"Unstoppable—Eli Manning is."How many times have you seen the Citizens Watch commercial calling the struggling New York Giants quarterback unstoppable? Furthermore, how many times did you laugh at it?
I know I did, as did many of my friends.
But right before our eyes, we have witnessed an unimaginable growth in a quarterback. A quarterback who has stepped out of the shadow of his brother, to lead his team to the Super Bowl.
His famous older brother Peyton will be sitting on his couch, or filming more Mastercard pep talks, while Eli—yes, Eli—will be taking the field in Glendale, Arizona on Super Bowl Sunday.
It was just weeks ago, that Eli Manning threw four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, in an embarrassing loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
For the entire week, so called experts stated the Manning could not perform in the second half of the season.
The next two games, Manning's numbers were just as pathetic. A 34.6 percent completion rate in a loss to Washington, including a lost fumble.
The following week, the Giants won an interstate rival with the Bills, but not because of Eli's arm. He fumbled the ball five times, losing two of them, and only threw 15 passes in the 38-21 victory.
The critics did not go away.
Eli heard their criticism, but unlike seasons before, Eli did not fold—he defied them.
In week 17 against New England, Manning developed an air of confidence, despite blowing a third quarter lead in their loss to the perfect Pats. But it was his play that had the 4th year quarterback poised and ready for the playoffs.
He has been stellar ever since.
Manning has been incredible in the playoffs. Of all his struggles, turnovers seemed to be his biggest downfall. In the postseason thus far, he has none
Four touchdowns and no interceptions, or fumbles lost, in the Giants' three wins against Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay this postseason.
Most amazing of all aspects, all three wins have come on the road.
There was a point in time when all the Giants asked of their quarterback was not to lose.
Now, they know he can step up and win a football game.
The New York football Giants will now fly out to Glendale, Arizona to face the 18-0 New England Patriots.
The Giants do not have a chance.
Nor did they have a chance against Green Bay or against Dallas.
This team may not win the Super Bowl. In fact, Belichick and the Patriots might blow them away. Tom Brady might throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Randy Moss may actually make an appearance.
But the growth of Eli Manning in the last four weeks will make a lasting impact for years to come. He may not have the pizzaz of his elder brother Peyton, or the rah-rah type leadership that everyone is looking for, but Eli Manning is starting to look, well, unstoppable. And so are the Giants.
Andrew Schiff on the latest Brett Favre retirement saga. (Read More)
comments (17) write a comment »
write a new comment
5 months ago
This article is so bad you need to stop writing all together, you absolutely suck.
5 months ago
I wish Eli victory in his next game, then may he never win another one again.
RGDS
5 months ago
ihate to say it but ur kinda right. I'm hoping something goes wrong and Eli comes back to earth as normal Eli. Then I think I don't want Boston to win anymore so I am very torn. Eli does look good and at times more then just a game manager. I just wonder if this month stretch is an aberation or more what ur saying. I hope its an aberation but I kinda hope it lasts a little more to beat the pats. Another great article brandon.
5 months ago
Some body pinch me! I can't believe Eli made it this far. I too want him to win one more game. Somebody needs to knock the Pats off their perch. I'm just not so sure Eli can do it. We shall see.
5 months ago
You must not be a Giant fan.
Once again, there is no person in NYC that compares Eli Manning to his father or his brothers or his mother.
Only the rest of America does that, because they have no idea how Giant fans operate.
He is compared by how he leads THIS team. We compare him to the men who went before him.
Phil Simms. Jeff Hostetler. Kerry Collins.
No one in NY cares about Peyton Manning. Or Tom Brady. Or Brett Favre.
We see Eli as inherently ours. We don't care about his lineage.
5 months ago
I was not really making a comparison between them. At least that was not what I was intending to do. All I said was he did not have the pizazz of Peyton, in terms of his popularity. I was not comparing them on the field in any way shape or form.
from 5 months ago
I know...I'm just letting the world know that we don't talk about Peyton Manning at all in NY
JF
5 months ago
Gotcha. Thanks for the input.
5 months ago
How many TD passes did Eli have on Sunday? ZERO
How many INT did Eli have on Sunday? ONE ** it was called back by a penalty.
What kept the Giants offense on the field for scores? Penalties.
Now if Manning was putting up Tom Brady like numbers, he might be taking his team to victory.
At best, this is a Trent Dilfer situation where the rest of the team carries the Giants to a Superbowl.
from 5 months ago
I'm an Eli hater too but gotta give him credit. No one expected this performance from him. As for the pic he had zero. That pick u refered to was a. Ruled off and b. Only reason it was a pick was because of the pi not Eli fault.
from 5 months ago
Trent Dilfer is a huge step up from where Eli was a month ago. He wasn't along for the ride, he was personally carjacking the ride and steering it towards a tree...
