EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Daniel Jones was standing at a podium answering questions from reporters today when Kurt Warner approached a Giants acquaintance and said, "he's so much like Eli."
"It's amazing," Warner said after Jones' news conference had concluded. "Even some of the phrases he uses remind you of Eli (Manning). You talk about what you see on film and some of their mannerisms as players, but it's crazy. You hear them talk and it's like 'Oh my gosh!' These guys are like the same guy, it's just Eli 15 years younger. It is fascinating. But again, not a bad guy to model yourself after, from a lot of different standpoints."
Warner, a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, is hardly the first observer to note that Jones, the quarterback chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft, is similar in comportment, demeanor and throwing motion to Manning, who is preparing for his 16th season as the team's starter.
Jones is eventually expected to succeed Manning. That made Warner's presence fraught with symbolism, because the Giants haven't changed quarterbacks since 2004, when Manning, then a rookie, replaced Warner. The Giants were 5-4 but had lost two games in a row and three of their last four. Tom Coughlin, then in his first season as the Giants' head coach, was looking to the future.
"I think Tom Coughlin's approach was, 'We're not a great football team,'" said Warner, who visited the Giants' training camp in his capacity as an NFL Network analyst. "That doesn't mean something can't happen, but is it better to kind of start the future and to start building and get our young quarterback ready for that run two years from now and three years from now. We got seven games under our belt that were rough games, but to be able to handle that and work through that no doubt sped up the curve for Eli so he was ready earlier, and obviously it played out well for their (two) championships.
"When Tom brought me in, he told me, 'It's not because Eli is better. It's just because this is what we have to do.' It wasn't like every day I was going, 'I'm better than Eli.' That's not the scenario here. I just have to accept it, and help where I can help, and compete where I can compete and hope I get another chance. I think that made it different. I give Tom so much credit, because he looked me in the eye and told me, 'This is why. It's not fair to you. You've got to deal with it.'"
Warner joined the Giants knowing he was holding the position until Manning was ready, and his stay here would almost certainly be short. The Manning/Jones situation is different, because the former is the greatest quarterback and arguably most popular player in franchise history. No one has played and won more games in a Giants uniform.
"All that stuff has to come into play," Warner said. "…there's a lot of dynamics, but I think there's a lot more flexibility with this situation because of who Eli is and the ability to really kind of let this thing play out instead of sit there and look for the first opportunity to get Daniel - I don't think the Giants are going to be doing that. I think it can help ease the situation a lot more than a lot of these situations where teams are just looking for that first opportunity to say, 'Hey, let's put him in.'"
Giants coach Pat Shurmur has not publicly specified how he will divide the quarterbacks' training camp snaps.
Warner played six seasons for St. Louis before joining the Giants. He led the Rams to Super Bowl XXXIV, where he threw for 441 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game's MVP in a victory against the Tennessee Titans. Two years later, Warner threw for 365 yards, but the Rams were upset by New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. After leaving the Giants, Warner began a five-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals that included a loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII in which he threw for 377 yards and three scores. Warner was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Jones has said several times that he is trying to learn all he can from Manning, which is likely one reason mentor and protégé often seem so similar. Warner said he and Manning had a different kind of relationship 15 years ago.
"The weird situation with me and Eli was, Eli had Peyton (another first overall draft choice who also won two Super Bowls), Eli had Archie (his father, who was an NFL quarterback for 13 seasons). So it was kind of a little bit different dynamic for me, because first of all, I didn't want to jump in and be like 'Hey Eli' when he has these great minds and football players there to help him. And you remember Eli when he was a rookie. Very quiet. He didn't say a whole lot. He was kind of cerebral and took it all in. More than anything, you just offer different things. You watch film together. But I didn't push the envelope with him like I did with some of the other guys, just because I knew he had the resources. It was always like, 'Hey, if you ever need anything from me, I'm more than happy to help you.' But I'm also respectful of the idea that a phone call away from one of the greatest quarterbacks that ever played, or a dad that played in the league and that understands it as well. So a little different dynamic than I think a lot of guys when you have a veteran and a young guy."
Although he played just one abbreviated season with the Giants, Warner has always spoken fondly of his time here, and of Coughlin.
"I wanted to play as many games as I could, not to stay the starter for the Giants for the long term, but to parlay that into another opportunity for myself," Warner said. "With Eli, you always want to be able to go out on your terms. You want to be able to dictate, and what you realize in this business is, you can have a bad half, you can have a bad game, you can have a couple of bad games. That doesn't mean you can't play anymore or you don't turn it around and then all of a sudden you have a great season. That becomes the hard part. When you're entrenched as the starter, you get the luxury to have a bad game, or bad season or whatever that is. When you're a starter and there's a guy right behind you, you don't always get that luxury if you go through a (rough) period."
Warner's season in Giants blue gave him an understanding of how Manning and other veteran quarterbacks feel with a highly-touted youngster on their roster.
"It's always hard," Warner said. "No matter what, or no matter how confident you are, you understand the dynamics of the situation. When you've got an icon like Eli from this organization, that there's a different factor there that goes into it. But when you're the veteran guy, and you know there's a guy behind you that's eventually going to play, it was always one of those things where you had to fight not playing worried about making a mistake. Or getting tight and playing differently than you did before. Most guys are never going to tell you that. But it's the way it is. You go, 'How long is my leash? If I have a bad game, is that it? If I have a bad half, is that it?' That becomes the hard dynamic. Go play. You've got to play your game and let it play out. If you don't, you're not going to hold the job for very long anyways.
"I don't know how it plays out with an icon like Eli, as opposed to, for instance when Eli and I were together. I knew it was just a matter of time. So I'm trying to hold onto it for 16 games. That's all I'm trying to do, because I know two years is going to be tough. But a lot of times, that's the situation. You're just going, 'How many games can I get out of this?' Almost to prove to somebody else that I can play, because chances of me getting this job and keeping it when they've got a guy behind me is slim to none."
No one knows exactly how the Giants quarterback situation will develop in the coming months and years. But it will be very interesting to watch.
