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QB Eli Manning day to day with injury
Manning suffered a contusion to the A-C joint on the top of his right (throwing) shoulder in the fourth quarter of last night's game.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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September 10, 2007

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Eli Manning has started 40 consecutive regular season games, the fourth-longest active streak among NFL quarterbacks. Whether he starts No. 41 in the Giants' home opener Sunday is uncertain, though Manning seemed hopeful today that he will line up against the Green Bay Packers.

Manning suffered a contusion to the A-C joint on the top of his right (throwing) shoulder in the fourth quarter of last night' season-opening 45-35 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Texas Stadium. Coach Tom Coughlin today described it as a "sprained shoulder." Manning today underwent an MRI, which showed no structural damage.

"It's sore right now, that's about all there is to it," Manning said. "The day after you get hit on it, it's just going to be a little sore and a little tight. But overall I'm not in pain or am not hurting in any way.  So it is just a matter of when I can throw the ball, I'll be out there throwing it.

"It's just going to be day-by-day. I think with this day off and tomorrow off, hopefully these are probably the worst two days of it. I'll be getting better and treatment and get iced. I'll take anything I can to try to get healed up as quickly as possible. They said that everything is probably as good as could be from the tests results. It is just a matter of when you have the strength and when you feel you can throw full strength and you will be out there playing."

Manning was hurt when he was slammed to the ground by Dallas rookie Anthony Spencer on a failed two-point conversion try in the fourth quarter. He said today he did not think it was a dirty hit. Gibril Wilson intercepted Tony Romo on the first play of the Cowboys' ensuing possession, so Manning was back on the field moments after getting hurt. "The interception couldn't have come at a worse time," he joked. Manning completed four passes in a row, including a 10-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress that lifted the Giants to within 38-35.

But when the Cowboys pushed their lead back to 10 points, Manning thought it unwise to risk further injury and was replaced by Jared Lorenzen - who would most likely start against the Packers if Manning can't play.

Manning was asked if he's confident he'll be in uniform on Sunday.

"It's hard to say," Manning said. "I haven't picked up the ball.  I haven't tried to throw it. I know the fact that I threw with it in the game, it gives me confidence that I can get out there and throw it if I need to. It's a matter of being out there and having to make a throw - I can do that. I threw the touchdown to Plaxico.  It wasn't a lob, I got something on it, put it in a good spot, was accurate with it. So that makes me feel positive about my status this week."

Coughlin was customarily cautious when discussing Manning's chances to play against Green Bay.

"We are just going to have to see how it is," Coughlin said. "Whether he can practice and play on a daily basis. When he will be able to do the things he needs to be able to do.  Quite frankly, if it is not possible this week then it will be another week. It is Monday, he has tomorrow. Literally, he has Wednesday - even if he doesn't work Wednesday - of full treatments. He will be in here two or three times tomorrow, he spends most of the day in here anyway, so we will continue to see what kind of progress can be made in a short amount of time with regard to his throwing motion."

"I'm not ruling anything out - nothing in, nothing out."

The Giants hope Manning will be in and not out. He played splendidly in Dallas, completed 28 of 41 passes for 312 yards and a career-high-tying four touchdowns. Since about a week into training camp, Manning has thrown the ball extremely well and he continued his hot hand against the Cowboys.

"He certainly put a full game together of things that we had seen before," Coughlin said. "One of the objectives, of course, was consistency. He certainly did perform very well and very consistently."

But for the first time in his Giants career, he didn't finish a game because of injury. Manning said he has never missed a regular season game - not at the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, not at the University of Mississippi and not in his four seasons with the Giants. He did miss two preseason games in 2005 with an elbow injury

Manning seems cautiously optimistic his perfect attendance streak will continue Sunday.

"I have good range of motion going up and down doing things," Manning said. "I try not to carry anything heavy with it or lift anything about my head with it. But besides that, I can still brush my teeth with my right hand. So I still have all of the normal things. I can start my car with my right arm and open the door. So I still have good motion and can do my daily activities. 

"Again, I'm just trying to be conscious about it. I don't want to make anything worse or strain it or do anything. I'm just really trying to rest it. They asked if I wanted to be in a sling - just for comfort or to keep you from using it. I said that I'm not in any pain. I'll be smart with it. I won't try to lift up a bed or move a couch or anything."

But he'll certainly lift up the Giants if he starts against the Packers.

NOTES

*In other injury news, defensive end Osi Umenyiora is also day-to-day with an irritation to the lateral meniscus of the left knee. He was hit on the outside of the knee on the Giants' first defensive possession and did not return to the game.

"It is a soreness situation right now and that is where it will remain until something further comes along," Coughlin said. "We expect again that he will be evaluated every day and if he responds to the treatment we will see how it goes and if he doesn't, if he remains sore and what have you, then we will have to deal with that as well."

Coughlin won't now until later in the week if Umenyiora will have a chance to face Green Bay. If Umenyiora is out for an extended period of time, might the Giants move Mathias Kiwanuka back from strongside linebacker to defensive end?

"There will be more discussion in the next day or so," Coughlin said. "We need to get a handle on where Osi is."

Running back Brandon Jacobs has a sprained medial collateral ligament of the right knee. He will not play against the Packers and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. Derrick Ward will take his place in the starting lineup. Last night, Ward rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries and had a 44-yard run and caught four passes for 27 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown reception.

The Dallas game was supposed to be a coming out party for Jacobs, who started the first game since Tiki Barber's retirement. Instead, Jacobs came out of the game for good in the second quarter.

"It is not a matter of who he replaced," Coughlin said. "It is a matter of given the opportunity to play for the first time, you would like to see him extensively play and utilize Ward as we had planned going into the game. We had some plays for using Ward.  Ward played very well when he did come in. It is not a matter of who he (Jacobs) replaced, it is the idea that the play that he was injured on he was flying to the line of scrimmage. He had made some punishing runs, moved the pile, and had done some good things. It is just a shame that he had to come out so early in the game."

The Giants did not immediately have an update on cornerback Kevin Dockery, who hurt his ankle in the game.

*Coughlin surprised no one with his general evaluation of the game: Disappointment at losing, generally pleased with the offense and unhappy with the defense and determined to improve in all phases of the game.

"There were a lot of things we thought were pretty good and a lot of things we thought were pretty bad," Coughlin said. "I think the thing that is important to note is that late in the game, as poorly as we played on defense, we had an opportunity to win the game. It is 38-35, it is third-and-seven, they have an illegal procedure penalty which is very obvious that is not called, and they have a 51-yard touchdown (on a pass to Sam Hurd). It would have been interesting. It would have been third-and-12. What happens there? You are going to have to punt the ball if you don't convert and then what happens?

"We did not play very well on defense. We weren't as physical as we have been. We weren't as penetrating with our pressures. I thought offensively as good as the numbers looked that we could be better. We could be more precise, we could be sharper, and we could communicate better.  We made a lot of big plays; we gave up a lot of big plays."

*Linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, who has not played since subluxing his patella early in training camp, is making his way back to the field.

"He is going to practice some this week," Coughlin said. "I think he is ready to go - I hope. He has made steady progress and hopefully he is going to be able to work a percentage of the time this week."

*CURRENT CONSECUTIVE GAMES STARTED STREAK BY NFL QBs

Brett Favre                  238

Peyton Manning           145

Tom Brady                    95

Eli Manning                  40