Gotta love the Manning Face
Prior to the teams miraculous run four years ago, many Giants fans were ready to run Eli Manning out of town. He seemed to be just another example of a high profile college player with lofty expectations who just didn't seem to pan out. It also didn't help that his last name personified greatness at the quarterback position. It's tough to carry the weight of a a city, where every wrong move you make is exploited, on top of your shoulders, especially as a young kid.
But that young kid proved all his doubters wrong and won the Super Bowl in dramatic fourth quarter fashion, defeating one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
Even then, it wasn't enough.
The birds still chirped. It was the defense that won that game not the quarterback who marched his team down the field in the final two minutes to score the winning touchdown. Had Tyree not gotten lucky catching the ball against his helmet then we would be talking about the 19-0 Super Bowl Champion Patriots being the greatest team ever. Tom Brady would have perhaps put himself at the top list of greatest quarterbacks of all time having won is fourth super bowl.
People often forget how well Eli played in that game but more importantly the poise and leadership he showed when his team needed him the most. But still most eyes, he would never overshadow is older brother Peyton nor be considered one of the great quarterbacks in the league.
Last season he had a league high 25 interceptions, many of which were not his fault mind it, and failed to lead the Giants to the post season.
Then comes the infamous Michael Kay interview.
Let me pose this question: Why would any professional athlete in his right mind put himself down in any way rather than present and strong sense of confidence? Are they not paid to compete?
Still people got on Manning for openly saying that he was in the same class as the NFL's elite such as Tom Brady.
All Manning did was go out for an entire season, and now post season and back his word up. He has put together easily his best season as a pro and has taken a team that many were writing off in December to an highly anticipated rematch with the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. He's gone on the road and put of the numbers against the leagues top teams and has created a sense of confidence amongst Giants fans that you saw in Niners fans back when Joe Montana was behind center. Time and time again, Eli Manning has proven two things: he is gonna be on the field every week and that nothing can rattle him.
For so long, he has been put down by every writer, analyst known to man. All that has changed. This is Eli's city.
Mike Lupica brings up an interesting argument in todays NY Daily News, that he would rather have Eli Manning playing quarterback in the Super Bowl then the godly Tom Brady. He believes that right now Manning is the better quarterback and it has showed through both their play. I may be a biased Giants fan but I can't help but smile and agree and just think that it's about time the guy got the respect he deserved.
Maybe Mike and I are crazy but that's up for you to decide.
Check out the story here:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/super-tom-brady-superior-eli-manning-article-1.1010747
Eli has definitely proved that he belongs in the elite quarterback club. He has been remarkable this season, especially in the 4th quarter, and one thing that he hasn't gotten much credit for is the way he plays when he's under pressure in the pocket. Other quarterbacks in the playoff like Aaron Rodgers and even Tom Brady were rattled when the opposing defenses got pressure on them. Eli showed his poise in the pocket in the 49ers game and completed some difficult passes. He also hasn't missed a game since entering a league which in my opinion puts him ahead of the likes of Ben Roethlisberger. With the way Brady struggled against the Ravens, Eli looks like the better quarterback. But never count out Brady and Belichick when they have two weeks to prepare for a game.
ReplyDeleteI saw a lot of the Giants games this season and Eli deserves to be exactly where he is. He has been consistant, fierce and driven throughout the majority of the season and he should be able to be praised for it!
ReplyDeleteWell, as a devout Patriots fan, but even as just a regular person.............Mike Lupica is an idiot.
ReplyDeleteEli Manning has not ever been and will not ever be better than Tom Brady.
Um..........the godly Tom Brady is the "godly" Tom Brady for a reason. Like, it's not by accident. He's won three Super Bowls, was a few inches from a fourth, and is clearly one of the best ALL TIME Quarterbacks to play this game.
and you'd rather have ELI MANNING playing? chill.
Everyone is forgetting that the Patriots have one of the top offenses in the league, and that they're defense really isn't as horrible as people say.
It's an average defense, and if the secondary rises to the occasion and plays well, then they can be good enough to allow Tom Brady to score more points than the other team.
Also, the Pats D in my opinion makes big plays when it needs to.
Oh and also, the Patriots have won 10 games in a row.
Good luck Eli.
Very strong post, Jimmy. This is a great example of a blog post - you took an article and formed an opinion about it, then wrote about it. That's essentially what you did in a nutshell. But you clearly expressed your thoughts, referenced the opinion in the column you linked to, also backed up your points and - best of all - left a spot for others to weigh in. Good job.
ReplyDeletethe beginning where you spoke about alot of the college players arent ready for the bright lights is so true. I felt the same way initially about Eli,but he's proven himself over and over.I just hope Cam Newton turns out the same,haha.I love the title by the way!
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