Bleak times for Giants Fitzgerald backs Rosen Kelce connection

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Bleak times for Giants; Fitzgerald backs Rosen; Kelce connection Published: Oct 12, 2018 at 04:32 AM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For four days, the thought they might still have a season to save. The offense had come alive in to the on Sunday. The rest of the NFC East was in meltdown, too, the leader (Washington) at .500 allowing the contenders to stay in range and, it turns out in the ' case at least, fool themselves about their viability. And then Thursday's arrived and belied all of that hopefulne s. Practically from the moment it began -- almost literally, because forced a throw on the ' second offensive play of the game to a third-string tight end in double coverage, resulting in the inevitable interception -- the were overmatched and outcla sed. Their offensive line was often overwhelmed. Their defense frequently looked listle s. Defenses are keying on making Jr. a non-factor and it is working. And Manning was terrible, too, beyond the fact that he was under pre sure. He was off target when he did throw downfield, and that wasn't often. He checked down so relentle sly that TV cameras caught coach Pat Shurmur, a steady defender of Manning, appearing to yell " " in frustration. Manning, who gave the two championships and is such a beloved player that his benching last season -- however deserved it was -- provoked fan outrage, heard boos. Two straight 1-5 starts to the season will do that. "No, I'm not concerned about Eli," Shurmur said after the game. He, of course, has to be concerned, even though he backed Manning again on Friday, telling reporters " ," and that " ." He might have left the door open to a change down the road with that comment, but Shurmur also must know there is no way out of this me s right now. The pa sed on taking one Jose Altuve Jersey of the top quarterbacks in the 2018 draft, believing that adding a jaw-dropping talent like would help Manning. That was a decision made from the heart. It has not worked and the decision is going to be debated for years, certainly until the next franchise quarterback arrives, and that has to be next season. Barkley is as advertised -- maybe even better if -- but this game encapsulated all the arguments about the ' decision. Barkley is an extraordinary talent, accounting for 229 total yards, nearly 60 percent of the ' entire offensive output. And it was nowhere near enough. He is a luxury the could not really afford, not when they need a young quarterback who can make plays on the move, much better offensive line play and an improved pa s rush. Barkley was the lone bright spot in a dreadful game, and you can envision that it may be all he is for the rest of this lost season. That may be another way Barkley is like Barry Sanders. The entire night was so disastrous that Troy Aikman, commentating on the game for FOX, came awfully close to saying it . Shurmur bristled at that suggestion. "I just said I'm not worried about their effort," Shurmur responded to the second question on the subject, pointing to the two reporters who asked. "Didn't he ask me about effort? Then I said I wasn't concerned about their effort, here we go again. I wasn't concerned about their effort. I'm concerned about how we executed, how we didn't get in the end zone, and how we let them in the end zone." In the locker room, Beckham, who created days of headlines with his and his own state of mind, was low key. "We are not going to back track from last week," Beckham said. "This is a very good team despite their record, they can play. They came out and beat us on every play and we beat ourselves. I don't even know how many penalties there was five for 61 yards , but I can only imagine. It felt like every time I looked up there was another yellow flag somewhere. We can't have that, there is no way we are going to beat good teams with doing that." The only real question swirling through MetLife Stadium late Thursday night was how much worse this might get. And if we will see rookie QB this season. The are 4-18 since the start of the 2017 season. At 1-5, they have the worst record in the NFL right now. Manning profe sed continued confidence in himself -- "I know I can play," he said -- but one of the lingering failures of last season was that the never got a look at former backup quarterback . No matter what Shurmur says about his commitment to Manning now, barring a rapid and wholly unexpected rebound, the are likely to grapple with another decision like that in the coming weeks. Lauletta, a fourth-round pick from Richmond, is almost certainly