It hasn’t been much of a slump, but two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Eli Manning’s numbers ever since leading the Giants to their dominating 26 –3 win over San Francisco way back on October 14, have not reflected his best work.
Since that impressive performance the Giants are 2-2 and Manning has struggled finding the end zone to the tune of just one total touchdown during that four-game span. Even worse his quarterback rating is a paltry 60.5 since that time after posting a 94.9 the first six games.
A number of theories of what’s wrong are out there but Manning shot down one of them Wednesday after the team’s week off—arm fatigue.
“I didn’t think there was anything to it. In practices, I thought I was throwing the ball well. I felt no fatigue,” said Manning, according to a report on the Giants’ website. “Obviously, sometimes during the course of the season you may not realize it. But today the arm felt good. I threw some deep ones and didn’t have to struggle to get it out there.”
But Manning, who seems to need a challenge to play his best, has a nice hurdle in front of him this week—the vaunted Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay may not be 15-1 like they were when the two teams lined up last January, when Manning and the Giants shocked them at Lambeau, but at 7-3 and riding a five-game win streak their presence should get the Giants’ juices flowing.
“We know what our challenge is and what type of team we’re going against,” said Manning, never one to give the opponent any locker room fodder. “We know we have to play very good football and that’s what we expect.”
This is the type of game Manning typically lives for though—as the underdog, as strange as that sounds for the defending Super Bowl champs.
