Eli Manning article

[Randall]

Eli Manning Could Sit Out Against Packers

 

By JOHN BRANCH

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Sept. 10 — Eli Manning had just spent 15 minutes discussing his injured right shoulder. It is sore enough that the Giants fear Manning, their starting quarterback, may miss at least one game, but healthy enough that it is not in a sling.

 

Manning then turned and reached for something in the bottom of his locker. It was pointed out that he used his left hand.

 

He smiled. Using his right hand, he grabbed a pair of shorts hanging on a shoulder-high hook. He waved them up and down to show that his throwing shoulder still operates despite a sprained acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint. “I won’t try to lift up a bed or move a couch or anything,” Manning said Monday.

 

The Giants are not sure when he will lift a football, either. Manning has started 42 consecutive games, but the streak is in jeopardy heading toward Sunday’s contest against the Packers at Giants Stadium.

 

“Quite frankly, if it’s not possible this week, then it will be another week,” said Coach Tom Coughlin, displaying a worry free expression.

 

“We’ll continue to see what kind of progress can be made in a short amount of time with regard to his throwing motion,” Coughlin added.

 

The season-opening 45-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys could have a lasting effect beyond the standings.

 

Running back Brandon Jacobs sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee and could miss several weeks. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora injured the meniscus in his left knee, sustaining what Coughlin described unscientifically as “irritated cartilage.”

 

“It’s a soreness situation,” Coughlin said.

 

What it all means will be apparent against the Packers. The Giants could line up with Jared Lorenzen at quarterback, Derrick Ward at running back and Mathias Kiwanuka at defensive end.

 

Coughlin, for the first time, said the Giants would consider moving Kiwanuka back to his original position after spending the off-season converting him to outside linebacker. Kiwanuka, a fast and strong pass rusher, struggled against the Cowboys in pass defense.

 

“There will be more discussions in the next day or so,” Coughlin said. “We need to get a handle on where Osi is.”

 

The Giants’ defense, playing its first game under the coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, struggled mightily against the Cowboys. Dallas converted 6 of 11 third downs, and five of them came on third-and-6 or longer. One failure was a 10-yard gain on third-and-11, followed by an 18-yard touchdown run by Marion Barber III on fourth down.

 

Barber’s run was one of eight “big plays,” defined by Coughlin as runs of at least 10 yards and completions of at least 25 yards.

 

“There were some very, very good football players that didn’t play well last night,” said Coughlin, not naming names. “As I told the team, when you see yourself on tape, you’re not going to be real pleased about it, and you’re going to make up your mind that you’re going to have to do something about it.”

 

The Giants’ offense, led by Manning and under the new coordinator Kevin Gilbride, played one of its more efficient games in the three-plus seasons Coughlin has coached the team. But on a 2-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter, Manning was sacked by linebacker Anthony Spencer. Spencer fell on Manning, smashing his shoulder.

 

Manning went to the sideline and tested his aching arm with a pass. “I threw it, threw it hard, it came out a spiral, and I said, ‘All right, I’m going back in,’ ” Manning said.

 

The chance came too quickly to give it much thought. Giants safety Gibril Wilson intercepted a Tony Romo pass on the next play. Manning completed three short passes, then whipped a ball to Plaxico Burress for a 10-yard touchdown that cut the Cowboys’ lead to 38-35.

 

“It wasn’t a lob,” Manning said. “I put something on it, it was accurate. So that makes me feel positive about my status this week.”

 

The Giants got the ball back with three minutes remaining, but Coughlin and Manning decided that they did not want to risk further damage. Lorenzen entered.

 

A magnetic resonance imaging exam Monday showed the sprained AC joint. That is where the clavicle and the scapula come together, the point where most shoulder separations occur.

 

The Giants are not calling Manning’s injury a separated shoulder, and they dismissed reports that he would be out a month.

 

“I can brush my teeth — this morning I did it with my right hand still — so I still have all the normal things,” Manning said. “I can start my car with my right arm, open the door, so I’ve still got good motion and can do my daily activities.”

 

The Giants are not concerned about Manning’s oral hygiene or whether he has to turn the ignition with his left hand. They just want him to be able to throw the ball the way he did against the Cowboys.

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/sports/f...amp;oref=slogin