Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw Must Carry Giants Offense

We are approaching Week 12 in the 17-week NFL season. The New York Giants are 6-4 on the year after losing their last two games to the Cowboys and Eagles.

Now, in the middle of a playoff push, the Giants are without yet another wide receiver. The list of injured wide receivers continues to get longer, putting more emphasis on Eli Manning’s passes.

Manning has thrown for 2,595 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, both good numbers. The problem has been turnovers. Manning has thrown the second most interceptions in the NFL this season, behind only Brett Favre.

Granted, many of the interceptions went off receivers fingers, but Manning must be sure to put the ball on the numbers.

With Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon and now Hakeem Nicks all sidelined, Eli Manning no longer has a comfortable option to look for. Mario Manningham will step into the No. 1 receiver role this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Duke Calhoun is the second option with Derek Hagan third.

Manning is fourth in the league in completion percentage among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 200 passes. Outside of the interceptions, Manning is having a very good year. Things will get tougher without Smith and Nicks, two Pro Bowl-caliber receivers.

Turnovers have been the problem for the Giants all season.

In the early portion of the year, the Giants were able to get away with their mistakes because they were playing some lower-caliber teams. Now, with the season approaching Week 12 and more and more big games on tap, turnovers will hurt this team. We saw this last week in the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s not just Manning. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw has had trouble holding on to the ball this season. Bradshaw, who has taken over the starting running back duties this season, leads all NFL backs in fumbles with six. Of the six, Bradshaw lost five.

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