Warner to Start
Coughlin tabs veteran to lead team against Eagles in season opener.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
August 29, 2004
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the last month, the Giants have had two outstanding quarterbacks competing for the starting job. Kurt Warner is a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player who twice took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl. Eli Manning was the first pick in the 2004 draft, and has done nothing to diminish the conviction that he is a star in the making.
“It’s unfortunate we only have one football,” said wide receiver Ike Hilliard.
QB Kurt Warner will start for the Giants when they face the Eagles in the season opener.
Warner will get that football when the Giants open their regular season two weeks from today in Philadelphia. Coach Tom Coughlin announced before practice that he has chosen Warner to start the season as the team’s No. 1 quarterback. Manning will be the backup. Coughlin informed both players of his decision in separate meetings this morning.
“Kurt will start the season at quarterback,” Coughlin said. “We give Kurt the ball and say, `Kurt, let’s go win.’”
Warner knows a little something about that. He is 35-15 as a regular-season NFL starter, a .700 winning percentage that is the highest among active quarterbacks with at least 50 starts. Now he takes the helm of a Giants team that has made wholesale changes after last year’s 4-12 finish.
“That was goal number one coming in, to be the starter and help this team win a championship,” said Warner, who was signed on June 2. “But there’s still a lot of work to be done. I have to continue to focus on getting better, correcting the mistakes that I’ve been making and hone in on the responsibility that comes with being the starting quarterback of the New York Giants.”
Warner clinched the job with a strong performance in Friday’s 17-10 preseason loss to the Jets. He completed nine of 11 passes, many of them in the face of a fierce rush.
“I thought he was real sharp,” Coughlin said. “I thought he was real quick, I thought he made a couple of really outstanding plays, above the ‘Xs’ and ‘Os.’ Particularly the dump off to Tiki (Barber) and (Amani) Toomer. I thought those were two outstanding plays with pressure. I thought he handled the offense well, I thought he was in and out of the huddle well, he was in good control, which he and Eli have both been all through camp.”
While Warner strengthened his grip on the job, Manning played poorly for the first time. He was intercepted twice and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown while hitting just four of 14 passes for 20 yards.
That game was the final separation in what had been an extremely close competition. Manning was impressive in practice throughout training camp. Warner matched him stride-for-stride. In three games, Warner has completed 21 of 29 passes for 224 yards. Manning has 20 completions in 42 attempts for 228 yards. Neither has thrown a touchdown pass. Manning has thrown two interceptions, Warner one.
“It’s been a very good experience, the competitive nature of this position,” Coughlin said. “I wish we could say that about all positions on this team. We would certainly be a better football team for that. The advancement of Eli has been largely due to the competitive nature of this position. And I feel like he has advanced tremendously as a rookie in this league with all the information that has been thrown at him, and the way he’s handled the majority of that, so I feel good about the two quarterbacks.”
Manning was disappointed, but not angry or upset. He simply can’t match Warner’s experience right now. And Manning is the Giants’ quarterback of the future. Coughlin said Manning will likely play this year, simply because he expects the backup quarterback to have an opportunity at some point to step on the field.
“I just have to go in this week and continue to work hard - nothing changes for me,” Manning said. “I have still got a lot to learn and a lot to prepare. I am going to prepare each week like I am the starter, like I am going to play and that is just going to make me better down the road.”
Manning said he was not surprised by Coughlin’s decision.
“After the way I played this past week, obviously I didn’t go out there and do what I had to do,” Manning said. “I wasn’t upset by it, I kind of feared it might come, but it doesn’t change anything. I have still got a lot to learn.”
Coughlin was impressed with the way Manning took the news.
“(His reaction was) very good, very good,” Coughlin said. “I mean he’s not, in any way, going to accept the position. He’s a competitor, that’s the number one thing. He’s a fighter, but he’s very positive about it. He’s a young man who…everything we’ve thrown at him he’s handled very well.
“He didn’t have a good experience the other night. I really don’t think it was a setback, I think it was a learning experience. I think he is going to have circumstances come along in his career…they all do, everyone does. You know, you’ve got to make sure that your focus is where it needs to be, so that’s a good experience for him.”
After the Jets game and again yesterday, Coughlin said he hadn’t chosen his quarterback and might not do so until after the Baltimore game. But he did come to a decision yesterday. He declined to reveal it to the media, because he hadn’t yet informed Warner and Manning.
Now that everyone knows who the quarterback is, the Giants can turn their full attention to the Eagles. The preseason game against the Ravens will no longer be part of the quarterback tryouts, but a final prep before the games count. Warner said he has plenty of time to prepare for the Eagles.
“There was never a process when we were not getting ready,” Warner said. “So it is nice to have that solidified and be able to press into that position and that role and push forward, not having those things in the back of your mind. It is still a matter of continuing to move forward, continuing to progress and get where I want to be in the next couple weeks.”
So the biggest story of the summer has reached a conclusion – at least presently. Warner gets the ball, but Manning is close behind. And should the starter sputter at some point, the media and fans will begin to wonder when the rookie will get his shot. Right now, though, the competition is closed.
“I felt I was given every opportunity to go in there and prove that I can go in and play,” Manning said. “I worked with the ones in practice, I got a chance to start one preseason game. So I thought it was fair and I was given a fair chance.”
“It was fun, it was a different role for me, something I hadn’t been a part of in a while,” Warner said. “At times it was a little nerve racking, when you are wondering if this plays into it and that plays into it.”
Now he simply has to play.
