Eli Manning back in helmet

Eli Manning was back in a helmet Wednesday, which for him was both good and bad.

"It felt pretty good," he said of the previous two days in which he practiced wearing only a baseball cap. "I kind of liked it. I could get used to that."

On the other hand ...

"It's good to get the helmet back on and stop hearing the comments from the offensive line that I knew would be coming," he said.

Manning said he is wearing a different helmet from the one that flew off and led to the gash on the hairline above his left eye. Although there is no extra padding or protection, he now has a different chinstrap. His old one had two snaps near his jaw. The new one has one snap at his temple and the other near the jaw. "Just to ensure that it's on tight," he said. "Nothing I'm really concerned about."

There was a bandage-type pad over the wound to protect it, he said, "Just something to keep it from being rubbed." And while trainers initially told him to limit the number of times he slid the helmet on and off in practice, Manning said that midway through the workout he was ignoring that advice.

Manning certainly looked sharp in practice Wednesday, particularly when hoisting a few deep balls for Steve Smith. That precision could carry over to Saturday, when Manning said he'll be available for whatever amount of playing time Tom Coughlin has in mind.

"No pain, no discomfort," he said. "Ready to go as usual."