FOR ELI MANNING AND HAKEEM NICKS BONDING FORGED AT COOKOUTS
Nicks
Hakeem Nicks and Eli Manning of the New York Giants forged a friendship over cookouts of alligator  crawfish and fried quail. Nicks mostly abstained from eating at the barbecues. It was the conversation that mattered.
 In July  Nicks joined Manning on a four-day trip in Thibodaux  La.  for the Manning Passing Academy  an offensive skills camp for high school players. The getaway brought them together  helping to bond a young play-making wide receiver with a veteran quarterback who could use a big-play target.
 During the day  Nicks served as a counselor and played catch with Manning. By night  Nicks and Manning came together for group dinners before retreating to their dormitories at Nicholls State University  about an hour west of New Orleans.
Nicks and Manning came together for group dinners before retreating to their dormitories at Nicholls State University  about an hour west of New Orleans.
 Still  the coaches are looking for Nicks  who showed explosiveness as a rookie in 2009  to show more consistency in his second season. (On Sunday  Nicks also tipped the first pass his way  which resulted in an interception). Nicks  the type of deep threat the Giants have been missing since the departure of Plaxico Burress  was drafted into an important position. "That's something I want to do " Nicks said. "That's something that I've always done in my career in my past  been that big-target receiver coming deep down the field. I just want to get my game to that and bring it to the team the best way possible."
 Manning invited Nicks and Steve Smith to join him for the camp this summer. Although Smith could not attend  he said that he has seen the effect the trip has had on the relationship between Nicks and Manning.
 "It showed Eli he's serious about football and that he wants to get better " Smith said of Nicks. "I've seen him take it more seriously in the film room and get in here in the offseason."
 When discussing certain plays at the camp  Manning would explain his thinking  then Nicks would share his thoughts. It helped their timing  which was important because Nicks missed practices during organized-team activities and in training camp while recovering from knee and toe injuries.
 Off the field  Nicks and Manning watched sports in their rooms and shared insights into each other's lives. Manning was shocked to hear that Nicks had only one scholarship offer in high school. Nicks was shocked to see the type of food the Manning family served in New Orleans.
 The Cajun flavor was new to Nicks -- "out of my bracket " the North Carolina native said -- but he enjoyed learning more about the area.
Nicks and Manning watched sports in their rooms and shared insights into each other's lives. Manning was shocked to hear that Nicks had only one scholarship offer in high school. Nicks was shocked to see the type of food the Manning family served in New Orleans.
 Like Burress  Nicks is the X receiver  known also as the split end  in the Giants' offense. The X receiver frequently represents the deep threat and often finds himself in one-on-one coverage  as Nicks did on his second and third touchdowns Sunday.
[TGT] and Eli Manning of the New York Giants forged a friendship over cookouts of alligator  crawfish and fried quail. [TGT] mostly abstained from eating at the barbecues. It was the conversation that mattered.
 In July  [TGT] joined Manning on a four-day trip in Thibodaux  La.  for the Manning Passing Academy  an offensive skills camp for high school players. The getaway brought them together  helping to bond a young play-making wide receiver with a veteran quarterback who could use a big-play target.
 During the day  [TGT] served as a counselor and played catch with Manning. By night  [TGT] and Manning came together for group dinners before retreating to [TGT] dormitories at Nicholls State University  about an hour west of New Orleans.
[TGT] and Manning came together for group dinners before retreating to [TGT] dormitories at Nicholls State University  about an hour west of New Orleans.
 Still  the coaches are looking for [TGT]who showed explosiveness as a rookie in 2009  to show more consistency in his second season. (On Sunday  [TGT] also tipped the first pass his way  which resulted in an interception). [TGT]the type of deep threat the Giants have been missing since the departure of Plaxico Burress  was drafted into an important position. "That's something I want to do " [TGT] said. "That's something that I've always done in my career in my past  been that big-target receiver coming deep down the field. I just want to get my game to that and bring it to the team the best way possible."
 Manning invited [TGT] and Steve Smith to join him for the camp this summer. Although Smith could not attend  he said that he has seen the effect the trip has had on the relationship between [TGT] and Manning.
 "It showed Eli he's serious about football and that he wants to get better " Smith said of [TGT]. "I've seen him take it more seriously in the film room and get in here in the offseason."
 When discussing certain plays at the camp  Manning would explain his thinking  then [TGT] would share his thoughts. It helped their timing  which was important because [TGT] missed practices during organized-team activities and in training camp while recovering from knee and toe injuries.
 Off the field  [TGT] and Manning watched sports in [TGT] rooms and shared insights into each other's lives. Manning was shocked to hear that [TGT] had only one scholarship offer in high school. [TGT] was shocked to see the type of food the Manning family served in New Orleans.
 The Cajun flavor was new to [TGT] -- "out of my bracket " the North Carolina native said -- but he enjoyed learning more about the area.
[TGT] and Manning watched sports in [TGT] rooms and shared insights into each other's lives. Manning was shocked to hear that [TGT] had only one scholarship offer in high school. [TGT] was shocked to see the type of food the Manning family served in New Orleans.
 Like Burress  [TGT] is the X receiver  known also as the split end  in the Giants' offense. The X receiver frequently represents the deep threat and often finds himself in one-on-one coverage  as [TGT] did on his second and third touchdowns Sunday.