Giants coach Pat Shurmur told reporters earlier today that quarterback Eli Manning’s job was safe, but the more he talked about their meeting, the more clear it became that it’s a conditional status.
Via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com, Shurmur made it clear that he had higher expectations for his veteran quarterback
“I spoke to Eli a couple times this weekend and I explained to Eli that he is going to start Monday,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “I also explained to Eli that everybody needs to play better. As we go through this, it’s important we are not ‘almost’ in these games. We do what we have to do to get it over the top and win football games. I spoke to the team about that and I spoke to Eli about that specifically.”
Manning’s starting status has rarely been questioned — except for last year’s weirdness which led to firings of people not Manning.
But the fact that Shurmur had to have that kind of conversation with Manning is a reflection of their 1-7 record, and that Shurmur wouldn’t commit to Manning when asked if he was the starter the rest of the season was also telling.
“He’s starting Monday. You guys roll with it how you want,” Shurmur said. “With the idea that he is going to get us on a run here and there will be no decisions to be made.
“Part of the conversation was, ‘We trust you, we’re going to work with you, and we trust the fact that you are going to get us in there and help us win football games.’”
But the trust now comes with an expiration date.