Minicamp is over and by all accounts Ben Roethlisberger was above average. He made some mistakes, but the overall feeling was a good one.
The same can't be said for Eli Manning's first practices, and to a lesser extent, Philip Rivers's. And while these minicamp performances are probably not indicative of how these two will play during the regular season, at the very least, it's interesting to see how they cope with failure after experiencing so much success.
ESPN reported the following on Manning:
There were three mishandled exchanges -- with three different centers -- and a cathartic moment in an 11-on-11 drill when Manning simply froze; if it had been a game, defensive linemen Lorenzo Bromell and Martin Chase would have filleted him. The punch line was a parabolic heave that looked more like a punt because Manning slipped when he released it. Tim Carter reeled it in only because the two defenders slipped as well.Michael Strahan said Manning looked like "a deer in headlights right now."
Philip Rivers had a little easier go of it, but head coach Marty Schottenheimer wasn't as positive about the experience as Rivers was (from the San Diego Union).
How was rookie Philip Rivers' first day in minicamp with the Chargers? "He struggled," head coach Marty Schottenheimer said of the former North Carolina State quarterback.It probably didn't help that Rivers' first pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage. Uh-oh. I thought that wasn't a problem for him despite the fact that he throws side-armed. Someone must have been standing in the passing lane. Actually, I'm sure it's not that big a deal, but if Rivers had been drafted by Pittsburgh and that happened on his first play as a Steeler it would have made the front page and probably would have been the lead story on the local news.
One less thing Cowher has to worry about. Now if he could only get Plaxico to show up for practice.
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