Time To Give Eli Manning His Due

AP Photo

I couldn't help but notice how many NFL analysts
and announcers were almost going out of there way
to proclaim Eli Manning as an Elite quarterback
yesterday. By that I don't mean that they were
saying he was a "GREAT" quarterback, I mean they were
all making it a point to use the word "ELITE".

To me this was a clear indication that the fact that
many of you, and even some of them didn't believe he
deserved that title, was a thought that was out there.
The ESPN Twitter feed even Tweeted this after the game:

Eli Manning’s Career Playoff Victims: Aaron Rodgers,
Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia

You can't help but notice that, that is quite the list,
and that "if" he wins the Super Bowl again this season
this he will either add Joe Flacco to that list or double
up on Tom Brady, and the latter is even more impressive.
For those of you who for years have been of the school
that Peyton is so much better than Eli, and I was one of
you, I will go on record as saying that is has reached the
point that Peyton is still better, but by very, little.
Thing is "if" he does go on to win that Super Bowl, he
will have two titles, and be two for two, whereas Peyton
will have just one, and be one for two.

I've said this before, and it's always worth repeating:
perception is reality, and since Eli does not come off
as one of the more cerebral players in the league, the
initial impression is that he's dumb, and he has clearly
shown that, that is the furthest thing form the truth.
No matter how much you try and avoid that sort of thinking
we are all guilty of it at some point. I guess that works
the other why too. It's probably why I think that Heisman
Trophy winner RG III is going to be a great pro. he is so
polished and well versed ion front of the camera, that he
leads you to believe that he is bright, in command, and
destined for success.

Anyway you want to slice this, he's earned it. I mentioned
in an earlier piece that I wasn't very impressed with the
breaking of Dan Marino's record by Drew Brees, as much as
I think he's a great Quarterback, because of how much both
Wide receivers and Quarterbacks receive these days as opposed
to when Marino broke the record, and yet in the same breath
I will tell you that he finished 67 yards shy of 5000 yards,
and 543 behind Brees, even though Brees had 68 more passing
attempts than Eli, about two games worth really of you figure
the typical QB throws about 34 passes per game. Just for fun
though, if you take that many attempts and multiply it by his
completion percentage, then Eli would have only finished a
mere 223 yards behind Brees, but that's all just speculation,
and theory. What isn't speculation and theory is that Eli is
still in this thing and Drew and that guy named Tebow are home
getting all healed up for next season. Time to step up, Eli
has more than arrived and Giants fans as well as fans around
the league need to now understand what they have.