So you are the one who predicted tight end Larry Donnell would be targeted more frequently by quarterback Eli Manning passes in the Giants' season opener than any other receiving option.
Most everything went wrong Monday night for the Giants in a 35-14 loss to the Lions, but Donnell was not one of them. Manning threw 33 passes and looked for his third-year tight end eight times. Donnell came away with five receptions for 56 yards and got his first NFL touchdown — and the first TD of the season for the Giants — by raising his arms as high as they can go to snare a 1-yard, fourth-down lob from Manning in the second quarter, the 6-foot-6 Donnell easily reaching over 6-1 Lions safety Isa Abdul-Quddus.
In the fourth quarter, Donnell was the main contributor on the only other scoring drive for the Giants, coming up with a 16-yard catch on third-and-15. This is not really the way anyone drew it up, as Donnell, entering his third NFL season, came in with three career catches, all in the second game last year in Denver.
"I think Larry Donnell had a great game and made some big catches for us on a third-and-long situation to continue to move the chains,'' said receiver Victor Cruz, who was targeted six times and had just two catches.
Few expected much of anything from the three tight ends on the roster. Donnell moved into a starting role early in training camp and kept possession of the job despite not exactly lighting anything up this summer. That had something to do with the competition. Veteran Daniel Fells and third-year Adrien Robinson complete the tight-end trio, and it might be the least-inspiring group in the league.
Perhaps Donnell made a statement in the opener. He was on the field for 52 of the 60 offensive snaps and, though he got down the field some in the passing game, his blocking needs work. Fells was in for just 13 plays and Robinson did not get a single snap on offense, a bad sign for him.
It sure looked as if Donnell was at fault in the third quarter when he kept running up the middle of the field as Manning uncorked a pass that dropped near Donnell's feet — he never turned around to face the ball — and into the arms of diving linebacker DeAndre Levy for Manning's first interception of the season. It was a breakdown in communication between Donnell and Manning and figured to be the fault of the young tight end. Nope.
"Larry did the right thing,'' Manning said Tuesday on WFAN. "I had no reason to do what I thought he might do. I threw it too early. Just a bad mental error on my part.''
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