The suspense is over. The future is now for Kurt Warner, starting quarterback, New York Giants, and successor to Kerry Collins. Eli Manning is the Quarterback of the Future.
“The timing is perfect for making this announcement,” Tom Coughlin said yesterday. “I think this is the best choice. It’s the choice which is in the best interest of the New York Giants and we’ll go from there.”
The timing is perfect because Warner – you can call him the sacrificial Ram if you like behind that offensive line – now gets enough time with the starters to get ready for the Sept. 12 opener in Philadelphia. It lets him become the unquestioned leader. It lets the team rally around a former Super Bowl champion and two-time MVP.
But for how long? Coughlin was asked whether Warner might get a shorter leash (than, say, Peyton Manning).
“No . . . I give him the ball and say, ‘Go win, go win,’ and go from there,” Coughlin said.
Go win – or else.
“That’s his role, that’s his decision, and he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do, what he feels is what’s best for this team, and I’ll abide by that,” Warner said. “But right now, I’m gonna press in with no thoughts, not looking behind me at what might happen, but pressing in to what we can accomplish.”
Warner knows the deal.
“Everybody who’s ever played the game at this position knows that it’s hard to go 16 games having a great year,” he said. “It’s just a difficult business and it’s a difficult position. And so that’s part of it. And this situation, it’s gonna be heightened a little bit because of who I’ve got backing me up and the future of the franchise and all those things. But that’s not something I’m gonna worry about anyway.
“I haven’t read anything up to this point. I’m gonna continue to not read anything. I’m just gonna go play my position. I don’t go into it saying, ‘Oh, man, I’m gonna have a bad game.’ I’m going in saying, ‘I’m gonna try to win every single game,’ and play as well as I possibly can and play to the level that I’m capable of and not even worry about that.”
Coughlin, who had said he would likely wait until after the Thursday night preseason finale against the Ravens before reaching his verdict, yesterday explained that he first needed to inform the quarterbacks, which he did individually yesterday morning.
Warner was excited. Manning did not pout, sulk or demand a trade to San Diego.
“I understood everything about it,” he said. “Nothing changes for me. I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m gonna prepare each week like I am the starter, like I’m gonna play, and it’s just gonna make me better down the road.”
Coughlin called the Quarterback Competition beneficial, particularly for Manning.
“It’s been a very good experience, this competitive nature of this position,” Coughlin said. “I wish we could say that about all positions on this team. We certainly would be a better football team for that.”
Warner’s decisiveness, savvy and command and Manning’s nightmare against the Jets made the decision easy.
“I really don’t think it was a setback; I think it was a learning experience,” Coughlin said.
Giant players were predictably supportive.
“I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anybody,” Shaun O’Hara said. “I think that that’s what he was brought in here for – for a purpose. When you’re going into battle, you want to know who your general is. I think it’ll give Kurt an opportunity to be more of a leader.”