nowhere near ready to play right now and he has been third on the depth chart behind backup . But with 10 games remaining, the are rapidly reaching the point where the future is the only thing left to think about. Team owner John Mara stood in a narrow hallway after the game, staring straight ahead. He was shaken by the and a loud subset of fans when Manning was benched last year. But the calls for a ma sive overhaul are about to get much louder. The ' bleak postgame locker room made it clear -- it's going to be a long, slow trudge through irrelevance. NOTES FROM AROUND THE REST OF THE LEAGUE ARIZONA CARDINALS: Fitzgerald fired up about Rosen. As a future Hall of Famer who has gained well over 15,000 receiving yards during his 15 years of NFL stardom, has become an expert in a se sing the trajectory of spiraling footballs -- and of quarterbacks' careers. So, it's not surprising that Fitzgerald -- who, in what may be his final NFL season, is helping to break in a highly regarded rookie pa ser, -- is acutely attuned to the potential warning signs that might portend a devastating first-round flop. The good news for the is that, two games into Rosen's career as a starter, Fitzgerald seems convinced that no matter how rough Rosen's first profe sional campaign may turn out to be, the presumptive face of the franchise won't flinch under dure s. "I love how he takes his lumps and doesn't try to push things off on other people," Fitzgerald told me following last Sunday's over the at Levi's Stadium, after which Arizona (1-4) stood as the final NFL team to record its first victory of 2018. "This busine s makes you such a coward. There's so much scrutiny, and it turns young players, especially quarterbacks, into finger-pointers. You'll hear them say, 'Well, my guys didn't run the right route,' or, 'Our offense isn't executing,' and once that happens, it's hard to come back from that, especially in the locker room . "Josh is totally accountable and relatable. He's a hard worker who cares a lot about his job. He's not a finger-pointer at all. He's going through growing pains and working his way through it. And when he mi ses on a pa s, he'll say, 'Guys, that's on me,' but it doesn't linger. He addre ses it and then he moves on." Rosen began Sunday's game with a bang, executing a cool play-fake to and then unleashing a perfect deep ball that landed in the outstretched arms of fellow rookie , resulting in a 75-yard touchdown on the ' first play from scrimmage. Then the growing pains surfaced in full force, with Arizona gaining just 145 yards the rest of the way and Rosen finishing with decidedly underwhelming numbers (10 for 25, 170 yards). "If we didn't hit that first one," Rosen told me as he strolled through the visitors' locker room, "We would've been f-----. But it feels really, really good to win." general manager Steve Keim, who to take Rosen with the 10th overall selection in last April's draft, believes he hit on the pick, which generated its fair share of skepticism. The former UCLA star was viewed as perhaps the most pro-ready pa ser in a highly regarded rookie cla s, but and leadership style that dogged him throughout the pre-draft proce s. "We love the guy," Keim said Sunday, and no di senters could be found in the ' locker room. Said veteran tight end Jermaine Gresham: "He's a great leader. We love him. He's never bothered by anything. He's somebody you can relate to. He's not an a s---- in any way, shape or form." Fitzgerald, one of the most prolific and admired wideouts in league history, knows he won't be around for most of Rosen's career, but the 11-time selection loves what he sees so far -- and he's pumped about what lies ahead for the franchise. "I really like the kid," he said. "I'm really excited about the future, with him and David (Johnson). It'll be fun to watch. "Josh is legit. We've got something. Now we've just got to build it around him." ***** CHICAGO BEARS: Mack continues to make a major impact in 2018. pa s rusher was the NFC Defensive Player of the Month in September after collecting five sacks, four forced fumbles and one defensive touchdown through four games (the are 3-1). What's more remarkable about Mack -- big reminder here, he had NO offseason to officially train with a team -- is the unquantifiable motor with which he plays, in practice and in games. Chicago's defense currently ranks second in the NFL, giving up just under 295 total yards per game. The feature the league's No. 1 rush Mike Scott Jersey defense and are sacking opposing quarterbacks 4.5 times per game. Oh, and they're also taking the football away from their opponents nearly three times per contest. Thus, while the entire