Coughlin tabs veteran to lead team against Eagles in season opener.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com
August 29, 2004
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – For the last month, the Giants have had two outstanding quarterbacks competing for the starting job. Kurt Warner is a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player who twice took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl. Eli Manning was the first pick in the 2004 draft, and has done nothing to diminish the conviction that he is a star in the making.
“It’s unfortunate we only have one football,” said wide receiver Ike Hilliard.
QB Kurt Warner will start for the Giants when they face the Eagles in the season opener.
Warner will get that football when the Giants open their regular season two weeks from today in Philadelphia. Coach Tom Coughlin announced before practice that he has chosen Warner to start the season as the team’s No. 1 quarterback. Manning will be the backup. Coughlin informed both players of his decision in separate meetings this morning.
“Kurt will start the season at quarterback,” Coughlin said. “We give Kurt the ball and say, `Kurt, let’s go win.’”
Warner knows a little something about that. He is 35-15 as a regular-season NFL starter, a .700 winning percentage that is the highest among active quarterbacks with at least 50 starts. Now he takes the helm of a Giants team that has made wholesale changes after last year’s 4-12 finish.
“That was goal number one coming in, to be the starter and help this team win a championship,” said Warner, who was signed on June 2. “But there’s still a lot of work to be done. I have to continue to focus on getting better, correcting the mistakes that I’ve been making and hone in on the responsibility that comes with being the starting quarterback of the New York Giants.”
Warner clinched the job with a strong performance in Friday’s 17-10 preseason loss to the Jets. He completed nine of 11 passes, many of them in the face of a fierce rush.
“I thought he was real sharp,” Coughlin said. “I thought he was real quick, I thought he made a couple of really outstanding plays, above the ‘Xs’ and ‘Os.’ Particularly the dump off to Tiki (Barber) and (Amani) Toomer. I thought those were two outstanding plays with pressure. I thought he handled the offense well, I thought he was in and out of the huddle well, he was in good control, which he and Eli have both been all through camp.”
While Warner strengthened his grip on the job, Manning played poorly for the first time. He was intercepted twice and lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown while hitting just four of 14 passes for 20 yards.
That game was the final separation in what had been an extremely close competition. Manning was impressive in practice throughout training camp. Warner matched him stride-for-stride. In three games, Warner has completed 21 of 29 passes for 224 yards. Manning has 20 completions in 42 attempts for 228 yards. Neither has thrown a touchdown pass. Manning has thrown two interceptions, Warner one.
“It’s been a very good experience, the competitive nature of this position,” Coughlin said. “I wish we could say that about all positions on this team. We would certainly be a better football team for that. The advancement of Eli has been largely due to the competitive nature of this position. And I feel like he has advanced tremendously as a rookie in this league with all the information that has been thrown at him, and the way he’s handled the majority of that, so I feel good about the two quarterbacks.”
Manning was disappointed, but not angry or upset. He simply can’t match Warner’s experience right now. And Manning is the Giants’ quarterback of the future. Coughlin said Manning will likely play this year, simply because he expects the backup quarterback to have an opportunity at some point to step on the field.
“I just have to go in this week and continue to work hard - nothing changes for me,” Manning said. “I have still got a lot to learn and a lot to prepare. I am going to prepare each week like I am the starter, like I am going to play and that is just going to make me better down the road.”
Manning said he was not surprised by Coughlin’s decision.
“After the way I played this past week, obviously I didn’t go out there and do what I had to do,” Manning said. “I wasn’t upset by it, I kind of feared it might come, but it doesn’t change anything. I have still got a lot to learn.”
Coughlin was impressed with the way Manning took the news.
“(His reaction was) very good, very good,” Coughlin said. “I mean he’s not, in any way, going to accept the position. He’s a competitor, that’s the number one thing. He’s a fighter, but he’s very positive about it. He’s a young man who…everything we’ve thrown at him he’s handled very well.
“He didn’t have a good experience the other night. I really don’t think it was a setback, I think it was a learning experience. I think he is going to have circumstances come along in his career…they all do, everyone does. You know, you’ve got to make sure that your focus is where it needs to be, so that’s a good experience for him.”
After the Jets game and again yesterday, Coughlin said he hadn’t chosen his quarterback and might not do so until after the Baltimore game. But he did come to a decision yesterday. He declined to reveal it to the media, because he hadn’t yet informed Warner and Manning.
Now that everyone knows who the quarterback is, the Giants can turn their full attention to the Eagles. The preseason game against the Ravens will no longer be part of the quarterback tryouts, but a final prep before the games count. Warner said he has plenty of time to prepare for the Eagles.
“There was never a process when we were not getting ready,” Warner said. “So it is nice to have that solidified and be able to press into that position and that role and push forward, not having those things in the back of your mind. It is still a matter of continuing to move forward, continuing to progress and get where I want to be in the next couple weeks.”
So the biggest story of the summer has reached a conclusion – at least presently. Warner gets the ball, but Manning is close behind. And should the starter sputter at some point, the media and fans will begin to wonder when the rookie will get his shot. Right now, though, the competition is closed.
“I felt I was given every opportunity to go in there and prove that I can go in and play,” Manning said. “I worked with the ones in practice, I got a chance to start one preseason game. So I thought it was fair and I was given a fair chance.”
“It was fun, it was a different role for me, something I hadn’t been a part of in a while,” Warner said. “At times it was a little nerve racking, when you are wondering if this plays into it and that plays into it.”
Now he simply has to play.
