The offense likely will be scaled back some. They need to turn McCoy into a bit of a game manager in his first start since Oct. 6, 2019 to minimize any mistakes, especially against a dangerous opponent like the Seahawks (8-3). That’s especially important with McCoy, who has always been a bit of a gun-slinger, forcing some passes that should never have been thrown.

But despite that tendency, he’s not exactly a young, reckless quarterback finding his way. McCoy can play. And he’s shown that in practice, both running the scout team and on what the players have called “Fast Fridays” when McCoy runs two-minute drills against the Giants’ first-team defense. Apparently throughout the season he’s been putting on quite the show.

“The first thing I told him was ‘I’m happy I don’t have to go against you on Friday,’” said Giants linebacker Blake Martinez. “He tries to do certain plays, no-look passes, all these types of things.”

“He has some tricks that he likes to throw at us,” added safety Jabrill Peppers. “Whether it’s his no-look passes or looking off the safety, throwing it back side. He definitely does a lot of things to help us prepare for what we’re going to see on Sundays.”

Chances are there will be no no-look passes in Garrett’s game plan against Seattle – at least not by design. And considering McCoy has only started seven games in the last nine seasons, there isn’t a lot of game film to use to judge what designs will suit him best.

But a good guess is that the RPOs the Giants have run with Jones won’t completely disappear, but they may morph into more traditional play-action sets which keep McCoy more anchored to the pocket. McCoy also figures to lean a lot more heavily on throws to his running backs and probably tight end Evan Engram. Backup quarterbacks tend to rely more on safety nets like that, rather than go through a full progression of reads to get the ball down field.

Garrett would be wise to at least call a few of those down-field shots, though, just to keep the Seattle defense honest. But McCoy doesn’t have Jones’ arm, nor has he had enough time to develop chemistry and timing with his big-play receivers like Darius Slayton. Those shots are just that – shots. They should give it a try, but only sparingly, especially with all-pro safety Jamal Adams lurking in the secondary for Seattle.

And while McCoy doesn’t have Jones’ legs, it seems likely the Giants will let him get outside the pocket at least a little bit and maybe even let him run a bit on his own. He has 135 rushes for 504 yards in his career, so he can do it — though perhaps not as well as he could a decade ago.

“Colt’s got a history of running the ball,” Giants head coach Joe Judge said. “He’s an athletic quarterback. He’s a tough dude, he’s a gritty dude. You go back earlier in his career, he did the same thing, through college, high school and all that stuff. Put the ball in his hand, put him on the edge and let him run around, throw the ball from the pocket, run some RPOs, some zone reads. There’s not much we have to change in the offense.”

Maybe not completely, but there will be important differences — including the new voice in the huddle, a new pace, and even a new speed on the ball. The good news — maybe the best news with McCoy -- is he’s not some untested kid who has to win over the guys he’s being asked to lead.

Because the Giants swear he already has.

“I’ve had confidence in him every single time we’ve had practice, every single day he’s been here,” Martinez said. “I’m excited for him to get the opportunity come Sunday.”

Added receiver Sterling Shepard: “My confidence is through the roof with him.”

“The guys really like Colt. They rally around him just like they do Daniel,” Judge said. “He’s a guy that puts a lot of confidence in the players in the huddle. I always talk about (how) you want a quarterback who is going to step in the huddle with 10 sets of eyes looking at him knowing this guy is going to give them the answer.

“I think Colt is that guy.”

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