Question #42: Which Eli is he?
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- August
- 19
I put less stock in exhibition football games than anybody else walking the planet … although I will watch it over Olympic Beach Volleyball or Badminton any day … even if it means listening to Tony Kornheiser.
That said, Eli Manning looked pretty darn good against the Browns Monday night. Again, you don’t want to overblow that as, for example, all of New York did Saturday night and Sunday morning (when one paper actually put it on the front and back pages: Oooh! Brett threw a touchdown! Brett threw a touchdown!). Side question: Can this big city look any more small town than when we get caught up in something that stupid? I mean, doesn’t every quarterback who’s ever played eventually throw a touchdown?
Getting back to Eli, the question is, do you expect him to be the Eli of last winter, the one who won all those road games and the Super Bowl MVP, or the one who threw 20 interceptions and was being questioned as the Giants fought tooth-and-nail just to get a wild card? Do you expect that the real Eli is closer to Peyton, or to the inconsistent kid who was searching for the poise to go with that golden arm?
Are you still in wait-and-see mode? Or are you a full believer in Eli now?
I am not actually a full believer of Eli. Despite his heroics late in the season, he also helped get them in the hole in the first place during the early parts of the season. When he can actually put together a whole season’s worth of good starts (like Peyton has consistently for years), that’ll be the sign for me that he’s turned the corner from inconsistent whoopie cushion to quality QB. But to me Peyton will always be the better QB overall than Eli will. Peyton just seems to grasp the game better. Intuition and game calling seem to be part of his talent as much as his arm. I don’t (or have yet) to see those qualities in Eli. The difference between the two for me is Eli needs a good team around him to win while Peyton does not. I’m still in wait-and-see mode … I guess I’m just cynical, but I need more proof before I declare Eli the next … well … Peyton.
I think hes closer to Peyton then manny people realize. What are his numbers in the 4th queater? When the game is on the line, with 2 minutes to go, Eli is great at leading his team down the field. Is he an all time great? I don’t know. If his last name werent Manning we would not be having this conversation. But it is, so he constatnly gets compared to his older brother. The Giants have a QB who is the reigning Superbowl MVP. Can we stop complaining yet? He’s only gonna get better, not worse. Will he be his brother? who knows, who cares. Just keep winning.