Jordan Raanan, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Eli Manning, new-look Giants offense get no breaks facing Legion of Boom

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants had to deal with the No-Fly Zone last week, and this week it's the Legion of Boom. When facing accomplished secondaries with nicknames, it's going to be a challenge.

It's even harder when you consider the Giants are changing their offense on the fly out of necessity. They can no longer sling it around the yard without Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall in the lineup. The pass-happy offense that coach Ben McAdoo envisioned and had run since he joined the Giants has been altered into a new-look version that barely resembles its previous form.

And now quarterback Eli Manning, who worked last week without four of his top five receivers, gets to test out this new run-first approach again, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. The Giants had a season-high 32 rushes in Sunday night's 23-10 win over the Denver Broncos. They called just one passing play in the fourth quarter while holding a comfortable lead. (Note: Manning was sacked on that pass play.)

Manning threw 19 passes in the contest for 128 yards with one touchdown. He knows it will likely take more to win games going forward, even against Seattle's Legion of Boom.

"Yeah, I think we are [going to have to throw it more]," he said. "I think it was just a case of how the game was going -- had a little lead in the fourth quarter, so I don't know if we threw a pass in the fourth quarter. So that's the way the game worked out. Defense was playing well, so we didn't have to throw it much there at the very end.

"But I thought the first half, we were pretty efficient when we did throw the ball. Got some completions, some big plays in the passing game. So if we can play that way and hit some big plays in the passing game -- when we do throw, be effective with it."

The Giants didn't throw a pass that traveled over 19 yards in the air. They seem to want to be cautiously opportunistic with their new offense. But they had better be careful. The last two times Manning has faced the Legion of Boom haven't been pretty.

The Giants lost those two games by a combined score of 61-17. Manning threw one touchdown pass and six interceptions, and that included a five-interception game the last time the teams met at MetLife.

This Seattle defense may not be quite as good (15th in total defense at 330 yards per game), but it's still hard to score against the Seahawks. They are sixth in the NFL, allowing 17.4 points per game.

They also have a playmaking safety patrolling the middle of the field. Earl Thomas has intercepted Manning twice in their two career meetings.

"Yeah, he's just all over the field," Manning said. "He does a good job just kind of disregarding maybe his responsibilities and kind of just seeing something and running."

It's not just Thomas. The Seahawks also have cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor. They're all Pro Bowl players.

Seattle's secondary against the Giants' beat-up receiving corps is a mismatch.

"When you look at each individual player, they're talented," McAdoo said. "But their strength is they've been in the same scheme for a long time. They've been in the same scheme a long time together, so they fit together like nuts and bolts and they seem to communicate very well. They challenge each other very well. You see that whether it's seeing them play live or seeing them off of the TV copy. They're a well-led group."

It would've helped if the Giants had Beckham, who gave Sherman fits during the receiver's rookie season. Beckham had seven catches for 108 yards in their only meeting in Seattle, which prompted Sherman to tell the rookie he was the real deal.

But Beckham is out for the season. Instead, the Seahawks will face Roger Lewis, Tavarres King and possibly Sterling Shepard.

Shepard, who is dealing with an ankle injury, was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice. His return could help the Giants achieve more balance. Their wide receivers had two catches for 22 yards against the No-Fly Zone. They're going to need more from Manning and the wide receivers against the Legion of Boom.

^ Back to Top ^