Detroit Lions: Five questions with a New York Giants’ expert

With the Detroit Lions scheduled to face off against the New York Giants Monday night, we go behind enemy lines with GMenHQ.com to get some insider information.

The Detroit Lions are coming off a come from behind victory against the Arizona Cardinals in their regular season home opener in Week One. The Lions will face off against a New York Giants’ club that was soundly defeated by the NFC East nemesis, the Dallas Cowboys, 19-3 in their first game of the new season.

While the Lions will hope to extend their winning ways, the Giants will be looking for redemption. And they’ll do so in front of a primetime audience on Monday Night Football. In attempt to gather some intel on the upcoming matchup, SideLion Report went behind enemy lines to get five of our questions answered by Giants’ expert Curt Macysyn of GMenHQ.com.

1. What’s the deal with Eli Manning? Is his age starting to show or is it all about the poor play of his offensive line and the lack of a running game?

What came first the chicken or the egg. Well, every coach I’ve ever listened to says everything starts up front with the offensive line.

General manager Jerry Reese must be trying to write his own book on the subject, however. No one will admit that this offensive line has underachieved, yet Reese made no significant changes in the offseason.

The company line has been that “these guys are improving”. We shall see against the Lions on Monday night, but generally Manning rarely has a clean pocket, and can usually get to the second progression. Having Beckham spreads out the defense, and that helps Manning.

As far as age, I see no decline in arm strength, and he’s played in 212 games in a row. Face it, Manning was never a runner, so rumors of his demise are greatly exaggerated.