Read between the lines and it is clear that Eli Manning doesn’t have much to look forward to as the New York Giants embark on the start of the second half of their season.
With his two star wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall out for the year, Manning has precious few targets on the 53-man roster with playmaking ability. Factor in his offensive line – a unit that has not exactly covered themselves in glory this year – and this could be an ugly second half for the Giants quarterback.
And when asked if this team, coming off a bye week, would be able to kickstart their offense Manning didn’t exactly ring with enthusiasm for what could be an ugly close to the year.
“I think it’s just a time to, hey, get a little rest, understand the circumstances we’re going through, but understand what we have, be excited about our opportunities to go out there and compete every week and excited about just figuring out what guys do well,” Manning said. “How can we put them in a position to do the things they do well so we can be successful as a team and as an offense.”
The Giants are in an interesting spot, as a team. On Tuesday, cornerback Janoris Jenkins was suspended by the team, not exactly an ideal start coming off the bye week for head coach Ben McAdoo and his staff.
The suspension of Jenkins is now the second suspension of a player on the team this year, a troubling and concerning trend for the team and the locker room.
“I mean, it happens, you know. We got to handle our business,” Manning said. “We got to make sure we’re doing things right and I think everybody knows the reasoning for why they’re occurring and we got to, obviously, go about our business and then when guys come back, you don’t think about it and you keep going.”
