Super Bowl Predictions 2012: 3 Ways Eli Manning Will Shut All the Critics Up

For most of his career, Eli Manning has lived in the shadow of his brother, Peyton.

To give you an idea of how underrated Manning is, consider the following: He wasn't ranked as one of the top 100 NFL players of 2011.

Granted, not being ranked as a top-100 player is understandable after Manning came off a year in which he threw 25 interceptions. It seems, though, that he knew about the rankings and took note of them.

This offseason he said he considered himself an elite quarterback and then went on to have the best season of his career.

Now Manning is on the verge of winning his second Super Bowl. 

Here are three ways Manning will quiet his critics.

He Will Win A Second Super Bowl

When Eli Manning hoists the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 5, 2012, he will join only six other quarterbacks in NFL history who have won two Super Bowls.

His brother, Peyton, who is considered one of the all-time greats, can't say the same.

Being the quarterback of a Super Bowl team once can be a fluke because that team may be great in another area, such as defense, à la the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

However, if a team goes to a Super Bowl twice in four years with the same quarterback, he is playing a major role. And Manning has been key to both Super Bowl runs by the New York Giants.

One ring wasn't enough for the critics. Maybe two will be, especially since he will have one more ring than both Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, who are considered to be better quarterbacks than Manning.  

He Will Beat Tom Brady on the Biggest Stage Once Again

Tom Brady may retire as the greatest quarterback of all time. 

He has broken a plethora of records, won three Super Bowls and on Sunday he will play in his fifth Super Bowl game.

However, Eli Manning, when Super Bowl XVLI comes to conclusion, will have beaten Tom Brady for the second time on the biggest stage possible.

Brady's record in Super Bowl games after Sunday's game will be 3-2, and Manning's Giants will be responsible for both losses.

That has to be a testament to Manning and how good of a quarterback he is and will be for years to come.  

If beating Brady in the Super Bowl twice doesn't quiet his critics, it isn't clear what will. Winning two Super Bowl rings and beating one of the all-time greats in order to accomplish that rare feat has to put Manning in the conversation for one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. 

He Will Establish Himself as One of the Greatest NFL Postseason Quarterbacks

Winning a Super Bowl is hard enough. 

Winning a Super Bowl as a wild-card team is also fairly difficult. 

How about beating the top three teams in the league en route to winning a Super Bowl? As hard as it gets. 

Doing it all not once, but twice? Only Eli Manning will be able to say that after Sunday. 

In the 2007-2008 NFL playoffs, when Manning won his first Super Bowl, the Giants were a wild-card team. 

After winning their Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they went on to beat the top two teams in the NFC—the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. 

Then, in Super Bowl XLII, they beat the top team in the AFC and also the entire NFL, the New England Patriots. 

This year, the situation the New York Giants are in is fairly similar. 

They are a wild-card team. They beat the top two teams in the NFC—the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers—on their way to Super Bowl XVLI. 

They're facing top team in the AFC, the Patriots, in the Super Bowl once again, and once again they will come out victorious.

Yes, the Giants had great defensive play in the 2007-2008 NFL playoffs and they've had it again during these playoffs, but consider the following:

Manning had six game-winning drives in 2007-2008 and he's had six this season as well. 

He has carried this Giants team. 

It's time for Eli Manning's critics to open their eyes and appreciate his greatness.