Giants' Eli Manning says he will start in his next pre-season game
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning got the green light from his athletic trainers and coaching staff after sustaining a three-inch gash against the Jets and will play against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday at the M&T Bank Stadium.
Manning said he feels fine after removing 12 stitches in the left side of his forehead and is certain he'll be playing in week three of the pre-season. Manning was held out of the Giants’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Saturday because the team was concerned that his wound might re-open and cause him to miss additional time.
The laceration to his forehead occurred in his pre-season opener last Monday. Down in the red zone, running back Brandon Jacobs ran into Manning expecting a hand-off and the ball popped up in the air and that’s when time stood still, or so it appeared for Giants fans, as their franchise quarterback was dealt a vicious hit to his blind side by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace, which sent Manning’s helmet flying.
Pace’s momentum sent a dazed Manning head first into safety Jim Leonhard’s facemask.With that miscommunication with Jacobs, Manning’s night was over, as he left in the second quarter with his hand over his forehead with blood streaming down his face.
"I feel fine. I feel normal," Manning said. He added that he would be back on the practice field and in the pre-season very soon and that he didn’t consider the three-inch gash just above his forehead as an injury. "I really felt like I could go back out and played if I had to," he said.
Manning’s wound was covered by a small bandage and he practiced wearing a baseball cap on Monday. “It’s no fun sitting out, sitting out practice last week,” Manning said. “At least it was a short week and I didn’t miss too much. I like being out there for the games. It is pre-season and I was trying to be smart and make sure I get everything healed now where you have a little time.”
As the week progresses, Manning will have extra padding in his helmet to protect the cut. Because this was not a regular season game, thus virtually no implications on the 2010 season, there was no way that coach Tom Coughlin was going to allow a bloody Manning to return onto the field. But no one questioned Manning’s toughness who took full responsibility for the miscommunication.
"The play was my fault. We had a run play with an option to throw a fade that I thought I might try, but Brandon [Jacobs] was coming right up the middle. Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head. It's preseason. You learn from it," said Manning.
Manning left with a headache and 12 stitches after completing 4-of-8 passes for 77 yards on Monday night in the first NFL game at the New Meadowlands.
But Jacobs feels that Manning is not the only one to blame and that he is also partly responsible for the broken play. "We had a call and he wanted to change it and do it on the run," said Jacobs, who recovered the fumble. "It ended up not working out. It was a communication issue on both of our parts. Eli will be fine."
The miscommunication left the door wide open for Pace to deliver a jarring blow to the quarterback and causing a fumble. "As I was hitting him, I looked back and the ball was out," Pace said. "I was really just trying to get up-field on that play. It's a preseason game and you don't want to see anyone get hurt."
After realizing that the injury was not as serious as initially thought, Pro Bowl center Shaun O'Hara could not help but poke fun at Manning’s scar saying “hopefully, it will make him look at little tougher.”
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