Eli Manning, The Browns, and Luck.

His name is Eli Manning and he is the most underestimated and underrated Quarterback in the National Football League. Being from Washington DC and a Giants fan I have witnessed the pure hatred for a Quarterback who is purely talented and not just "lucky". So far the New York G-Men are 5-0 and it would be shocking to see the Giants loose in the Dog Pound. Now while some fans of the Redskins and Patriots might like to see this situation unfold, it is very unrealistic. Before the Seattle game the sportscasters started a rumor that the Giants would be "in trouble" without Burress against Seattle, but instead Eli found other targets. Is this luck? I highly doubt luck has anything to do with the performance of Eli over the past couple of years. Recently, the NFC has seen the rise of another possible star Quarterback.

With the rise of Jason Campbell from the quarterback dungeon of the NFL the NFC now has more competition than ever. With Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo the NFC East might be the strongest division in the NFL. It is easy to make a case that Campbell of all Quarterbacks is getting "lucky", but I can also make a case for him not getting lucky. I could not do the same for Eli.

For staters, Campbell is from Alabama and does not have an older brother in the NFL who won a Super Bowl. Eli and Payton Manning share a unique connection, one which makes each of them better every year. Would it be so shocking that Eli and his brother not only "toss the football around", but if either of them went to the Super Bowl the other would help in training before the game?  It is very hard to make a case the Eli is lucky. I can make a case for the mythical helmet catch by Tyree, but at the same time i can also refute luck due to player awareness. You also have to think about the offensive and defensive lines of the Giants. Even though the  G-men lost several offensive and defensive players in the off season and preseason following their Super Bowl victory, they seem unfazed. Even though they have some young players in starting roles, Eli's leadership skills, very similar to Payton's, might once again lead him to the holy land.

I will predict a win against the Brown for the Giants, because Eli has demonstrated he can lead a team and this very underated Gaints team is exceeding expectations again in the toughest division of the NFL.