DeMarcus Lawrence, the Cowboys defensive end who seems to talk about tormenting Giants quarterbacks more often than he actually does so, is at it again with a new target for his verbal slings. On Tuesday, Lawrence told reporters in Dallas that he was happy the Giants have "another little Manning," a somewhat derogatory description of rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
It's not a new observation to say that Jones is very similar to Eli Manning in both look and style. Lawrence, though, wants credit for labeling Jones with the nickname.
"That's what the GM (Dave Gettleman) said when he drafted him," Lawrence said. "He just couldn't say it in those words, but y'all got it from me."
The Giants' reaction?
"Why are we all of a sudden worried that he said it?" Giants guard Will Hernandez asked. "He's said so many things before that it's like, I really don't care too much about what he says. It doesn't matter to me."
Hernandez makes a good point. Lawrence generally precedes Giants-Cowboys games by insulting Manning, but once the games come around, he doesn't exactly back up those words. In nine career games against the Giants, he's recorded just four sacks and he's never had more that two quarterback hits in any single meeting.
"There you go," Hernandez said when Lawrence's stats were brought up. "I pay very little attention to what guys have to say. I'm more worried about what they are going to do. You guys just said that his numbers don't match it. Should we really be worried about what he has to say?"
For those who are: Lawrence was asked about Jones on Tuesday.
"I feel like they did a great job getting another Eli," Lawrence said. "Eli is probably a soon-to-be Hall of Fame player. He's won Super Bowls. You can't sit here and say Eli is a bad player. But age does catch up to us. I guess it caught up to him. They got another one, another little Manning. It'll be good for them."
Giants tight end Evan Engram chuckled at that description. He also disagreed with it.
"Besides looking alike? No, no," he said when asked if Jones is a replica of Manning.
As for the tone of Lawrence's remarks, Engram was more serious.
"We'll see him on (Monday)," he said. 'That's all I can say."
