There is never any panic when he comes on to the field.
His face does not give away what he might be thinking internally or externally.
Does he feel nervous?
Maybe.
Is he worried?
Not likely.
Give Eli Manning a chance to win a chance to win the game and he becomes an assassin. Wipe away anything he may have done prior, it is a completely new ballgame.
In a lot of ways, he becomes “SuperMann”.
For Manning, winning the Super Bowl last year by orchestrating the game winning touchdown drive put him at the pinnacle of his profession and unmatched popularity. It was a long way from where he was just a week before the end of the regular season when he could not hold onto a snap or could help but throw the ball to the other team (in this case, the Buffalo Bills) as he single handedly was looking to deny the Giants a postseason berth.
Now, everything has changed. He is looked at in a much different light. He is no longer questioned when it comes to his decision making. I watch him now and say, “He knows what he is doing.” He has always had a knack for stepping his play in key moments, but now that has transferred to 60 minutes as opposed to two, five or ten.
This was the man former general manager Ernie Accorsi thought the Giants could win a championship with. This is was the man that coach Tom Coughlin put his faith in. This was the man his teammates had always believed in even when literally no one outside of their inner circle thought the same.
He has not disappointed.
There is no disputing that he is the unquestionable leader of this Giants football. He is the face of a franchise that was once led by Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber. Those guys made the road for him easier, but now it is Manning who is the team’s pulse.
He is not going to jump up and down and pump his fists or bump helmets like some quarterbacks do. That is not his style. It does not have to be.
He does not possess Tom Brady’s golden boy looks, Tony Romo’s celebrity, Donovan McNabb maneuverability or his brother Peyton’s right arm. But he doesn’t need to.
His way is different. It works for him and it works for the Giants.
When the ball rested at their own 32 yard line, trailing by four points and 4:39 was left on the clock, it was just another day at the office for Manning. Heck, after coming back to win the Super Bowl, no challenge is too much to for him to overcome.
With the help of his offensive line and the running of Derrick Ward, Manning use the rest of this talents to direct the Giants on a scoring drive to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, he was given a chance to win the game outright. Apparently, the Bengals were not given the heads up to not allow Manning this chance. Once again, his rallied his team down the field and set up kicker John Carney for the game winning field goal.
He had done it again. And in so many ways, it all looked routine. Nothing out of the ordinary, but something that has become routine.
For Manning, failure is never an option…not when the game is on the line.
Where does he rank among quarterbacks now? Not long ago, most people would have taken half of the league over Manning. Now, you would be hard pressed to find more than five quarterbacks in the league you would rather have than the man who wears number ten for the Football Giants.
It is because of him that the Giants, despite losing five of its defensive starters from the championship team, have a chance to make it through the tough terrain of the NFC East and attempt to repeat as world champions.
In Mann they trust.
Random Giants Thoughts
The drumbeat has already started. It pointed to this last week and it might hold true.
The Giants have a realistic possibility of starting the season 6-0. Here are their next three games:
Week 4 - vs. Seattle
Week 5 - at Cleveland
Week 6 - vs. San Francisco
Getting off to this type of start would put them on good footing in a division that harbor pro football top three teams.
13 wins will get you homefield advantage. Anything less will find the Giants attempting to be playoff road warriors once again.
Nice to see Kevin Boss find his way into the offense.
It wasn’t as if the Giants weren’t looking for him, but with all the weapons the offense has, catches are going to be hard to come by.
I am actually surprised Ahmad Bradshaw hasn’t been able to get many carries so far this season. He only had two on Sunday.
That’s what happens when you have Derrick Ward running great.
Justin Tuck and Fred Robbins are the defensive MVP’s to this point this season.
Is Kevin Dockery going to be my new whipping boy this season?
Back in the day, I may have been worried about the Giants losing on Sunday, but I was remarkably calm. Never did I allow myself to think the team could lose.
That is a far cry from what I used to think.
How about John Carney? Mr. AARP himself is poised to make some money with his performance this season.
He has not missed a field goal and has been great at directional kicking. It is making men his age reevaluate their couch potato lives.
The Giants have not started a season 4-0 since their 1990 Super Bowl season. When they play Seattle, they will get the chance.
Steve Smith is slowly becoming one of my favorite players. Yet, I will not buy his jersey for another year.
Is Sinorice Moss alive? I am still waiting for him to make it to the field again.
He has great speed. If he had the ability to return kicks and punts, he would have a role on this team.
But he cannot.
It is nice to hear no complaining about the linebackers alongside Antonio Pierce to this point.
That means they are playing well.
No comments:
Post a Comment