Ralph Vacchiano, Giants beat writer for the New York Daily News, and author of Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback, answers my questions.
1.As Eli Manning's career unfolds, do you plan on adding more chapters to Eli Manning: The Making of a Quarterback?
RV: I hope so. I really enjoyed writing the book, and even though I was gift-wrapped a perfect ending to the story – Super Bowl XLII – I’ve always felt that the book really was unfinished. The story of Eli’s career, and how he was “made” into an NFL quarterback, won’t be complete until his career is complete and we can all look back and evaluate it. Whether I actually do update it is, of course, up to Skyhorse Publishing. I know that when the Giants were 11-1 last year and looking like a lock for another Super Bowl we were discussing an additional chapter or two. I suspect a new chapter (and a re-release of the book) will depend on whether he gets to or wins another Super Bowl. Even if he doesn’t, though, I’d like to eventually add more.
Regardless, I think it’s a book people will enjoy as is, regardless of when they read it. The whole point of the Giants drafting Eli Manning was to win a Super Bowl with him. Well, it happened, and The Making of a Quarterback is the story of how it did. But it’s also an examination of the quarterback position, how good ones are found, scouted, developed, and the elements that make them successful in the NFL. Given the importance of the quarterback position, I think the book will remain relevant for a long, long time.
2.Are you working on a book now? If so, can you elaborate on the topic?
RV: I’m currently working on a book proposal, but not an actual book yet. As I learned with The Making of a Quarterback, the “proposal” part of the process can be very long. It’s almost a book in itself. Then, of course, you have to sell it. And given the time constraints of my current job at the Daily News and some of my other free-lance jobs, it’s hard to do during the season. But I do hope to finish up the proposal in the next few weeks, and if I’m lucky I’ll have something to announce by the end of the calendar year.
As for what the book is about, I’d love to tell you, but I’m pretty superstitious about talking about a project before the contract is signed. So unfortunately you’ll have to wait along with everyone else. Sorry.
3.Were you surprised by any of Coughlin's cuts?
RV: None were big surprises. I suppose the only mild surprise was that he cut – and then later traded – TE Michael Matthews instead of Darcy Johnson. Matthews was their best blocking tight end, so I figured he’d stick. But Johnson is more of a two-way threat. He can block (not as good as Matthews, but he does a decent job) and catch (better than Matthews, and he has more speed). Since most of the two-TE sets will be Johnson and Kevin Boss, I guess that makes sense. Now defenses will have to account for both players. And as Coughlin has said many times, this is a “matchup” league. Good offenses try to create bad matchups for the defense. If they can draw a linebacker onto Boss or Johnson, that’s a mismatch they’d love to have.
Other than that, the cuts on cut-down day were pretty … routine, I guess, is the word I’m looking for. I was a little surprised they cut G Tutan Reyes a week later. It’s not that I thought he was such a great player, it’s just that they don’t have a lot of experienced depth along the offensive line and he was obviously a veteran.
4.Speaking of the roster, I do not think the Giants have quality depth along the offensive line and secondary. What are your thoughts about the Giants reserve offensive linemen and defensive backfield?
RV: Well, obviously, I agree. They’re young along the second-team offensive line. I do like Kevin Boothe a lot as a versatile backup. But the rest of the players are more potential than actual production. That could be dicey if one of the starters got hurt – particularly at center, which as we saw during the preseason was quite an adventure when Shaun O’Hara wasn’t practicing. As for the secondary, I agree again – and we’re seeing that with these injuries. I’m surprised they only took three safeties on the active roster. And while I wasn’t surprised at the number of corners they took, you can see how shallow they are by the fact that undrafted rookie Bruce Johnson is now the nickel corner. Johnson was OK in camp. He made some big plays, but also some big mistakes. He could be a player down the road, but an undrafted rookie is always a bit of a risk.
5.Do you think Brandon Jacobs will play all sixteen games?
