ALBANY – It is Kurt Warner’s job to lose.
No, that’s not what Tom Coughlin announced yesterday, and that’s not what he meant with his no-surprise naming of Warner as the starter for tomorrow night’s preseason opener against the Chiefs.
But that’s the reality of the Giants’ quarterback situation.
As the veteran, it was logical and wholly expected that Warner would get first crack.
“I mean, the way things kind of played out in practice it looked like it was leaning in that direction, at least for this first game,” Warner said.
“It wasn’t a big shocker,” confessed Manning.
Sure enough, in training camp Warner has been given more opportunities with the starting offense and has done nothing to force Coughlin to deviate from the course of action that makes the most sense. Warner, the two-time MVP and Super Bowl winner, was signed to ease Manning’s transition into the NFL. That means unless he bombs, Warner plays sooner and Manning plays later.
“Are they even? I would say yes,” Coughlin said of the quarterback competition. “Whoever has the opportunity to play with the [starters], that usually is [due to] his better practice. Now we’ll see from this point on how they separate out.”
Warner starts with the first team at Giants Stadium and will play into the second quarter. Manning makes his unofficial NFL debut in the second quarter and will play through the middle or end of the third quarter before giving way to Jesse Palmer. Coughlin would not discuss what the plan is for the second preseason game next Thursday night in Carolina.
Manning, who has coolly and with aplomb handled everything thrown at him – on the field, with the media, in dealing with fans and his teammates – was nonplussed about coming off the bench.
“That’s fine with me,” he said. “Obviously Kurt’s deserving of it and I look forward to getting in the game, get a feel for things and try to see where I stand right now. I completely understand his decision. Kurt’s been taking the reps with the ones most of the time. We have other preseason games and we’ll see what happens.”
Warner hasn’t started a game in nearly a full year, since an ill-fated Sept. 7 nightmare, ironically at Giants Stadium. The Giants knocked Warner silly with a concussion in defeating the Rams 23-13.
“I’m excited about playing,” Warner said. “As many snaps as I can get in a game-type situation, all it’s going to do is benefit me.”
The majority but not all of the other starters will also exit with Warner in the second quarter, meaning Manning will mostly operate behind the second-team offensive line. That could lead to some harrowing moments, but Coughlin is convinced that the rookie from Mississippi won’t be unsettled by anything thrown at him.
“Eli will handle that pressure well,” Coughlin said. “He’s been under it since he first arrived. With his initial training-camp practice, the media, the fans, started to get on him a little bit, so it’s not like he hasn’t seen it before.”
Being a backup is unusual but not unprecedented for Manning. He was a reserve in his redshirt freshman year at Ole Miss, playing sparingly behind starter Romaro Miller. That was back in 2000. He’s been in control ever since, until now.
“I’ve been a backup before, so it won’t be hard,” Manning said. “It will be a learning experience. Kurt’s already played a bunch of games and he knows what it’s like. I don’t feel like I have to go out there and out-compete him or play better than him.”
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Pre-emptive strike
The Giants, who play the Chiefs tomorrow night, have had two winning preseasons since 1990. Tom Coughlin had two losing records in eight preseasons with the Jaguars.
Here’s a look at the records:
GIANTS
Year — Record
1991 2-2
1992 2-2
1993 2-2
1994 1-4
1995 3-1
1996 1-3
1997 1-3
1998 1-3
1999 2-2
2000 0-4
2001 1-3
2002 3-2
2003 1-3
TOM COUGHLIN
1995 2-3
1996 2-2
1997 4-0
1998 2-2
1999 3-1
2000 3-1
2001 2-2
2002 1-3