The time is now for Eli

By Austin Amoroso

After making a bevy of questionable cuts early in the off-season, there are gaping holes all over the New York Giants roster.

Tom Coughlin thinks the team will benefit from moving defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka to strongside linebacker because “it will put more athletes on the field”. That’s a smart move by the Giants brass because Kiwanuka just might be athletic enough to make that transition. Try to turn the 6’5’’ 265 lb. monster into a player in the likes of Shawne Merriman or Adalius Thomas.

But the move that made no sense, not a lick, was cutting left tackle Luke Petitgout. For a right-handed quarterback, the left tackle is the most important position on the field, protecting the passer’s blindside. But the Giants, for reasons unknown, refused to renegotiate his contract and just parted ways with the underrated eight-year Giant vet.

The Giants were 6-2 and had won five straight games when Petitgout broke his leg early on against the Bears in week 10 last season. The G-men were in control of the game. It was only 7-3, but the Bears were showing no life on either side of the ball and Eli Manning was able to move the ball downfield against the vaunted Chicago defense.

And then, in a split second, everything changed. Manning was seeing, or not seeing, pressure from the left side. Bears defensive end Alex Brown ended the game with two sacks and the Giants lost 38-20. And it was all downhill from there for the 2006 Giants.

So now the onus is on former left guard David Diehl to take over for Petitgout.

And it’s a tall task for Diehl because this is the season, if it’s ever going to happen, that Manning is going to break out. Eli has had two seasons as the full-time starter. He’s now entering his fourth year, third as a starter, and at 26, the ‘he’s still developing’ excuse isn’t going to work anymore.

Eli as a history of starting off strong and finishing poorly. In the last two seasons, he has a QB rating of 86 in the first eight games of the season and just 67 in the second half. It’s no coincidence that, over the same span, the Giants’ record is 12-4 in the first half and 8-8 in the second.

As Eli goes, so goes the team. And if the G-men have any hope of making a push for the playoffs and beyond this season, it’s going to be on Manning to get them there. Without Tiki Barber behind him, it’s going to be that much harder.

"It's not scary or anything," Manning said of Barber's retirement. "I'm ready to step up. Leadership is something you earn from your teammates, and I think I've earned that.”

At least he’s confident because if he doesn’t step up this year and become a big-time quarterback, like everybody assumed he would, it’s never going to happen.