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Christensen: Eli the Elite

By Todd Christensen, The Mtn. Insider
February 6, 2012

Some five months ago, a reporter queried Eli Manning as to whether or not he believed that he was an elite quarterback in this league.  When Manning responded in the affirmative, it set off a firestorm across the nation.  After all, not only was he not in the top five quarterback's in the league, he wasn’t even the best signal caller in his own household.  He was Peyton Manning's little brother, and despite the fact that he had a Super Bowl victory under his belt, the general consensus was that the Giants were a running team with a great pass rush that beat teams through physicality, not finesse or a complex passing game.  

What a difference a season can make. The Giants didn’t have a rusher with more than 650 yards during the 2011 campaign and their defense was sporadic at best.  The one constant was Eli Manning, who threw for nearly 5,000 yards and time and time again brought the team from behind to win, setting a record for fourth quarter touchdowns with 15.  At 6-6 in the standings and down by 11 points to the Cowboys on the road, Manning led them to a comeback victory.  Then at 7-7 in the middle of December, Archie's youngest son led the Giants to five straight victories, the last two against Green Bay and San Francisco on the road - two teams that had combined for a record of 28-4 - to secure their place in Indianapolis and the Super Bowl.

So it should have come as no surprise that with a little more than three and one-half minutes to play and the Giants down 17-15 that Manning would come out on the field and engineer another drive for the ages.  He took the team 88 yards to what turned out to be the winning touchdown and his second MVP Trophy in the Super Bowl.  The irony of his triumph in the city where his older brother plies his trade could not be lost upon the billion or so people watching.  In what was the worst year of Peyton Manning's professional life, but it turned out to be Eli Manning's best.
 
It’s been said, “Failure accepts no alibis-success requires no explanation."  The New York Giants are the World Champions of professional football and Eli Manning is their most valuable player and one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.  And none of that needs any explanation.
See all of Todd Christensen's blog entries HERE.