After a year in Ben McAdoo‘s offense, Eli Manning ditched the indecisiveness that plagued him at last June’s minicamp, writes the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz.
The 34-year-old Manning worked with baseball-based mechanics this offseason and has a more confident aura after a 2014 offseason — and some of the regular season — mired by inconsistency.
“It is lively, very lively,’’ Giants coach Tom Coughlin noted to reporters on Manning’s throwing arm. “He has worked hard at that. You know Eli is feeling good about himself when he says ‘I feel like I got good juice on it.'”
Here are some other notes from the Eastern divisions on Saturday morning.
- Planning on an extended absence from Will Beatty after the left tackle’s recent pectoral injury, the Giants may be in better shape on their interior. According to Schwartz, Big Blue has prized 2014 acquisition Geoff Schwartz back healthy after an injury-marred season and Weston Richburg at his natural center spot following a rookie slate playing guard alongside the woeful J.D. Walton. The Giants now have former first-round right tackle Justin Pugh at guard despite Beatty’s setback. At tackle, however, the team remains thin. With newly signed Ereck Flowers now on the left side with little room for a learning curve, sub-optimal swing man Marshall Newhouse is slotting at right tackle for the time being.
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com expects Jeron Johnson to supplant Duke Ihenacho as Washington‘s starting strong safety despite Ihenacho’s frequent work with the first team during minicamp. While anticipating the fifth-year ex-Seahawks reserve to garner his first significant role after signing a two-year, $4MM deal in March, Tandler expects Washington’s incumbent at the position, Ihenacho, to safely make the team after previously envisioning the former undrafted Ssan Jose State cog on the roster bubble.
- The Dolphins remain interested in Evan Mathis, but they haven’t made a push for the now-unretired John Moffitt, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. With solid performers at tackle and center but issues at guard, the Fins have yet to make an offer for Mathis. Although they figure to be on the front line in this rare June pursuit of an All-Pro talent.