Manningham to face former team

Newsday

Mario Manningham said there are a lot of games on the San Francisco 49ers’ schedule circled by a lot of different receivers. The Miami game will be significant to Ted Ginn Jr. because it’s against his old team. Randy Moss has already faced one former team — the Vikings — and will face another in the Patriots later this year.

This week, it’s Manningham’s circle.

“That’s a player’s dream to go out there and beat their old team,” he said as he prepared to welcome the New York Giants to his new place in San Francisco. “Now it’s my time up.”

From the sound of things, Manningham — a Warren native and Warren Harding graduate — couldn’t be happier with his new surroundings. He said he couldn’t ask for better teammates, better coaches or even better equipment managers than he has right now. What that says about teammates, coaches and equipment managers he had with the Giants remains open to interpretation. But even though the Giants basically turned their back on him as a free agent, Manningham said he holds no ill will.

“I wasn’t mad, or nothing,” he said. “It’s business. It’s all a part of football. That’s how it is. ... Do I have a grudge? No. But, am I motivated? Yeah. I’m motivated by every game, especially this game. Who wouldn’t be motivated by their old team?”

Manningham has caught 19 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown with the 49ers so far.

“It worked out more than I thought it was going to work out,” Manningham said.

Manningham keeps in touch with some former Giants teammates. He said he had a two-hour conversation recently with Hakeem Nicks, and is close with Ahmad Bradshaw. Victor Cruz said he’s swapped texts with Manningham since he left the team.

Friends Nicks and Cruz are big reasons why Manningham was not resigned by the Giants. He’d already been relegated to a third receiver, the guy Bill Belichick famously wanted the Giants to have to throw to in Super Bowl XLVI. There just wasn’t room to add a big contract for a little production.

“I know the position I was playing, and I know the position I’m in now,” he said. “And I know I can go out there and go against any corner and win. I’m confident about that … Me leaving there and coming over here and getting more chances to get the ball, I mean, a player really can’t ask for more than that.”