Are Eli’s woes caused by mechanics or typical swoon?
Published: November 4th, 2009 | Tags: Antonio Pierce, Eli Manning, New York Giants, Tom Coughlin
Giants coach Tom Coughlin charged the team’s stars — LB Antonio Pierce and QB Eli Manning — to perform better in an attempt to halt the team’s three-game losing streak.
So, what’s wrong with Manning? His performance has noticeably declined after a blistering start. His completion percentage is below 50 percent over the past three weeks, and he has a rating of 54.4 while throwing three touchdown passes and six interceptions.
NFL Network analyst Trent Green offered Tuesday that the foot injury Manning suffered in a Week 4 game at Kansas City could be messing with his mechanics. But Green himself pointed out that Manning had a perfect passer rating the following week against the Raiders.
Manning refuted Green’s assertion that the foot injury is affecting him, telling reporters Wednesday that his mechanics are fine.
“You can get off a little bit, and it is just all repetition and getting back to it at practice and working on things,” Manning said. “I think for the most part I am throwing the ball pretty accurately. There are always a couple throws that you want to have back, but for us, it is just getting back to being consistent and getting into our rhythm and not getting so down that we kind of get out of our style of offense.”
Green again said on Wednesday’s NFL Total Access that mechanics must be dogging Manning.
Or are they?
Manning’s hot start came against some of the worst defenses in the NFL — Dallas (22nd), Tampa Bay (28th), Kansas City (30th) and Oakland (26th). It’s not surprising that he put up huge numbers against those teams.
Manning also faded at the end of last season, throwing just three touchdown passes in the final five weeks and topping 200 passing yards twice in his final 12 games. So is this a matter of Manning struggling, or Eli just being Eli?