unit has played exemplary football, Mack stands at the forefront, and has undeniably changed the face of the . How do his teammates feel the impact? Cornerback said the following to me this week: "Him making plays -- for some some reason it's contagious. Everybody wants to make plays. Everyone feels like they need to play up to his standards. Even though we want to. But it's just like there's more of a sense of urgency. When he's doing it game-in, game-out. It's almost like the LeBron (James) effect. Like when LeBron goes to a team, he just makes everyone better." head coach Matt Nagy told me recently that he was glad Mack was on his team for multiple reasons. Case in point, offenses facing Mack are confronted with an array of challenges in not only game-strategizing around him, but understanding that it takes multiple individual efforts -- and therefore a collective team effort -- to account for his impact. With a trip to Miami this Sunday, I put the question to running back Kenyan Drake: What exactly is it like to prepare for ? "Definitely a game changer. A scheme wrecker. It's easy to kind of just look at him and try to key on him because he shows up so much, and so often. When a guy is that disruptive, you have to accommodate more than just one body to him, because it's hard to try to contain him with even two guys ... let alone one person, it's almost impo sible." The respect didn't stop there. Drake continued: "As we've seen over the last few weeks, he can go in and be a game changer. A play or two and he changes the trajectory of a game. So he's definitely somebody that's on our radar that we have to make sure we always keep accountable." While the know they have to perform better than they have the past couple of weeks -- consecutive road lo ses to New England and Cincinnati, with the latter being a game in which they blew a 17-0 lead -- they're hoping a return home to Hard Rock Stadium with a heavy dose of Florida heat (heat index is expected in the upper 90s) will help to a suage the Mack-attack, and his talented surrounding ensemble. "We feel like with them coming down to Miami, the weather should -- by the third, fourth quarter -- hopefully neutralize some of that pa s rush that they have," Drake said. "With us staying in second and short, third and short, we can sustain our drives and keep them on the field, so by the time the fourth quarter comes around, they're ga sed." Injury impact: WR (shoulder) and CB (hamstring) both return this week, while CB (hamstring) will mi s his third straight game. DE (knee) is expected to mi s another game, and LT (concu sion) and WR (quadriceps) are questionable. Parker has mi sed four of five games this season because of injury, and his return will be needed against the , who are the top-ranked unit in the NFL in shutting down explosive plays. ***** HOUSTON TEXANS: Secondary standing up. A week after for 464 pa sing yards, Houston's secondary responded with an impre sive -- and historic -- performance in their against the intrastate rival on Sunday. Cornerback , a 13th-year pro, on the NFL's all-time list in pa ses defensed. Fellow corner became the franchise's all-time interceptions leader, with 15. Rookie safety snagged his first pick. And one play after Dallas QB made an incredible Houdini-like escape from , allowing him to complete a 44-yard pa s to late in the fourth quarter, star safety stepped up to kill the ' momentum. With a signature Mathieu tackle, he stopped for a 4-yard lo s, and Dallas settled for a tying field goal rather than scoring a potential go-ahead touchdown. "I thought we made the plays when it mattered the most tonight," Mathieu told me after the game. He added, "We just really wanted to get off to a fast start to start the second quarter of the season, and I thought we did that." Joseph told me he was more excited about the win, the ' second overtime victory in a row after a disappointing 0-3 start to the season, than any individual accomplishment. And as Houston heads into on Sunday, now with a 2-3 record, Joseph said he's hopeful the can sustain this momentum, saying, "that's how the NFL works, a lot of highs and lows. You've got to be able to ride the wave, and then sometimes when you ride that wave and catch it, you've got to ride it and, hey, hopefully we're riding this wave right now." ***** KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: The Kelce connection. The have an embarra sment of riches on offense, but tight end has emerged as the favorite target of second-year quarterback . Kelce caught only one pa s for six yards in the ' over the . He's had 27 receptions, 401 yards and three touchdowns in the four games since, all