Eli Manning:
The Most Baffling Athlete in America

By: Aaron Fischman

 

What Will Eli Do Next? - January 16, 2008

As much as people try, no one can figure out Eli Manning. Although he continues to baffle the masses, we can cover the basic facts. These facts may give us a better understanding of where Eli's career has gone and where it is going in the future.

Let's start off with what we know. We know that Eli's father Archie was on the New Orleans "Ain'ts" and that he was a quarterback throughout the 70's and early 80's. Eli played in college for Ole Miss, just as his father had decades before. We also know that Eli's older brother, Peyton, currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts. Eli's background emphasizes the great amount of pressure he must deal with on a daily basis. Not only was his dad a decent NFL quarterback, but his older brother is a more talented QB than he is and plays for a better team. To add to all of this pressure, Eli was the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. Even if he was not a Manning, first overall picks tend to have high expectations, to say the least.

Manning was drafted by the Chargers but, before draft day, he made it quite clear that if drafted by them, he would refuse to sign. So the Chargers traded him for the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft, a third round selection in that same draft and the first and fifth round in the 2005 draft. The Giants chose Philip Rivers as the fourth pick as part of their agreement with the Chargers. The following year's pick (in 2005) was used to acquire Shawne Merriman. People will always remember that Manning was traded for Rivers and Merriman (among others, which includes San Diego's current kicker Nate Kaeding). Even if Eli is successful throughout his career, he will have to be more successful than sack machine Shawne Merriman and Philip Rivers to be respected.

To add to Eli's family background and draft position, he is playing in the toughest market in the NFL (New York). Eli is heavily criticized by the media (especially the New York media), Tiki Barber and many other "experts" across the land. According to naysayers, Eli is not a good leader. He isn't vocal enough in the huddle. He has poor body language, which reveals a lack of confidence in himself and his team. He can't handle the pressure from the defense. When he gets rattled, he commits too many turnovers. He completes a low percentage of his passes (this season Giant receivers have dropped quite a few passes, but even if they caught more Eli's completion percentage would still be low).

Now that we've looked at the negatives, what about the positives about Eli's game?

In the three seasons since his rookie year, Eli has had a record of 29-19. In each of these three years, the Giants have made the playoffs and this year the younger Manning has already won two playoff games. Prior to this season, he had never won in the playoffs. Even more remarkably, both playoff wins have come on the road, at Tampa Bay and Dallas. In the first two playoff games of Eli's career he threw a total of 4 interceptions and only 2 touchdowns. In contrast, Eli has totaled 4 touchdowns so far during this playoff run and he has yet to throw a single interception. He has also completed over 70% of his passes, which is out of character for him. Most importantly, Eli has pushed his team further in the playoffs than his older brother.

Now that Eli has performed well in the playoffs, some may be ready to brand him as a hero. However, it is way too early for that. This season Eli threw the most interceptions of his career (20). He also fumbled 13 times, losing 7 of those to the other team. Eli has always fumbled too much, but his previous career highs (or lows, depending on how you look at it) were 9 fumbles and 2 fumbles recovered by the opponent (those "highs" came in 2006-07 and 2005-06, respectively). Manning does not seem to be progressing (at least not statistically), but the Giants as a team have won two playoff games for the first time under his "leadership".

Eli's baffling ways began in his rookie season, when he lost his first six games as a starting QB. In one of those games Eli completed only 4 of 18 passes. However, Eli exploded -- seemingly out of nowhere -- for 3 touchdowns in the last game of that season in a winning effort against the Cowboys. That win ended the team's eight game losing streak, gave Eli his first career win and spread hope to Giants fans everywhere.

The next season (2005), things continued to go well for the Giants. In Manning's first full year as the starting quarterback, the Giants went 11-5. Early in the season Eli threw 4 touchdown passes against the St. Louis Rams. But four games later he threw 4 interceptions against the Minnesota Vikings. Overall the team was doing well under Manning, but they would lose at home to the Panthers in the opening round of the playoffs. In that deciding game Eli threw 3 picks.

In 2006 the Giants began 6-2 but finished with a mediocre record of 8-8. While many blamed the distraction of Tiki Barber's retirment for the poor finish, it remains unclear as to why the Giants tanked after such a great start. The G-Men lost again in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs; this time to the hated Philadelphia Eagles.

This year Manning has continued to baffle everyone. In the first and last games of the season (against Dallas and New England, respectively) Manning threw for 4 touchdowns. In the middle 14 games he only had 15 total TDs. So, with the exception of the first and last games, Eli only averaged a little more than 1 touchdown per game; obviously that is not very good. In Week 12, against the Vikings, Eli was picked off 4 times and three of those four were returned for defensive touchdowns. In terms of QB-WR chemistry, Eli and Plaxico Burress were unstoppable early on. But Burress' injuries appear to have caught up with him. The amazing thing about the Manning-Burress duo is that they never practice together. Due to injury Burress did not practice once all year, yet his and Manning's timing was in sync during games.

Even through all of the ups and downs of 2007-08, Eli Manning has his squad competing for the NFC Championship title this Sunday. The Giants are headed to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers, who are led by QB Brett Favre. After all of this analysis, I am still unsure whether Eli will become a stud or a dud. A hero or a goat. A Brett Favre or a Ryan Leaf.

Considering Eli's unpredictability, this playoff run may mean a great deal about his progression. But it may also mean nothing. It is entirely possible that any other mediocre quarterback could have rode the coattails of such a dominant defensive unit. The only way for us to gain any good IIEF (Inside Information on Eli's Future) in these playoffs is if the Giants win the Super Bowl because of Eli, not despite Eli. With that said, this possibility seems unlikely. But we will have to wait and see. With Eli, anything is truly possible.