Giants' Manning must break turnover habit
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (Nov. 21, 2010) Credit: AP
Eli Manning can't quite put his finger on the reason behind the interceptions - 19 of them, one fewer than his career high.
"Every interception is different," he said. "Some are bad throws, which is part of football. Some are decisions, some are tight throws. Every one has its own reason for happening."
Whatever the case, Manning has the most interceptions of any NFL starter this year. A more encouraging stat is his 24 touchdowns are only three behind last season's career high.
At 9-4, there's certainly no need to panic. After all, despite the turnovers, the Giants' offense still is performing respectably: It's seventh in the NFL with 25.4 points per game, and 12th in passing with 237.1 yards. And perhaps the most encouraging stat of all: it's fourth in rushing yards (148.3).
But let's face it: If the Giants are to re-establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders, then Manning must re-establish himself as a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. He already has a Super Bowl MVP award, but the turnover problems have to be corrected in a hurry.
Especially with the continuing injury problems at receiver. The latest blow: Steve Smith, who missed four games before returning Monday against the Vikings, is gone for the season with a knee injury. That leaves the Giants with Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham - who has a hip flexor injury but shouldn't miss time - as their most reliable wideouts, with No. 3 Derek Hagan along with Michael Clayton and Devin Thomas.
"It's unfortunate for Steve, and I feel for him," Manning said. "It's a tough situation. The good thing is we have a lot of receivers because of the injuries earlier in the year who are up to date with what's going on."
Sunday would be a fine place for Manning to start cutting down on the picks. With first place in the NFC East on the line against the 9-4 Eagles, he can't repeat his turnover meltdown in their first meeting. He had three interceptions and a lost fumble, ruining a dramatic second-half rally in a 27-17 loss.
Manning has a total of three interceptions in his last two games - both wins - and feels optimistic he can avoid more turnovers. We'll soon find out whether he's on point or whistling in the wind.
"The [interceptions] are higher than I want, but we've eliminated a lot of them," Manning said. "We've done a better job. After 10 games, we had 30 turnovers. The last three weeks, we've had three, so we're doing a better job. We've got to continue to get stronger."
It's on him to make it happen. With a revived running game that should open up the play-action pass, there's no reason he can't display the kind of vibrant performance typical of the best moments of his career.
He said the only way to get there is to stay aggressive, even if it means risking more turnovers.
"You can never get gunshy," he said. "If you've thrown a bad pass or an interception, you can't say, 'Well, I'm not going to try to be aggressive anymore.' If you do that, you won't make another throw the rest of the game. You're not trying to force things, but if you see a guy who's open, you throw it and hopefully make a good throw."
More interceptions to come? No doubt, but Manning's hope is to get on a roll the way he did the last time he threw this many interceptions. And you know how that one turned out: After 20 picks in the regular season, Manning threw only one in his next four games.
That last game: Super Bowl XLII.