RV: No. I’m really not sure he ever will. His history is that he’s injury prone, and there’s no way around that. And from what I’ve seen he hasn’t changed his playing style – which can be summed up in the fact that he’d rather run through someone than around them. He uses his power and he wants to out-muscle people. That takes its toll. So does the fact that defenses think they have to bring him down by his legs – mostly be taking his legs out from under him. He’s going to take a lot of low hits, just because of his size. There’s really nothing Jacobs can do about it. It just is what it is.
I do think the Giants will help him, though. A few weeks ago I didn’t think it would go this way, but I’m starting to think the Giants will have much more of an even split among Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw this season. I haven’t looked it up yet, but I recently read that Jacobs’ yards-per-carry takes a nosedive after his 20th carry in a game. Again, I haven’t seen that for myself, but if true, that’s very interesting. Obviously the Giants would know that, which would mean they won’t want him touching the ball much more than 20 times. Maybe that could help preserve his body. But the odds are still good that at some point he’ll just be a little too banged up.
6.In the offseason, the Giants added quality depth along the defensive line. Up until this year, Chris Canty had never missed a game. He signs a giant contract (pun intended) and he is having trouble getting on the field. Coughlin must be seething! What are the Giants telling you about his status? Week to week? What do you think?
RV: I suppose this won’t surprise you, but the Giants are telling us nothing about his status. They aren’t usually very forthcoming about injuries. They just said it was a “calf” injury and nothing beyond that. I can tell you that a source familiar with Canty’s situation told me it’s a “severe calf strain” and that there’s a possibility he’ll miss more than just the Cowboys game. The source said there’s no tear, but it’s a bad strain and those “soft tissue injuries” take varying amounts of time to heal. The hope seems to be that Canty will be back for the Giants trip to Tampa Bay next weekend. But that’s not a guarantee at all.
7.Rocky Bernard has gotten off to a rocky start. Unbeknownst to Coughlin, Rocky reported to training camp with an injury. What can you tell us about his progress? Against the Skins, he was credited with one tackle. Do you think we will see more of Bernard on Sunday?
RV: Bernard seems to be much better. I haven’t seen any signs at all that he’s still bothered by his hamstring. He looked active against the Redskins in limited action (I think it was about 20 plays). Not a lot of interior pressure from him, but I suppose that will come in time. I do think out of necessity you’ll see more of Bernard against the Cowboys. I think there’s a limited amount they can push Fred Robbins, still just seven months after microfracture surgery on his knee. Barry Cofield seems fine, so there’s a good three-man rotation there. And I guess Justin Tuck could see more time at tackle. But the Giants would prefer to keep him at end as much as possible, so they might need Bernard to pick up another 5-10 plays.
8.Do the Giants plan on starting LB Michael Boley? Will he be playing on all downs?
RV: It does seem that they plan to start him and I think at the very least you’ll see him in the regular defense and the nickel packages. I’m not sure about the dime. I also suspect they’ll rotate him a little bit. Until this past week he had been sidelined since the spring. There’s no doubt that he’ll need some time to get back into full game shape. Remember what Canty said after playing 20 plays against the Redskins after he missed a month of practice. He said he was “gassed” and felt like he played 50 plays. Boley probably is in better shape, but he’s also missed more time. If I had to guess, I’d say he’ll probably be on the field 50% of the time.
9.Last time, the Giants were in Dallas, Eli Manning spent most of the game on his back. The Cowboys sacked him 8 times. What is the Giants plan to slow down the Dallas pass rush?
RV: In the words of Shaun O’Hara, “Well, we’ve practiced …” … A couple of things to keep in mind about that eight-sack disaster. RT Kareem McKenzie was out. G Rich Seubert missed most of the game, I think. RB Brandon Jacobs wasn’t in the game either. That’s a lot of beef to lose out of the offense – not to mention the running game, which could’ve put the Cowboys’ defense back on its heels a little more. So this time the Giants will have the weapons in place to slow the rush down. Other than that, there’s nothing they can do but just practice and game plan. I’m sure they’ll be aware of where DeMarcus Ware is at all times, since he had three of those sacks last time. I’m sure they’ll roll their protection to make sure he’s double-teamed. And with more speed at receiver, Eli Manning has more of a chance to get rid of the ball quickly without having it fall incomplete. There’s really not much else they can do, especially considering that 8-sack game is an anomaly. Manning and the line have had some pretty good games against the Cowboys defense, too.
