The book on Eli Manning: less picks and sacks in 2015

FOR A GOOD portion of his career, Eli Manning never met an interception he couldn't throw.

He was a gunslinger. He'd fire it over the middle late or throw across his body into traffic. Manning won two Super Bowls, so he wasn't totally careless. But he also led the league in picks three times.

This year, through five games and 197 pass attempts, he has just two interceptions.

"If there is any pressure, he throws it away," Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. "He's not taking the sack and he's not throwing the interception. He would rather take the intentional grounding and just eat the incomplete and play another down, and I think that's why their offense is pretty efficient."

One of those incompletions cost them a win against the Cowboys in Week 1, when Manning should have taken a sack rather than throw the ball away and stop the clock late in the fourth quarter. But overall, Manning's play is the primary reason the Giants have rebounded from an 0-2 start to lead the NFC East at 3-2.

This is Manning's second year with offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo after spending his first 10 seasons under the tutelage of Kevin Gilbride, who was Manning's first professional position coach before serving as offensive coordinator from 2007-13.

"We have a better understanding and a better feel for this offense than we did last year," said Manning, who has been sacked just four times, lowest in the league among QBs who've started five games. "We're protecting the football, we're getting in good down and distance and not taking negative plays."

Manning may be shorthanded this week as New York's top two receivers - Odell Beckham Jr. and Rueben Randle - are battling hamstring injuries. The Giants did not practice on Wednesday, so Beckham's and Randle's status for Monday's game against the Eagles is unclear.

When asked yesterday about Beckham, one of the NFL's best young receivers, Giants coach Tom Couglin said: "All we can do is hold on to the fact that he is a very, very competitive young man and if it's at all possible, he'll be ready to play."

With the Eagles (2-3) already dragging around an 0-2 record in the NFC East, this is a game the Birds must have,

"We know what to expect, but prime time on Monday night, it should be a great atmosphere," said Manning, who has lost his last five prime-time games against the Eagles. "We have a couple new guys that maybe haven't been in this atmosphere. Our communications have to be great. We have to be good with our snap count and have everybody on the same page."

After the Eagles hammered the Giants last season, Chip Kelly made a quiet jaunt to Jefferson Hospital to visit Victor Cruz.

Cruz, New York's star wide receiver, had torn his right patellar tendon in the Oct. 12 game, which the Birds won, 27-0. He hasn't played since.

Though it was widely reported at the time, Kelly's visit was news to Manning, who first heard of it yesterday during a conference call with Philadelphia reporters.

"That's a classy move," Manning said. "In this league, everybody has great respect for (one another) and you never want to see a player or anybody get hurt. I was not aware of that, but it's a classy move by the coach to go visit an opposing player when they get an injury."

Cruz seemed close to returning over the summer, but sustained a calf injury and Coughlin said yesterday that Cruz is attending meetings, but has yet to be cleared to return to the field.