times isn’t acceptable. We’re fortunate to have the wins that we had turning the ball over the way we turned the ball over. So we can’t turn the ball over that way,” McAdoo said. “We need to handle the ball better, so we need to catch it better than we caught it, and we need to handle it in the pocket better. We can’t have it come out, way too many fumbles: 16 interceptions, 11 fumbles. Way too many fumbles.”

Manning was, of course, the person who threw those 16 interceptions. He also fumbled seven times, losing four.

McAdoo said it was “an easy one-liner” to blame the offensive line for all of the offense’s struggles.

“I think it’s a combination. I think that’s an easy blame. I think that’s an easy one-liner you can throw out there and think you have all the answers. I don’t necessarily agree with that. The offensive line they need to play better. I agree with that. I think Eli needs to do a better job of playing with fast feet, and I think he needs to sit on that back foot in the pocket,” McAdoo said. “We’re seeing a lot of man coverage, so the receivers it’s gonna take a little time for them to get open, so everything may not be rhythmical. So he’s gotta play with fast feet, he’s gotta sit on his back foot and be ready to hitch into a throw. Things aren’t always clean in this league, but you watch film of the end zones throughout the league and you’re seeing a lot of dirty pockets.”

Did Giants tamper with Adrian Peterson?

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is trying to make the case that McAdoo’s remarks on Wednesday about Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson amounted to tampering.

Florio called McAdoo’s comments “an unforced error from McAdoo no different than Jets owner Woody Johnson’s gratuitous comments from two years ago about Darrelle Revis.”

I’m not buying what Florio is selling.

Here is what McAdoo said: “We’ll go take a look at him, we’ll evaluate him, we’ll get a grade on anyone who’s available.”

What Johnson said about Revis, for which he was fined $100,000 was that he would "love to have Darrelle back"

What McAdoo said did not directly indicate interest in the player. Also, the comment came at an offseason combine press conference. What Johnson said came during the season and directly indicated he wanted another team’s player. There is a difference, at least in my view.

Ex-Giants No. 1 pick headed to prison

Will Allen, selected in the first round by the Giants in 2001, has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme.

Allen played five seasons for the Giants, then five more with the Miami Dolphins.

Giants fill assistant coaching vacancy

The Giants have promoted Rob Leonard from defensive assistant to assistant defensive line coach, per ESPN’s Jordan Ranaan. That fills a vacancy left when Jeff Zgonina left the Giants to become defensive line coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Leonard has been with the Giants since 2013.

Combine continues

The 2017 NFL Scouting Combine is underway, although on-field workouts don’t begin until Friday. Visit our Combine StoryStream for all of our coverage.

Today, offensive linemen and running backs will be available for interviews, while quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends are weighed and measured.

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