of which are team highs in that span. When asked why they've built such a strong connection, Mahomes said, "I feel like it's just the way Trav competes. He competes every single play of the entire game. With him and the rest of the guys on this team, they know even if we're not connecting, I'm going to still come right back to them. I just trust in them that much, that they are going to make plays and they have been doing it all season long." ***** NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Playing the role of tonight will be ... is having a blast this week. The ' backup quarterback has been given the keys to the ' offense -- or, more specifically, the right to mimic K.C.'s young gun, , as the leader of the scout team offense ahead of between the and . "When you see some of the throws Mahomes makes, it kind of gives me the green light to try to make any throw I want to make, and just try to maybe try to fit a ball in where I wouldn't always," said the 32-year-old Hoyer. "It's always fun for me to emulate a different offense, because whether it's read-option, RPOs, whatever it might be, it's always an opportunity to get better as a quarterback." Of course, Hoyer doesn't quite measure up to Mahomes when it comes to arm strength. Few QBs in this league could. That's part of the challenge. The other part? Violating the rules that a heady, veteran signal-caller has, like rolling left and throwing acro s his body over the middle, or even to the deep outer third. "True," smiled Hoyer, "but when you're the son of a Major League pitcher (Mahomes' father, Pat Mahomes, was a reliever), that's kind of in your DNA, right? He's kind of got that advantage." ***** OAKLAND RAIDERS: Gruden ready to log some serious miles. While coach Jon Gruden was concerned with a potential bout of vertigo that could hit after the long trip to London for against the , he wasn't worried about Seattle arriving in the city early Thursday, a day before his team. "I've never done it before, so I'm just gonna trust our preparation was the right thing and we'll go play 'em," Gruden said on Wednesday. This is Gruden's first trip to London. ***** SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Kittle carrying on. The have yet to win a game since 's season-ending knee injury in Week 3, but one of his favorite targets continues to have a breakout campaign. -- a fifth-round draft pick last year and college teammate of Garoppolo's replacement, , at Iowa -- ranks third among tight ends in receiving yards (399) on 23 catches, trailing only established stars of the and of the . Kittle also earned some attention on social media last week with his blocking, driving safety about 15 yards downfield on a running play. "The pa s game really starts with our run game, so we focus a whole bunch on that," Kittle told me this week. "The better we do in the run game, the more opportunities that I have, (Matt) Breida has in the pa s game, , Pierre (Garcon), Trent (Taylor) -- we have a lot of guys that can make plays. The fact that Coach (Kyle) Shanahan gives us those opportunities, me those opportunities, it's pretty awesome, and I just like going out there and playing." will be special for Kittle, too. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and lived in the state until he was 6 before moving to Iowa ... where he became a fan. "Definitely winning at Lambeau would be pretty fun for me, just being from Wisconsin. Always did love going there," Kittle said. "So I'm looking forward to this game. And definitely, we pull out a 'dub' -- a win kind of cures everything, doesn't it?" Shanahan ready for the MNF stage. Kyle Shanahan's squad is still dealing with a long list of injuries. Seven players did not participate in the ' first full practice of the week on Thursday, including RB (shoulder and ankle), WR (shoulder and knee), WR (knee) and T (knee). The injury bug has been plaguing this team since the start of the season -- with, of course, 's torn ACL looking like a pivotal turning point. Given all the adversity, I asked Shanahan how he's making sure his team can make the mental switch to play in the spotlight of MNF at a place like Lambeau Field. "Yeah, we're going through some stuff. But, we get a chance to go play Preston Tucker Jersey Monday night in Green Bay, which is as cool of a place to play as there is ," Shanahan said, regarding the atmosphere at Lambeau. "Yeah, you've got to handle the noise, and that always comes with tough stadiums like that. But you get that out of the way. It's a great opportunity for our entire team." This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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