Eli Manning spent the offseason working on his fastball.
Sort of.
The Giants' 38-year-old quarterback turned to the sport of Jamie Moyer (49 when he retired) and Bartolo Colon (46, and not officially retired) to extend his longevity this offseason, changing up his training regimen to focus on arm strength and endurance as he gets set to embark on his 16th season in the NFL.
"I feel like it's paid off and I'm throwing the ball well, and the arm stays strong three or four days after practice and not losing (it), which is what happens, you know, when you're at training camp sometimes," Manning said Tuesday after a walk-through at the Giants training facility. "I feel better. I feel strong. I feel like I'm stronger (with) a lot of the lifts I've been doing. I had a good offseason ... Once you get to the season, you're not trying to get stronger but just maintain your strength over the course of the season."
Manning _ in the last year of his contract, and confronted with his own football mortality in the form of first-round draft pick Daniel Jones _ said he worked extensively with Mickey Brueckner, a former college pitcher who's now the CEO of Annex Sports Performance Center in Chatham, N.J.
"In football training, not everybody is doing as much shoulder, rotator cuff, core probably as a quarterback needs to," Manning said. "I think taking the time to start right, getting your movements right, getting your functionality right and then try to get stronger in your legs to help your arm strength _ it kind of all generates from your lower half, the core, the stability. I think that's good. And obviously, there's a whole other element to the arm care and how much is required to stay on top of it."
It's common practice in baseball, where a good arm gets Secret Service-like protection, but less so in football where training regimens, even for quarterbacks, tend to be more generalized. Manning said it wasn't the first time he's waded into the baseball world.
Pat Shurmur said he noticed a difference, even back in May.
"His training was just a little bit different than it's been and I think he's really throwing the ball well," Shurmur said. "When he came back from OTAs, we saw it. Some of it was physical. Some of it was how he trained."
The hope is that Manning can reach that holy grail for veteran players _ the cross-section of a decade-plus of experience, along with a sort of ageless durability.
"We can come out and say we're going to run this play and say, 'Eli, listen, if it's Cover 2, let's check it to this,' " Shurmur said. "You don't even have to have practiced it. You can just call it in the huddle and get it done."
Manning, for his part, said he isn't necessarily trying to pursue some fountain of youth. And he's not too concerned with his detractors _ those loud voices that mounted last year, saying he's extended past his shelf life with the Giants.
"I think my motivation is more, it's personal," he said. "It's a desire to win. It's a desire to chase that feeling of winning games _ what that feels like in the locker room, what it feels like to get on a hot streak and win four, five in a row. Just the excitement, the attitude. Winning a playoff game, that feeling. Winning a championship. The feelings that you get to experience when you go through those scenarios. I think that's more motivation than trying to prove someone else wrong."
