Eli Manning Injury Spells Caution Of Playing Starters During Pre-Season

The NFL season is only three weeks away, and all 32 teams are making strides in during NFL training camps and pre-Season.

Aside from the Cincinati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, every team has begun preparation for its second pre-season match up.

The point? Well, it should be all about the rookies and veteran backups looking to climb up on the depth chart, and in some cases, making a roster.

It should not be for the starters playing a full half, and risking injury.

Unless it is a rookie starter taking the field, head coaches everywhere should be extra cautious to play their starters more than a few series.

Apparently Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants didn't get the memo. Yes, maybe the Giants were opening the new stadium against the rival Jets, and wanted to bring some excitement.

Giants starting quarterback Eli Manning took a gushing blow to the head on Monday night.

Yes, there might have been a mix up between Manning and Brandon Jacobs on the play selection. However, it was a few minutes into the second quarter, when the injury occurred. This injury surely put all Giants fans in panic.

In the end, Manning got multiple stitches to the head, and is out of action for this week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This action should have never happened. It wasn't necessary. Manning doesn't need all of the playing time this early in the pre-season. With training camp in full force, plus three more pre-season games, starters have plenty of time to get chemistry down in live action.

Putting starters out for more than a quarter, especially in the first pre season game, is a big red flag. Though the injury isn't anything major, anything could have happened on that play, and would have made it much worse.

We have seen starters in this league already receive serious injuries. Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth and Denver Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil are both going to likely miss the entire season ( Dumervil isn't officially ruled out).

And I can promise you, more devastating injuries will be coming. Though the pre-season has it's positive moments, it can also be detrimental to your team for the entire season.

There is a reason players ask every year to slim down on the amount of pre-season games. They don't want to waste their bodies in meaningless games, especially when they are giving it their all with teammates in training camp.

But the starters don't have to make that happen. We saw undrafted wide receiver Victor Cruz put on a show throughout the game for all Giants fans to see. And that is what you want to see, an undrafted player such as Cruz making his statement to the staff about making the team.

Fans of all 32 teams watch the pre-season to find the hidden games that are within the organization.

The 2010 season will be filled with Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and more analysis of today's stars.

Let the pre-season be a time for other players to shine, and most importantly, don't risk starting players and receive a scare like the Giants did with Eli Manning.

Matt Miselis is an NFL Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com.

Follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/MattMiselis