Tom Brady Says Eli Manning Benching Is 'Pretty Unfortunate Situation'

Eli Manning has gotten the better of Tom Brady on the sport's biggest stage, but Brady still doesn't like seeing the Giants quarterback being benched.

Brady discussed how much he admired his rival in an interview on Westwood One Radio, via Mike Reiss of ESPN:

"Obviously, being on the other side of two of those Super Bowl losses to an Eli Manning-led team, I just have so much respect for his dependability, for his consistency, for his toughness. You know that's really everything you want in an NFL player, and I think Eli has always provided that for the team. So I think it's a pretty unfortunate situation."

The Giants announced Geno Smith would start over Manning for Sunday's game against the Raiders. 

The change comes with New York sitting at 2-9 on the year and well out of the playoff picture. The organization will presumably use the final five games to evaluate both Smith and rookie quarterback Davis Webb.

However, it also breaks a streak of 210 straight starts for Manning that began in his rookie season.

"You always wish for everything to go like a fairy tale," Brady said," but it doesn't."

The discussion about ending a career is also relevant for the 40-year-old, although he doesn't appear to be slowing down in his old age. He currently leads the NFL with 3,374 passing yards to go with an incredible 26 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Considering the Patriots traded away the presumed future quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo, there is clearly plenty of faith that Brady will be able to contribute for at least another few years.