Eli Manning Has What Could Be His Last Chance to Solidify His Legacy

Eli Manning has been a little brother, a Super Bowl MVP, a punchline, a Hall of Famer and an afterthought. Ten years into his roller-coaster career, I wrote that Manning was about to settle his legacy once and for all.

The two regular seasons since then have been the highest-rated, losingest, least celebrated and most spectacular of his career.

While he and Odell Beckham Jr. re-wrote history together, their New York Giants turned in forgettable back-to-back six-win seasons. Somehow, Manning made his all-over-the-place legacy even more complex and uncertain.

Meanwhile, his contemporaries in quarterbacking greatness added Pro Bowls, postseason triumphs and Super Bowl wins to their already lengthy resumes. When we talk about the greats of this era—Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger and, of course, his older brother—Manning is losing a battle with Tony Romo to be the "Oh, and [that guy]" belatedly thrown in the conversation.

Peyton Manning's victory in Super Bowl 50 gave him the perfect sunset to ride off into: a definitive repudiation of his career-long reputation as a regular-season superstar and postseason pariah. But riding into the sunset means he's no longer casting a shadow.

Now, Eli Manning—and from here forward, he'll just be "Manning"—has an unprecedented opportunity to reclaim his place among the best in the game.

Manning's reputation has been nearly the inverse of his big brother's: He's a streaky, up-and-down passer in the regular season who always seems to come up huge in the playoffs. After his second Super Bowl victory, many wondered if Eli might be the better of the two.

Though the notion is still brought up every once in a while, it's done with more of a wink each time—and given his elder brother's ring-capped run of statistical success in Denver, it's impossible to make a serious argument for the younger brother.

But Manning's not just in a league that doesn't contain his brother for the first time, he's also in a league that doesn't contain Tom Coughlin. Coughlin took over as Giants head coach the same offseason Manning was drafted, and the two have worked hand-in-glove ever since. His departure represents uncertainty, yes, but also opportunity.

This change had been on the horizon for years; Manning's 2013 struggles prompted the dismissal of longtime offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who was replaced by Ben McAdoo. The former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach was the first new voice in Manning's ear since Gilbride arrived in 2007.

With McAdoo drawing up the offense, Manning's had the most efficient two-year run of his career, per Pro Football Reference:

Period	Cmp%	TD%	Int%	Y/A	Y/C	Y/G	ANY/A	Sk%	Rate
2014-15	62.8	5.3	2.3	7.3	11.5	276.4	6.7	4.3	92.9
2011-12	60.4	4.9	2.8	7.9	13.1	277.5	7.0	4.0	90.2
2008-09	61.3	4.9	2.4	7.3	12.0	226.8	6.5	5.5	89.9
2010-11	61.9	5.3	3.6	7.9	12.8	279.2	6.8	3.8	89.2
2009-10	62.6	5.5	3.7	7.7	12.2	250.7	6.5	4.2	89.1

Across 2014 and 2015, Manning had the highest completion rate, lowest interception rate and highest passer efficiency rating of any other two-year stretch in his career. He also tied his second-best touchdown rate.

Though the average length of his completions under McAdoo (11.5 yards) is below his career average (12.0 yards), Manning is successfully adapting to McAdoo's modern passing attack despite high turnover in his receiving corps.

Manning's detractors have long noted he's at his best throwing to big, sticky-handed receivers who give him a wide strike zone. A parade of such pass-catchers have moved on from Manning without finding success elsewhere: Jeremy Shockey, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks.

Victor Cruz, smaller and shiftier than most of the others, nevertheless clicked beautifully with Manning until a torn patellar tendon forced him off the field. Beckham, who's even smaller, goes against everything we know about Manning's top targets—yet they had instant, unprecedented chemistry.

"

Eli Manning Tries to Salsa Like Victor Cruz… And Fails Horribly (Video) https://t.co/HrY4AHvGZA via @KelDansby pic.twitter.com/BsCcaxsulg

— BlackSportsOnline (@BSO) May 11, 2016"

And Manning wants even more from Beckham: Despite combining for 187 completions, 2,755 yards and 25 touchdowns over just 27 games, Manning told Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News that "we need him to raise his level as well."

"There are things he can work on, and we ask a lot of him," Manning said. "He's required to know a lot of different routes and a lot of techniques and exactly how to do it. That's the way he's gonna get a lot of balls and be in position to do a lot of things."

If Beckham can indeed raise his game, he'll be a terrifying matchup for any defense. And Cruz, with a team-friendly restructured contract, has a chance to come back healthy for the first time since his 2014 injury.

Sixth-round rookie tight end Jerell Adams adds another intriguing option to a deep position group that includes Will Tye, Larry Donnell and Matt LaCosse. And, oh yes, there's Sterling Shepard.

A "late riser," as Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post characterized him, Shepard has a combination of speed, inside-outside moves and fluid catch-and-run ability that reminds CBSSports.com's Rob Rang (and many others) of Cruz—leading Rang to declare the Giants had "hit [the] jackpot" with their No. 40 overall pick.

"He's a guy who is shifty and athletic," Manning told the New York Post's Paul Schwartz at a recent charity event. "It's tough to say from six routes on air—but I hope he is a young Victor Cruz."

Giants general manager Jerry Reese gave Schwartz the same comparison, too.

This fall, all the piece could fall into place.

Manning will be in his first year with McAdoo calling all the shots. He'll be working with his deepest, most talented supporting cast since 2007—and if Cruz is fully healthy and Shepard plays as advertised, it may be even better. Giants fans don't need to be reminded that's the same season they upset the undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Yes, there are question marks about New York's running game and defense, but the same was true of Coughlin's Super Bowl teams. There's nothing stopping Manning from putting together the best regular season of his career—or repeating his incredible postseason feats.

Not for the first time, he will have a chance to cast his Hall of Fame legend in bronze. But if he again hands Giants fans a mixed bag of ups and downs, or keeps the team's most talented offense in years from capitalizing on a chance to take back the NFC East, this opportunity to reclaim his legacy may be the last one he gets.