On the bench, rookie

For a while, it seemed Eli Manning was precocious enough to disprove the notion that rookie quarterbacks should listen and learn, not start in the NFL. Then the Jets blitzed the No. 1 pick in the draft out of the New York Giants’ starting job and onto the sidelines, where he’ll hold a clipboard and watch two-time MVP Kurt Warner start the season.

So unless coach Marty Schottenheimer defies logic and starts newly signed Philip Rivers in San Diego’s opener, once again, no rookie will begin the season as a starting quarterback.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin made Manning’s second-string status official last Sunday, two days after the rookie went 4 of 14 for 20 yards with two interceptions, two sacks and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. For Coughlin, the bright spot was that the decision didn’t seem to discourage his prodigy.

“Eli is the future of this franchise. He carries himself extremely well,” Coughlin said. “He came back ready to go and ready to dive back into work. That’s basically what I wanted to see.”

As for the others:

•J.P. Losman of Buffalo, taken 22nd overall, already is out for at least two months with a broken leg. He was being groomed as Drew Bledsoe’s successor, but was unlikely in any case to get a chance this season unless something happened to Bledsoe. He remains on the active roster, so he’ll be able to practice and learn when he returns.

•Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, chosen 11th overall, has been impressive, but will begin the season as a backup to Tommy Maddox. Roethlisberger probably would have been No. 3 for the Steelers, but Charlie Batch is out for the season after knee surgery.

•Schottenheimer says he still hasn’t made a decision on Rivers, obtained from the Giants in a draft day trade for Manning, whom San Diego chose with the first pick even though he said he didn’t want to go there. But Rivers signed only last week, had a shaky debut against Seattle and will likely begin his career behind four-year veteran Drew Brees, who has started 27 of the team’s 32 games the past two seasons.

That’s standard. Rookie QBs rarely start. In fact, no quarterback has been voted offensive rookie of the year in the 47-year history of the award.

Eli’s brother Peyton started as a rookie in 1998 — he didn’t have a Kurt Warner on the Colts, who went 3-13 as Peyton threw 28 interceptions. That’s the only season he’s had more INTs than touchdowns.

Carson Palmer, the first pick in the 2003 draft, never got into a game with Cincinnati last year, sitting behind Jon Kitna. The Bengals improved to 8-8 and Kitna was the Comeback Player of the Year, yet coach Marvin Lewis anointed Palmer in March as his starter for this season, with Kitna tutoring him as a backup.

Thus it was a surprise even to the Giants that Manning was on equal footing with Warner through camp and for the first two weeks of the exhibition season.

“He was not only changing plays out there, he was changing protections,” general manager Ernie Accorsi said after watching Manning call an audible that resulted in a 24-yard completion in his first exhibition game. “I knew he had poise, but his composure is more than I expected.”

Manning started the second game, against Carolina, and went 9 of 15 for 117 yards against one of the NFL’s best defenses. But in both games, he was facing vanilla looks.

Then came the Jets, who blitzed from all angles, just what teams do when the games are for real. It was almost as if Coughlin had called opposing coach Herman Edwards and said: “Mix it up a bit. I want to see Eli under pressure.”

So after Warner started and went 9 of 11 for 104 yards, Manning entered in the second quarter, rolled out and threw the ball right to the Jets’ Donnie Abraham. His night went downhill from there.

Roethlisberger has had a decent start, going 23 of 38 for 290 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in three exhibition games, playing mostly with backups against backups.

Still, unless something happens to Maddox, the rookie will sit.

Rivers learned quickly against Seattle just days after he finally reported to the Chargers. He completed his first three passes for 72 yards, then was 0 for 7 with two interceptions.

“Certainly, I figured out that you can’t make too many things happen too quickly,” he said.