POSTED: Wednesday October 14th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Giants Notebook, October 14, 2009
By Michael Eisen
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Two current Giants players were high school quarterbacks in Louisiana, but only one of them played in the Superdome.
And it wasn’t Eli Manning.
It was Corey Webster, now the Giants’ left cornerback, who led Saint James High School of Vacherie, Louisiana to a 32-8 record as the team’s quarterback. Manning and Webster will make their NFL debuts in their home state on Sunday when the 5-0 Giants visit the 4-0 New Orleans Saints.
“Growing up, you always wanted to play in the Superdome,” Webster said. “That is where all the high school football championships were held, so it’s always good to go back and play in front of the home crowd. Hopefully, we do everything we’re supposed to do and take care of business down there.”
“I am excited about it,” Manning said. “(It’s my) first time playing in the Superdome, ever, for any level of football. I am excited about getting the opportunity to play where my father spent most of his career, going to back to New Orleans and playing New Orleans, who is playing very well this year. Two undefeated teams. It should be a great atmosphere.”
Webster’s Wildcats lost a championship game in the Superdome in his freshman season, but rebounded to win the title when he was a sophomore.
But that is not Webster’s greatest Superdome memory. For that, he points to LSU’s victory over Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl that gave the Tigers a BCS national championship.
“I did win there, yes, sir,” Webster said. “We also played the national championship (game) in the Superdome for the Sugar Bowl. Being from Louisiana, college football at LSU in the Sugar Bowl there (is big). So we had a lot of big games there and this is another one we are looking forward to and we will be up for the challenge.”
Manning’s fond memories of the Superdome are much different. He starred at the Isidore Newman School, as did older brothers Cooper and Peyton. But while they got to play high school games in the Superdome, Eli never did. He frequently attended Saints games there because his father Archie, after his playing days were over, was a broadcaster for the Saints.
Manning, Webster and the rest of the Giants were supposed to play in New Orleans in 2005. But Hurricane Katrina destroyed numerous sections of the city and badly damaged the Superdome, so the Saints’ home game was moved to Giants Stadium. Now they’ll finally get a chance.
“Ever since I have been in the NFL, (I looked forward to) the opportunity to play in the Superdome and go back to New Orleans,” Manning said. “It’s been a long wait; usually you don’t have to wait this long to play an NFC team. We missed an opportunity a few years ago due to Katrina. I’m excited about going back there and playing in the Superdome, but also the environment of the game. It is going to be a good game, the fans are going to be fired up for it, so I am looking forward to it.”
It will certainly be loud, as it is in all domes. Not too long ago, Manning was one of those fans trying to make life miserable for the opposing quarterback.
“It’s loud,” Manning said. “I expect it to be very loud and the fans to be fired up for the game. I have been a part of the screaming and yelling and trying to make it hard on other quarterbacks, so I know how the fans think and they are going to be loud. We have played in loud places before, we just have to get out there and communicate very well this week, make sure we are on the same page and go out there and do the same on Sunday.”
The Giants have had had success in domes in recent years. Since Tom Coughlin arrived in 2004, they are 7-1 indoors, including Super Bowl XLII. Manning is 6-1. The loss was last Dec. 28 in Minnesota, when most of the Giants starters did not play in the second half.
Dealing with the noise might not be as difficult for Manning as it is taking care of ticket requests. His parents, Cooper and his family and numerous friends reside in New Orleans.
“Yeah, quite a few tickets,” Manning said. “My dad has kind of been in charge of that. That’s his job this week, he is handling ticket requests. Quite a few people are going.”
Webster is also feeling the ticket pinch.
‘I am from about 30-35 minutes away, so we will have a good crowd there,” Webster said. “Hopefully (I will get) as many as I can. We got me Brandon (Jacobs, another Louisiana native) and Eli, so we are going to be scrambling trying to get tickets going back down to Louisiana. Hopefully, we will share it.
“We are going to have everybody. Mom, Dad, sister, brother, aunties - everybody is going to be at the game this weekend. It’s probably the same for Eli and Brandon.”
Because of the stakes and the location of the game, Manning will certainly be excited when he takes the field Sunday. But the perpetually calm Manning insists he won’t have to rein in his emotions.
“I don’t think it is going to be any different emotionally for me,” he said. “I think once you get out there on the field and get your settings and your surroundings, I think it is just about going out there and playing good football. I don’t think I’ll be crying or anything before the game.”
*In addition to going home, the good news for Manning is that physically, he is well ahead of where he was a week ago.
He practiced today, something he was unable to do last Wednesday or Thursday because of the injury to his plantar fascia. Officially, he was limited.
“I feel a lot better,” Manning said. “It was a great practice today; did everything I wanted to do. So I’m feeling a lot better and moving around and excited about where I am.”
Manning suffered the injury during the Giants’ victory in Kansas City on Oct. 4. The Giants continue to closely monitor Manning’s condition.
“We’ll manage him just like we manage anyone,” Coach Tom Coughlin said. “We’re calling him limited, only because he’s going to take X amount of snaps and he’s going to take the ones that we think are important for him on a daily basis. Hopefully, we can build up as we go along. He may take X amount of snaps today, a little bit more tomorrow and a little bit more on Friday.”
At this time last week, there was speculation that Manning might not play against Oakland, a game the Giants won, 44-7. Manning led the Giants to four touchdowns while playing only the first five series before being relieved by David Carr.
“He came out of the game no worse for wear,” Coughlin said. “We were able to play him, he played well, and get him out of the game. He will continue to be in the training room, but he’s very, very positive about it, very optimistic.”
*Coughlin said tight end Kevin Boss, who missed the Oakland game with an ankle injury, and safety C.C. Brown were both limited in practice.
“I went out there and I was trying to get as many reps as I could,” Boss said. “I was a little limited in the amount of reps but I was out there and running full speed, so it’s definitely making some improvements. I think it is better than I thought it would be. I hadn’t really cut on it much, so this was the first day to really test it out and it felt pretty good.”
Four players did not practice: running back Ahmad Bradshaw (ankle/foot), linebacker Michael Boley (knee surgery), defensive lineman Chris Canty (calf) and cornerback Aaron Ross (hamstring).
Three players on the list practiced fully: tunning back Danny Ware (elbow), who hasn’t played since the season’s opening kickoff; linebacker Bryan Kehl, who missed the Raiders game after undergoing surgery on his finger; and guard Rich Seubert (shoulder).
*Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden celebrates his 99th birthday today. As head coach at UCLA, Wooden won 10 NCAA titles in 12 years, including seven in a row. Coughlin has great admiration for Wooden and has studied him extensively. Last March, he had a chance to visit Wooden at the coach’s apartment in Encino, Calif. “What a great experience,” Coughlin said.
Coughlin hopes to be able to talk to Wooden today or tomorrow to wish him a happy birthday.
“There are a lot of people in the world today that are better off because of John Wooden and what he believes in,” Coughlin said.
*The Giants and Saints are two of the five undefeated teams entering Week 6. The others are Minnesota, Denver and Indianapolis. That is the most undefeated clubs through the first five weeks of a season in NFL history.
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