Eli's Not Stressed

Well, as far as his foot goes, anyway.

Just got off the phone on a conference call with Eli Manning, and he said he's been dealing with the reported "stress reaction" in his foot for about four weeks, when an MRI found it near the bye week.

"It's been the same the past three or four weeks," Manning said. "Nothing new. I feel like I can go out there in practice and do what I need to do."

Manning said the injury should not necessitate offseason surgery if it remains as it is. However, that could change if the bone breaks through and ends his season prematurely. But he said he wasn't worried about that happening.

"Time and rest is probably the biggest thing," Manning said. "Having this weekend to rest it is helpful. It's not something that will linger or bother me.

"It's making me frustrated because it's been one thing leading to another. It's frustrating when you have to go to the training room and get treatment. It throws you schedule out of whack. You have to get there early in the morning and pushes your schedule back. That's been the biggest annoyance, but when I'm playing the games, I'm not thinking about it."

Manning also rejected reports that indicated he was limping on the field in Denver during the Giants' 26-6 Thanksgiving night loss there.

"I wasn't limping on the field," he said. "It's not something that bothers me when I'm playing."

We sort of have to take Manning at his word on that. While it may have seemed to bother him Thursday, the span from MRI to the breaking of the report Sunday also included the San Diego and Atlanta games, contests in which Manning played well while executing entirely different gameplans. Against San Diego, he made use of the short passing game to move the team effectively. Against Atlanta, he relied on the big play.

In both games, it appeared he was able to step into his throws and buy himself time in the pocket. None of that happened in Denver, however.

He also hasn't missed a practice since he initially injured his plantar fascia in his right heel against Kansas City.

"I feel like it's getting better," Manning said. "In the game, I don't think about it. I'm not overly concerned with it. This is new news to you all, but this is something that's been around and I've been playing with it for four weeks. It's not something that's annoying me or affecting my performance on the field.

"It hasn't been an issue for me. I'm able to play at the level I want to play at. For the San Diego game, I played well and moved around. In the Atlanta game, I moved around and threw the ball well. I didn't want to play as well as I wanted (Thursday), but we had some self-inflicting problems that kept us from scoring points."

Manning said he gets treatment for an hour or so almost every day. He said he can walk around normally, and has been able to push off and make throws during practice.

Still, the way this season has gone, there's an overriding feeling that Manning's season could well come to a premature end if the bone breaks through. If that happens, it will be up to David Carr to salvage what's left of the Giants' season.

Of course, there may not be much of a season left if they don't beat the Cowboys this week. But if they fail, Manning said it won't be because of his foot.

"I don't feel it affecting me," he said. "I can move in the pocket, run around, make throws, push off. It's the kind of thing that's there, but once I start playing it's not something I think about."

EP