Andrew Luck Supplanting One Manning in Indy, Surpassing Another in New York: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — This is what the Giants offensive assistant coaches need to do. They need to stand before the team Tuesday morning. Bring the game tape of the Giants offense in that first half against Indianapolis from Monday night. Bring a large container. Plus some gasoline and matches. Put the game tape into the container. Add gasoline. Throw in those fancy iPads, too. Disconnect the smoke detectors in the room. Then light the match. Poof. Burn it all. You know a first-half performance is awful when the halftime ceremony of Michael Strahan being honored for entering the Hall of Fame is far more entertaining than the half itself. Burn the tape. Put it on the rocket. Forget it ever happened. The Giants woeful offensive performance was made to look even worse by comparison to the quarterback they were playing, Andrew Luck. He threw for 300-plus yards game for the seventh straight game, and while we didnt see Spectacular Luck, we saw Pretty Damn Good Luck. Luck benefited greatly from having receivers that can, you know, get open. Other than Odell Beckham, the Giants receivers run about as fast as Strahan. The striking juxtaposition between the Colts offense and the Giants was the biggest head-shaker in Indianapolis 40-24 win. So was the play between the two quarterbacks. In the first half alone, Eli Manning had seven overthrows, the most hes had this season. He was off. Way off. His receivers couldnt get open, either, and when they did, mostly in that awful first half, theyd drop the football. There was no running game. Burn the tape. What was impossible not to notice was an almost passing of the torch. Or rather, a yanking of one of the torches out of Elis hands by Luck. Eli was once one of the standard bearers at the position. He beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, not once, but twice in Super Bowls. His performances in those games were electric and eternal. Since those wins, Manning has been average, at best. Hes gone 19-21 since his last championship—9-7 in 2012, 7-9 in 2013 and 3-5 this season. It hasnt all been his fault, as the team has dumped players and is clearly in a rebuilding stage now, but he hasnt been the old Eli. Through that 2012 Super Bowl, Manning had 202 touchdowns to 137 interceptions (playoffs included). Since that 2012 Super Bowl, 60 touchdowns and 47 picks. Manning has been one of the more error-prone throwers in all of football. Against the Colts, Manning threw a pass that was partially deflected. Manning caught the football, started to run awkwardly, then dropped it. We see more of those type of plays now than the excellence just a few years ago. Meanwhile, a legion of young stars has caught Manning. One of them obviously is Luck. We knew full well (about) the explosiveness of this team, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, the production of the quarterback. His throws to the tight ends tonight were outstanding. There was also a gorgeous dart to Reggie Wayne that only a handful of quarterbacks can make. What youre seeing with the Giants is a superpower in decline (for now). What youre seeing with Indianapolis, is the emergence of one. A slow, deliberate march toward being something special, the way we once saw Manning take those steps, leading to him beating Brady and Belichick. Luck will make his mistakes. Sometimes my media friends think Luck can do no wrong. He makes mistakes, but they are reducing in number. The arc is starting to steep dramatically into that Super Bowl direction. Luck, unlike Manning, has significant talent around him. But unlike Manning, even if he didnt, Luck has the capabilities of carrying his team. After the Colts were power-washed by Ben Roethlisberger, the team could have crumbled. Instead they traveled to a tough road environment and handed out their own shellacking. It was an impressive turnaround. There was 3:50 left in the third quarter and Luck already had 350 yards, four touchdowns and 37 points. Consider this: Luck is on pace to throw for 5,484 yards. That would break Peyton Mannings single-season record of 5,477. Luck this season has 3,085 passing yards. That number, through nine games, is second best in NFL history. The only person with more through nine games was Manning last year with 3,249. Meanwhile, the Giants might miss the postseason for the fifth time in the last six years. I gotta play better, Eli Manning said. But thats the question. Just how much better can Manning play at this point? Have we already seen the best Manning we will ever witness? Is it almost the end for him in New York? Lucks performance against the Giants was one we would have once seen from Manning. Years ago. Now its Lucks turn. Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #NFL #Opinion
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 06:42:13 +0000
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