NY Giants learn to follow leader in Eli Manning when the heat is on
Eli Manning, the quarterback who saved his worst for last a season ago, is finishing with a flourish this year.
He saved the Giants’ season on Sunday.
He has brought them back from the dead with five come-from-behind wins.
Now, just months after proclaiming that he was one of the best QBs in the NFL, he is on the verge of leading the Giants back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season — and his teammates say they expect him to continue his elite play against Washington on Sunday.
“He’s going keep it up,” wideout Hakeem Nicks said of Manning. “We’re going to help him keep it up. And we’re going to keep it up as a team.”
That’s not what happened last year. A season ago, Manning got things off to a solid start en route to a career-best 31 TD passes and his second career 4,000-yard campaign.
But he floundered when the Giants needed him most, throwing nine interceptions against just eight TD passes as Big Blue fell out of the playoff race in December and January. He saved his worst performance for one of the most important games of the season, getting intercepted four times in a 45-17 loss to the Packers. This year’s Giants rarely discuss that letdown, but former Big Blue DT Barry Cofield seemed more than happy to reminisce about that performance on Thursday.
“Hes a completely different animal right now. Hes playing unbelievable,” said Cofield, now a Redskin. “If he would have played this well last year, we might have given Green Bay a run for their money.”
Nicks insists that is in the past, and “last year is last year.” The Giants wideout says he’s seen a different, more unflappable, Manning this season.
The quarterback, who in August proclaimed himself to be in the same league as Tom Brady, is closing in on 5,000 passing yards, and he has recorded the first three 400-yard games of his career. And when he threw an interception early in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys last week, instead of folding, he recovered and led the Giants to 15 points on their next two possessions.
“No (quit),” Manning said. “None at all.”
“The kind of zone he’s in, that kind of slump like last year isn’t going to affect him very much,” added wideout Victor Cruz. “And us, as a core, have been concerned with making sure last year doesn’t happen.”
That’s because the Giants believe in the quarterback. Manning gets little credit as a vocal, emotional leader, but Ahmad Bradshaw says he sees the line blocking harder, and notices the offense feeding off Manning’s energy.
“He has to play good to make everybody else step up,” Bradshaw said. “The running game, the receivers . . . hes playing great, so everyone else can play off of him.”
That quiet swagger can make up for many things. Yes, the weather is growing colder. No, the running game is not what it once was. And yes, the mighty Jets’ defense and the always-dangerous Cowboys will follow this week’s game against the Redskins.
But none of that concerns the Giants right now.
“He has a lot of confidence in what he can do right now,” said Bradshaw. “Once Eli feels that way and feels comfortable with his guys, he tends to play better.”
