I thought Eli looked great for a rookie making his debut at quarterback, at home in New York, against one of the top 3 teams in the NFC who have a defense that is predicated on quarterback pressure. Yes, he made some mistakes: he missed some wide-open receivers with passes that just sailed out of his hands. And that 2nd interception he threw to the defensive end who had dropped into zone coverage was a textbook example of a ‘rookie mistake’. It was just something he hadn’t seen in a game-speed situation. That’s totally allowable in my book, just as long as he’s not making that same mistake in a month, I’m cool with it.
I was impressed with the way he handled the pressure the Falcons brought. More than once, he recognized a blitz right away and got the ball out to a receiver or, and this is huge, he threw the ball away. That was always my biggest beef with Warner, the guy just would not throw the ball away. Made me crazy.
Anyway, I think there were a ton of positives to take from Eli’s first start and I think they will be lasting. He showed me that he could stand in the pocket when faced with a rush, that he could break the pocket to buy time if needed, and that he could get through the progression of reads without panicking. These are all vital to him being successful in the NFL.
And I think the things he did wrong in the game: throwing behind receivers, overthrowing open guys, misreading that zone blitz; I think those are all correctable and I’m sure he will be better with them next week.
As a Giants fan, I am excited about watching him grow. This should be fun!
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