New York Post, Tuesday, August 13, 2019nypost.com41D
ANIEL Jones had another impressive
day at training camp on Monday,
throwing three consecutive touch-
down passes, all in different fashion.
There was a hard dart
over the middle to Rus-
sell Shepard, a floater to
the back corner of the
end zone to T.J. Jones
and a low lineR to the
front-left pylon of the
end zone that Garrett
Dickerson grabbed for
another unofficial score.
Of course, we won’t know for a while
whether Jones has what it takes to be a
franchise quarterback. That will come af-
ter he faces defenses with complex
schemes built to exploit his weaknesses
and limit his strengths. We won’t know if
he’s the answer until he has to produce
behind a leaky offensive line or
when the pressure is intense. But
so far, Jones passes the eye test
and the better he performs
during the preseason the
shorter the leash could
be for Eli Manning,
the incumbent
starter. But don’t
fret for Manning.
It says here he’s in
a no-lose situation
as he enters his
16th season with the
Giants grooming his
heir apparent.
First of all, we can’t feel
bad for someone who has
made a gazillion dollars playing
quarterback for the Giants, let alone
someone who has won two Super Bowls
and is a two-time Super Bowl MVP. He’s
also a Manning, which will carry a lot of
cachet long after his career is over. If Eli
Manning retires tomorrow, he’s definitely
in the Giants Ring of
Honor, a border-line
Hall of Famer and
someone who did
his job with the ut-
most profession-
alism. Anything
that happens on the
field in 2019 won’t
damage that.
Take the worst-
case scenario, the
Giants lose their
first three or four
games with Man-
ning starting and a
change is made to
Jones. Given every-
thing we’ve seen fromManning during his career, he’s not going to
be a distraction. If and when Jones is named
the Giants starter, Manning will be the same
guy he has been for 16 years and become
Jones’ biggest supporter.
Consider this from
Saquon Barkley.
“When Daniel Jones
goes out there and does
a great job, it’s not like
he’s worried,” Barkley
said of Manning. “He’s
happy for him. At the
end of the day, that’s
what this league is all about and that’s
what we want to be about as a team.”
Remember, Manning has been through
this before in 2004 when he was the No. 1
draft choice and Kurt Warner was
benched after a 5-4 start to make room for
the future of the franchise. It would be
hypocritical for Manning not to back
Jones after getting support from Warner,
who went on to appear in a Super Bowl
and eventually was elected to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame.
Manning is by no means giving up his
job easily. He had some nice moments in
practice, too, on Monday, connecting on a
deep pass to Benny Fowler III. Manning’s
experience gives him the best chance to
beat the Cowboys in Dallas on Sept. 8 and
how far he goes into the season as the
starter will depend on how well the Giants
play early in the year.
It doesn’t help that the receiving corps
has been hit with injuries and the suspen-
sion of Golden Tate. But Manning should
benefit from a revamped offensive line
and the exceptional skills of running back
Saquon Barkley. Tight end Evan Engram
needs to become a playmaker.
After suffering five losing seasons in the
past six years, Manning’s record as a
starter is 116-114 and there are whispers the
Giants want him to maintain a winning re-
cord to enhance his chances of making the
Hall of Fame. That seems a bit farfetched
and really shouldn’t be an issue.
If the Giants happen to lose their first two
games, getting Manning back over .500 as a
starter shouldn’t be an objective. He should
start as long as the Giants are winning
and progressing, meanwhile Jones
just needs to be ready.
Regardless of how things
play out, Manning is in a no-
lose situation. He gets a final
season with the Giants to ei-
ther add to his legacy or ce-
ment it. Either way, it will
always be good to be
Eli Manning.
george.willis
@nypost.comEven with Jones
in town, Eli in a
no-lose situation
George Willis
ALL WILL BE REVEALED:
Pat Shurmur (left), who had a cut
on the left side of his face after an
incident with his dog at home,
said Saquon Barkley is “getting a
heck of a lot of reps here in
practice,” and he has a
preseason plan for the second-
year running back that will be
revealed as the team
moves forward.
Anthony J. Causi (2)