5 months ago
It is true Eli did not throw a touchdown. But its not like he did not set them up to score. Plus, I do not think I am the only one who just saw a different Eli. He just seemed to have more poise in the pocket, he seemed more under control, and more confident. Do I have the proof in writing? No. But, to me, I thought Eli looked like a proven veteran.
5 months ago
Theres more to this game than numbers. If that were the case, Neil Lomax would have won 4 Super Bowls
5 months ago
People who don't know football bash young QB's all the time. Eli takes extra lumps because of his name, being picked first overall and telling San Diego to trade him. Eli has had several good days and several lousy days. That is what happens to the majority of young QB's. Guys like Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning are few and far between.
Look at all the good/great QB's who have taken 4,5 or 6 years to begin playing at high or elite levels. Troy Aikmen was very mediocre in his first three years. He went on to win three Super Bowls and earned a spot in the Hall of Fame. Terry Bradshaw was awful for his first few years. Pittsburgh put a team around him and Bradshaw developed into a great player. Four Super Bowl trophies says it all. John Elway was still throwing as many INTS as TDS into the later stages of his career. Does anyone remember his first three trips to the Superbowl? He was terrible in those games. Elway ended up as one of the best ever. Phil Simms was a bad QB for the first few years of his career. Simms ended up being a solid QB and helped the GMEN win two Super Bowls. Steve Young was terrible in his first two seasons. Young got out of Tampa and was able to sit on a bench and learn from Joe Montana.
Eli has taken the Giants to three straight playoffs and now a Super Bowl. He throws more TDS then INTS and has looked very solid in this postseason. Only time will tell if Eli ends up being good, great or a bum but if you look at the history of the position he is ahead of most QBs at his age.
5 months ago
I've been a Giants fan my whole life and when the NY Giants drafted Eli Manning everyone expected him to be Peyton Manning in his first year of play. I've backed up Eli from day one and can say that i never doubted him since he's been here even when he's struggled at times. I knew he was the guy for the job because i've seen him lead our team to victory many of times even when everyone in the world thought we had no chance. People got mad at Eli for throwing ints. well do me a favor and go look at his brother's stats his first 4 years and then come back and make a comment. I'd say at least 75% of Giants fans owe Eli an apology cause most of you are full of shit if you thought he was capable of leading us to the Superbowl, the majority of you threw him under the bus before the New England game this season and were calling him a bust and a disappointment. If you think he's good now just wait and see how good he's gonna be. To all my Giants Season ticket holders i have some advice for you next time your at a home game, get off your asses and make some noise because it's an absolute disgrace to the football nation the way you guys cheer at the game. From your golf claps to bitching at people to sit down when their standing up to cheer is comical, and then you wonder why eli and the giants struggle at home it's because eli doesn't feel that fans support him along with the rest of the team. For everyone that is attempting to jump on the giants bandwagon do us a favor and go root for the JETS cause your not welcome here. Win or lose Eli i think everyone has eaten their words about you now go out and shock the world on superbowl Sunday.
5 months ago
Are you in such denial that your not gonna give this man credit for what he has accomplished in these playoffs? Your an absolute asshole if your gonna tell me that his team is carrying him. That penalty if you actually watched the game when the pick was thrown was from al harris who was so embarrassed by what plaxico was doing to him decided that he had to throw plax down to the ground in order to stop him because he is now officially plaxico's bitch along with rhonde barber of the bucs.
1) who threw the pass to amani toomer that put the nail in the coffin against the bucs? answer=Eli Manning
2) Who struck back with 47 sec left before the half against dallas to tie the game going in, which basically took the life out of the cowboys? answer= Eli Manning
3)Who didn't make one mistake against the overrated packers in the domination game last sunday when he diced up that secondary the whole game. answer= Eli Manning
Who cares if he didn't throw a TD against the Packers because he didn't have to and you should go play in the traffic for writing such a dumb comment. You must be a fan of one of the teams from the NFC East besides the GIants or a buc or packer fan or maybe even a front running patriots fan.
5 months ago
Are you in such denial that your not gonna give this man credit for what he has accomplished in these playoffs? Your an absolute asshole if your gonna tell me that his team is carrying him. That penalty if you actually watched the game when the pick was thrown was from al harris who was so embarrassed by what plaxico was doing to him decided that he had to throw plax down to the ground in order to stop him because he is now officially plaxico's bitch along with rhonde barber of the bucs.
1) who threw the pass to amani toomer that put the nail in the coffin against the bucs? answer=Eli Manning
2) Who struck back with 47 sec left before the half against dallas to tie the game going in, which basically took the life out of the cowboys? answer= Eli Manning
3)Who didn't make one mistake against the overrated packers in the domination game last sunday when he diced up that secondary the whole game. answer= Eli Manning
Who cares if he didn't throw a TD against the Packers because he didn't have to and you should go play in the traffic for writing such a dumb comment. You must be a fan of one of the teams from the NFC East besides the GIants or a buc or packer fan or maybe even a front running patriots fan.
write a new comment