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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Giants are betting a lot on their belief that Eli Manning can return to an elite level this season. There's of course no way to tell if they're right from preseason action.
But on Friday night, the 37-year-old quarterback looked pretty good.
In his most extended action of the preseason by far, Manning was 17 of 23 for 188 yards in the Giants' 22-16 win over the Jets. He looked strong and accurate and even fired off a few nice, deep passes. OK, sure, he didn't lead them to a touchdown -- just four Aldrick Rosas field goals. But remember, he did it all even though the offense is still without Odell Beckham and Saquon Barkley.
Not a bad performance by an offense that still isn't whole.
Of course, anyone who watched Manning the last few years knew he could still throw as long as he has some time -- time that he got for the most part from his offensive line on Friday night. Maybe things will be different when he faces teams that are actually game-planning -- or against teams with an actual pass rush. But for the first extended look at Manning in the Pat Shurmur Era, his performance has to be taken as a good sign.
As for the rest of the Giants, here are some notes and observations from their third preseason game …
- LB Olivier Vernon has been a monster this summer and continued his strong preseason performance on Friday night. He was in the backfield constantly. At one point he literally steamrolled over Jets TE Eric Tomlinson. That's a good lesson for future opponents: Don't try to block Vernon with a TE.
- The Giants gave 31-year-old RB Jonathan Stewart a two-year, $6.9 million contract with almost $3 million guaranteed, which raised some eyebrows at the time. His preseason performance has raised even more. He rushed three times for minus-seven yards on Friday night and he fumbled. So far in three preseason game he's carried 10 times for minus-5 yards. Clearly he's been passed by Wayne Gallman, or at least he should be. But don't expect the Giants to cut him. His salary cap number is $3.925 million and they only save about $700,000 of that if they let him go. For that cost, they may as well keep him around as insurance and as a mentor for the young RBs.
- CB Eli Apple was an obvious target of the Jets' passing attack early in the game, and they got him on a couple of passes and once for defensive holding. He rebounded, but it was a reminder that the Giants are not deep in the secondary and they really are counting on a big bounce-back season from the former first-round pick.
- The Giants' starting offensive line didn't give up a sack and Manning didn't take any significant hits. That's the good news. The bad news is the right side is still pretty leaky and the pass rush was getting through, even if it didn't get all the way to its target. Also, there just aren't a lot of holes to run through for the Giants' running backs, and those that are there close fast. It is, no surprise, more of an issue on the right side where G Patrick Omameh had a rough night and T Ereck Flowers has had a rough summer.
- Tough night for the Giants tight ends. They lost Evan Engram to a concussion and Rhett Ellison to an eye injury. The extend of either injury wasn't immediately clear. The good news is there's still a little more than two weeks until opening day. But Engram's concussion is definitely an injury to watch.
- WR Hunter Sharp made a huge play (and a statement) with a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown. But he also dropped two catchable passes, which has been a problem for him this summer. He's going to be an interesting case when the Giants make their final cuts. At this point, if he makes the team it has to be as a returner. Not sure the Giants can trust him in the offense.
- One guy they can trust is WR Cody Latimer, who seems to have emerged as the No. 3 receiver. He absolutely toasted Jets CB Mo Claiborne for a 54-yard catch, and made a nice adjustment to slow up for a ball that Manning let hang up in the air too long.
- The Giants' defensive line is going to be dominant. Everyone knows how good DT Damon "Snacks" Harrison is, but the Giants seem to have really found a potential star in rookie DE B.J. Hill, who made a wonderfully athletic move to bat a Sam Darnold pass almost into an interception. DE Dalvin Tomlinson had a strong game too. Their power and strength inside is why Vernon and LB Kareem Martin are going to be so effective this season coming off the edges.
- It would be real nice if DE Kerry Wynn can help out that line in the regular season. He's a summer star and he was at it again Friday night with a sack of Jets QB Teddy Bridgewater and a near interception off a deflection. Every summer it's the same thing with Wynn. He just needs to continue it into fall.