IRVING — Despite throwing for 746 yards and five touchdowns in a pair of victories over the Cowboys last season, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was very complimentary of Rob Ryan's defensive scheme during a Sunday interview.
Manning specifically mentioned outside linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer before noting that the Cowboys have "some good DBs and cornerbacks."
"Their defense is always very, very talented," Manning said. "It's always good. The scheme is complex. You see a number of different personnel, a number of different fronts and looks to try to confuse the quarterback, make it tough for the offense to get in rhythm."
However, Manning didn't see much of that complexity while watching preseason film. The former No. 1 overall pick and two-time Super Bowl champ said the Cowboys were running "pretty vanilla" defensive packages.
Regardless of what Ryan's group showed, Manning doesn't need to see any additional film to know the dangers of forgetting about Ware.
After all, Ware has sacked Manning 10.5 times, more than any other quarterback during his seven-year career.
"He's a guy who can take over a game, and he can change a game by his performances," Manning said. "So, obviously, he's gotten to me a number of times. Just a matter of fact, … he's probably played against me more than any other quarterback as well, so that leads to that. But he is a driven player.
"You've got to have answers for him. You can't just expect your tackle to block him one-on-one all day. That can be unfair. So we have to help the tackles out and make sure he doesn't have too many one-on-one matches because eventually he will make a play."
