Despite all the mistakes he made, I liked what I saw in Manning overall. The Giants probably would have won that game if the recievers had caught more of the passes thrown their way, rather than just having them slap off their palms. I think they had 6 off-the-hands drops in the first half.
The thing I was most worried about - his pocket awareness - turned out to be a strength. He was sensing the rush pretty well and moved well enough in the pocket to keep one of the best sacking teams in the NFL from killing him. The coaches did a great job of rolling him out, using play action and moving the pocket around to keep his head attached to his shoulders. I also loved the 3 TE max protect formations they were using that let Shockey get off the line. They've needed that for weeks.
On the downside, the kid looked like he had no touch at all; I don't think he lofted one all game. Everything was a Favre-style zip pass, and he had plenty of Favre-style forced passes, too. That touchdown to Shockey looked great, but it went through 3 different pairs of Falcon arms. Dangerous throw to make in the red zone.
But I definitely liked what I saw in his character. He looked as calm as Brady, never got rattled or pissed off. Took responsibility for his mistakes and even for others' too. And he doesn't give off the same obnoxious jock vibe I get from his brother. I think the G men are going to be in good hands over the long haul - this team hasn't had a real stud QB since Phil Simms. Nothing personal against Kerry Collins, but the flaws in his game hurt the team as often as he helped them.
Too bad the Giants have an absolutely satanic schedule, though. Next 4 games: Philly, at Washington, at Baltimore, and then Pittsburgh. :eep:
