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Giants News, 7/28: “Pitch Count” For Eli Manning This Season

Let’s catch up with what happened as the Giants reported for training camp

By Ed Valentine
NFL: New York Giants-Minicamp William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

At age 36 and entering his 14th season, the New York Giants appear set to put quarterback Eli Manning on a “pitch count” when it comes to how much throwing he does during practices.

“Eli has to take care of himself and get himself ready to play mentally and physically. When guys get up in age, you have to take care of them when they get up in age. There are a few guys on the squad that coach McAdoo and our staff, we’ve talked about ‘okay, let’s make sure these guys get to the game, get to the season.’ You’ve got to protect them in some ways. Each one of those guys you want to protect along with a few more guys, older guys you want to protect,” general manager Jerry Reese said on Thursday.

“You can call it a pitch count. You can frame it like that, you can frame it however you like. That’s a good way to frame it if you like.”

Manning’s number of passing attempts the past three seasons have been the highest of his career. There is some evidence that aging quarterbacks lose some zip on the ball during the course of a season. Thus, being careful with how much throwing Manning does each week is probably a good idea.

McAdoo: Giants “Stayed Off The Ticker”

Every NFL organization fears the worst during the six-week period from the end of the off-season program to the beginning of training camp. Players are on their own, and many are highly-paid young adults who are prone to mistakes. Giants’ coach Ben McAdoo was pleased that none of his players found themselves in any trouble.

“I let them know how much I appreciated how they took care of their business in our ‘prepcation’. We had six weeks, and we don’t have to answer any questions about guys being on the ticker. We stayed off the ticker, we did a great job with that,” McAdoo said. “It just shows that we have talented men of integrity in the program.”

McAdoo Plays Nice With The Media

The Giants’ coach can be a difficult interview. His answers are often short and, in terms of gleaning any information from them, useless. As camp open on Thursday, though, McAdoo made nice with the assembled media.

“Before we open it up and I get to my normal guarded self, I just want to let you know I appreciate everything you do for us and for this league and covering this team, and I look forward to working with you this year,” McAdoo said.

Quaint. Now let’s see what happens the first time someone asks him a question he would rather not answer.

Eli Apple “Real Confident” Entering Second Season

Eli Apple played pretty well as a rookie in 2016. The Giants’ first-round pick a year ago expects to be better this around.

“I think for me, I feel real confident. I think as a team we’re feeling really confident. Just kind of build off of what we had last year and I think just with the group of guys that we got and the news guys coming in too, we’ve got something real special. It’s just about putting the work in now,” Apple said. “I think I’m a lot more comfortable with the defense, a lot more comfortable with the guys.”

Apple had a hamstring issue during OTAs and was felled by an illness during mini-camp. He said both have cleared up.

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