10.On offense, if the Giants continue to struggle in the red zone in 2009, do you think Kevin Gilbride will be fired?
RV: No. I’d be shocked if Coughlin fired him for any reason, unless there’s a complete and total collapse of the offense. Coughlin is fiercely loyal to his coaches and doesn’t pin blame on them easily. He’s particular about the men he chooses and has complete faith in their abilities. Sometimes to a fault. Take his dedication to offensive coordinator John Hufnagel at the start of his Giants career. Despite offensive struggles and a lack of development of the franchise quarterback, Coughlin wouldn’t even get rid of Hufnagel at the “suggestion” of the front office. It got so bad that had Hufnagel not resigned when he did (late in 2006), the Giants were prepared to demand that Hufnagel was fired before agreeing not to fire Coughlin. Anyway, the offense has been pretty good so things aren’t anywhere near that point with Gilbride. The pressure is on Gilbride, though, with the red zone issues that obviously continued in the opener against Washington. Nobody seems to have a handle on the reason for the struggles, though it seems obvious there’s not a lot of creativity in the play-calling. And I don’t even mean reverses and “Wildcat” stuff. I just mean that sometimes it seems painfully obvious what the Giants are going to do – particularly in short yardage. Of course, I still maintain that on 3rd and 1 this team, with that line and that huge running back, shouldn’t have so much trouble gaining one lousy yard. That’s not really Gilbride’s fault.
11.What would you consider a successful season for the Giants?
RV: You know, they’ve set the bar very high for themselves. They followed a Super Bowl championship with a 12-4 season and now the pieces are still in place. They’ve got the quarterback, the line, the running game, the pass rush. I think they have the receivers, though I realize I’m in the minority on that. The point is that in a watered-down NFC, they are a Super Bowl contender. I picked them to go 10-6 and I think that if they finish with anything less than 10 wins and don’t make the playoffs, they will consider the season a failure. And really, they need to win at least a playoff game. I realize that’s a lot to ask, but look at last year: Does anyone think it was a success? The ending spoiled everything. The 11-1 start was nice. The top seed in the NFC and 12-4 record and first-round bye … all that was good. But the loss in the playoffs sent everyone into the offseason with a bad taste in their mouths. It felt like a failure. So I think they have to win a playoff game at least to make people – and themselves – feel like this season was anything close to a success.
12.This is the last season at Giants Stadium. Of all the games I witnessed in person, my first game, the Miracle at the Meadowlands game or Giants' fans call it The Fumble game, without question, has left an indelible imprint in my mind. I still see Herman Edwards celebrating. Since you have been covering the Giants, what is your most memorable Meadowlands game?
RV: Interesting question. I had two terms covering the Giants. I did it from 1993-97 for the North Jersey Herald & News, and again from 2001 until now for the Daily News. There have been a lot of great games there and a lot of … not-so great ones. I suppose the most memorable one that I covered came from a time I wasn’t on the beat. I was covering the New Jersey Devils in 2000-01, but they pulled me off hockey for a few weeks to help cover the Giants’ run to Super Bowl XXXV. That put me in the press box for the 2000 NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings. That was incredible. That was one heck of a Vikings team, with a supposedly dangerous offense, and they were completely taken out of the game – completely – before some people were even in their seats. What Jason Sehorn did to Randy Moss … I mean, by the second quarter, Moss was nearing clinical depression and basically walking through his routes. The Giants were relentless and the Vikings looked like they were ready to go home before the first quarter was over. It was such a shock because nobody thought the Giants were that good. That whole season was such a surprise, and to win a game like that at home, that was pretty special for everyone to see.
It wasn’t quite Super Bowl XLII, of course, but that obviously wasn’t at the Meadowlands. Nothing I ever saw in person at Giants Stadium could compare to that 41-0 rout.
Thank you, Ralph. If you have not purchased Ralph's book, please do. I think it is a treasure.
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