Eli Manning is preparing to return to the huddle on Saturday night when the New York Giants travel to Maryland to take on the Baltimore Ravens for their third preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Should he get the nod, all eyes will be on him after he suffered a bloody gash on his forehead two weeks ago in the team’s preseason opener against the New York Jets. The wound required 12 stitches and forced the Giants quarterback to remain on the sidelines until last Friday when his sutures were removed.
He has since returned to practice beginning Monday, wearing a baseball cap at first before switching to a helmet with a firmer chin strap for precautionary purposes.
Going into this week’s matchup, Manning is confident that he’ll be ready. He said on www.giants.com, “I like being out there for the games, and it’s preseason. I’ll play on Saturday. So I’m excited about that.”
After watching him in practice this week, Giants coach Tom Coughlin also thinks Manning is ready to get back into action. Coughlin noted, “He [Manning] looked sharp. I liked his tempo right away. He got the ball out of his hand quick and made some real good decisions and so we’re glad to have him back on the practice field.”
With backup Jim Sorgi nursing an injured shoulder, also from the Jets game, the Giants offense has rested on the arm of third-string backup Rhett Bomar who had a lukewarm performance during last week’s 24–17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Coughlin and the Giants are eager to get Manning back into action, they should also proceed with caution this week as the Ravens ‘D’ has a knack for getting to the quarterback early and often.
In their first two preseason games against the Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins, Baltimore’s defense racked up 10 hits and 7 sacks and 7 hits and 4 sacks respectively against opposing quarterbacks.
With that being the case, the G-Men can ill afford additional injuries to Manning and head into the regular season with Bomar as the team’s starter. So keeping him upright is critical.
The good news is the Giants starting offensive line should be back together for the first time this preseason. Returning from injuries are starting left guard Rich Seubert (broken wrist) and starting right guard Pro-Bowler Chris Snee (swollen knee). Both should help out tremendously in keeping Manning out of harm’s way.
Manning likes his team’s chances this week. He said, “It’s the third preseason game, and we’ll go out there and try to play well. I think we’re in good shape.”
New York would love to come away with a win and improve their preseason record to 2–1, but the main goal in this game should be getting Manning back into action and then getting him off the field injury free.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.
Should he get the nod, all eyes will be on him after he suffered a bloody gash on his forehead two weeks ago in the team’s preseason opener against the New York Jets. The wound required 12 stitches and forced the Giants quarterback to remain on the sidelines until last Friday when his sutures were removed.
He has since returned to practice beginning Monday, wearing a baseball cap at first before switching to a helmet with a firmer chin strap for precautionary purposes.
Going into this week’s matchup, Manning is confident that he’ll be ready. He said on www.giants.com, “I like being out there for the games, and it’s preseason. I’ll play on Saturday. So I’m excited about that.”
After watching him in practice this week, Giants coach Tom Coughlin also thinks Manning is ready to get back into action. Coughlin noted, “He [Manning] looked sharp. I liked his tempo right away. He got the ball out of his hand quick and made some real good decisions and so we’re glad to have him back on the practice field.”
With backup Jim Sorgi nursing an injured shoulder, also from the Jets game, the Giants offense has rested on the arm of third-string backup Rhett Bomar who had a lukewarm performance during last week’s 24–17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While Coughlin and the Giants are eager to get Manning back into action, they should also proceed with caution this week as the Ravens ‘D’ has a knack for getting to the quarterback early and often.
In their first two preseason games against the Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins, Baltimore’s defense racked up 10 hits and 7 sacks and 7 hits and 4 sacks respectively against opposing quarterbacks.
With that being the case, the G-Men can ill afford additional injuries to Manning and head into the regular season with Bomar as the team’s starter. So keeping him upright is critical.
The good news is the Giants starting offensive line should be back together for the first time this preseason. Returning from injuries are starting left guard Rich Seubert (broken wrist) and starting right guard Pro-Bowler Chris Snee (swollen knee). Both should help out tremendously in keeping Manning out of harm’s way.
Manning likes his team’s chances this week. He said, “It’s the third preseason game, and we’ll go out there and try to play well. I think we’re in good shape.”
New York would love to come away with a win and improve their preseason record to 2–1, but the main goal in this game should be getting Manning back into action and then getting him off the field injury free.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.
