jakegibbs
12-27-2011, 03:35 PM
1) His passer rating of 90.3 is ninth best in the NFL, but it’s also a full 10 points higher than his career mark through last season (80.2). With one game left in the season, he’s one pass attempt off his career high of 557 that he had in 2005 and just four off the career high of 339 completions he had a year ago.
2)Manning is tied for the league lead with five fourth-quarter comebacks this season; only San Francisco’s Alex Smith (really?) and Denver’s Tim Tebow have been as successful turning deficits into wins in the final 15 minutes.
This is also the first year that Manning has been called upon to win games on his own. The running game, a staple of New York Giant football dating back to the franchise’s roots in the 1920s, has been missing in action for much of the season. Even with three 100-yard efforts in the last four games, the Giant rushing attack is still ranked 32nd—dead last—in the league.
3) Sunday’s Battle of New York was not a vintage Eli Manning performance. He was just 9-for-27—by far his worst completion percentage in a game this season—and he was picked off once.
But Manning being off his game wasn’t enough to doom the Giants to defeat, something that may not have been the case earlier in his career.
4) The baby face can be deceptive. I know I have to remind myself sometimes that Manning’s not a kid anymore. He’s a 30-year-old veteran who will be making his 119th career regular-season start when the Dallas Cowboys come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Among current starting quarterbacks, only Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck and Drew Brees have more experience (Peyton Manning goes back to the top of the list when he’s healthy, of course).
So there’s really nothing left that Eli hasn’t seen. He’s taken a team to a Super Bowl title from the No. 6 seed. He’s led a team to the top overall seed.
Is Eli Manning in a class by himself as a quarterback? No. But as Bum Phillips once observed, if he’s not in a class by himself, it sure don’t take long to call the roll.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/998843-eli-manning-and-the-4-things-weve-learned-about-him-in-2011#/articles/998843-eli-manning-and-the-4-things-weve-learned-about-him-in-2011/page/5
2)Manning is tied for the league lead with five fourth-quarter comebacks this season; only San Francisco’s Alex Smith (really?) and Denver’s Tim Tebow have been as successful turning deficits into wins in the final 15 minutes.
This is also the first year that Manning has been called upon to win games on his own. The running game, a staple of New York Giant football dating back to the franchise’s roots in the 1920s, has been missing in action for much of the season. Even with three 100-yard efforts in the last four games, the Giant rushing attack is still ranked 32nd—dead last—in the league.
3) Sunday’s Battle of New York was not a vintage Eli Manning performance. He was just 9-for-27—by far his worst completion percentage in a game this season—and he was picked off once.
But Manning being off his game wasn’t enough to doom the Giants to defeat, something that may not have been the case earlier in his career.
4) The baby face can be deceptive. I know I have to remind myself sometimes that Manning’s not a kid anymore. He’s a 30-year-old veteran who will be making his 119th career regular-season start when the Dallas Cowboys come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Among current starting quarterbacks, only Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck and Drew Brees have more experience (Peyton Manning goes back to the top of the list when he’s healthy, of course).
So there’s really nothing left that Eli hasn’t seen. He’s taken a team to a Super Bowl title from the No. 6 seed. He’s led a team to the top overall seed.
Is Eli Manning in a class by himself as a quarterback? No. But as Bum Phillips once observed, if he’s not in a class by himself, it sure don’t take long to call the roll.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/998843-eli-manning-and-the-4-things-weve-learned-about-him-in-2011#/articles/998843-eli-manning-and-the-4-things-weve-learned-about-him-in-2011/page/5