Super Bowl 2012: You Can't Spell "Elite Man Winning" Without Eli Manning

There is something about watching someone who is good at their job. The NFL is good at putting on these epic events called Super Bowls. Madonna knocked it out of the park at halftime. Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick both had their teams ready to go. Tom Brady played a solid game and...

Eli Manning made that throw to Mario Manningham late in the fourth quarter.

The hardest thing to do when a prisoner of the moment sensation explodes in front of us is to not become a prisoner of the moment. To say that was the best throw I have ever seen feels like a prisoner of the moment statement so let me click back to the other great catches I have seen.

The Steve Young pass to Terrell Owens against Green Bay in their 1998 Wild Card Game is the first pass that comes to mind. Young dropped that dime into a tight window to win a playoff game for the 49ers. The atmosphere around that throw was not as intense, but the throw itself still rivals the throw that Eli Manning made last night.

The other throw I would compare to Manning's last night was made by Philip Rivers in the 2008 Divisional Playoff Game against the Colts. Rivers hit Chris Chambers with a perfect sideline pass for a touchdown in the third quarter in a game the Chargers won.

Again, the atmosphere (even with Rivers yelling at the Colts fans) was not Super Bowl-intense, but the throw to the front corner of the end zone was perfect.

To rank those three is not the point. The point is that Eli Manning made a perfect throw. A throw so good that it made you want to stand up and cheer. It could not have come at a better time either, as the Giants needed to make a big play to start a critical drive late in the Super Bowl.

Again, this is not an article to rank anything, so let me take time to put a list up here of QBs batting 1.000 in Super Bowls, with more than one victory to their name:

Joe Montana (4-0)

Terry Bradshaw (4-0)

Troy Aikman (3-0)

Bart Starr (2-0)

Jim Plunkett (2-0)

Eli Manning (2-0) 

Everyone on that list, except for Plunkett and Manning, are in the Hall of Fame.

The debate is now over: Eli Manning is an elite quarterback. He is playing at an elite level in an era of many elite quarterbacks. If you were drafting a fantasy quarterback, then you might still take Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers over Eli.

And if you want the best QB in the Manning family, it still feels like Peyton is the better one. 

Shoot, if you wanted the best gunslinger, then Eli Manning still would be looking up at Brett Favre and John Elway.

But the eye test tells me though that the book on Eli Manning's career is really just getting to the good part. Even his own "aw shucks" mentality makes you see him more as a guy that you send to the store to get more beer as opposed to the guy who is throwing the party.

Couldn't you envision a scenario in which you meet Eli Manning, only for him to be surprised that you know who he is?

The thing is, Eli can make every throw. He is tough enough to take the hits and smooth enough to move around the pocket to buy time for his receivers. He has beaten the New England Patriots and Tom Brady to win both of his rings. He has tamed the New York media jungle and made it look rather easy (hash tag, where's Tiki now?)

The newest member of the elite QB fraternity has a very bright future. In many ways, the Giants underachieved throughout the year. It feels like they hate their coach, Tom Coughlin, yet Coughlin is now also 2-0 in the Super Bowl.

Just like the guy that the Super Bowl trophy is named after.

It feels like Eli can lead the Giants back to the Super Bowl again very soon. The defense should be better next year. The receiving corps is very impressive with Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, though, the running game might take a hit as the talk is that Brandon Jacobs will be moving on.

Tom Coughlin is a great coach that truly gets the best out of his guys.

The NFC now has the best quarterbacks and, for the moment at least, Eli Manning at the head of that elite class.