Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning pledge more downfield passing
Tom Coughlin the head coach of the New York Giants watches the action against the Cincinnati Bengals during an NFL preseason game at Paul Brown Stadium on Aug. 14, 2015 in Cincinnati. Credit: Getty Images / Andy Lyons
Eli Manning completed 4 of 8 passes for 22 yards and had no completions to any wide receivers Friday night. His longest completion was 16 yards, which means the other three managed a combined 6.
The part of the offense that was supposed to be the most dangerous, the most impressive, was a complete no-show in the first preseason game.
"We didn't have much going for us in the passing game at all," Tom Coughlin said after the 23-10 loss to the Bengals.
Not even the magic of Odell Beckham Jr. could salvage the offense. He was targeted only once and the pass was incomplete as he ran a deeper route and Manning expected him to cut it off in the face of a blitz.
But that could be about to change. Coughlin and Manning both made it sound as if the vertical aspect of the offense will be a big focus during the upcoming week in training camp.
"We've got a chance now for another week of practice, moving forward with installations and a chance to do some things with the ball down the field much more than we had right now," Coughlin said. "It seemed most of the things we did were very short. We got the ball out on some check-downs more than a few times and guys have to take what's open."
Manning also hinted at more threatening plays to come.
"We hadn't fully installed the whole offense yet," he said. "We've still got a few more installations that we've got to put in. We're kind of sticking to the plan and running what we have in right now."
The Giants did not work much on deeper passes in practices through the first two weeks of the preseason. Most of the passes Manning has thrown in the workouts have been intermediate at best, trying to hammer out the timing with Beckham and Co. on quicker slants and cuts that their athleticism should be able to turn into bigger gains.
Still, with all of the weapons Manning has -- even with Victor Cruz on the sideline -- it was a little surprising that he couldn't find any of them Friday night.
Said Coughlin, "I did expect the ball to move down the field a little bit more."
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
