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| "Hey Bro, You hear that I'm better than you are?" |
“Always the "lesser" Manning, Eli's
quiet ascendancy turns up the volume on the debate over which brother is really
better.”
-ESPN’s tease of Rick Reilly’s weekly column on January 20, 2012
For years, Eli Manning has been viewed under a
microscope, partly because he is Peyton’s younger brother, but also partly
because he was a number one overall draft pick who took the prima donna turn
and told the team that drafted him, the San Diego Chargers, that he, under no
circumstances, would play for them. For years, he has been viewed as an
underachiever who never lived up to the hype. Even after “the luckiest play in
the history of the Super Bowl” – you know the play – won him the Lombardi
Trophy and the game’s MVP (how does this award remain nameless. Hello Joe
Montana Trophy) nobody gave him the credit he deserved. How was he NOT
recognized by mainstream media after leading the Giants - or, as I like them
called, because it sounds so damn effeminate, the G-Men – to two whole
touchdowns, throwing for two-hundred-and-fifty-five impressive yards in the
process? The world’s an unfair place, Eli, get your fucking
helmet.
Seriously though, Eli Manning wasn’t nearly as poor as
some writers would have you believe. But, that’s what happens when you’re the
quarterback of the Giants, you get scrutinized. How can you not? Look at the
illustrious list of QBs that preceded Eli. There’s Simms and, well, YA Tittle,
and, um, Jeff Hostetler? OK, bad example. Still, being the signal caller in New
York – or, for the literal folks, New Jersey – and bullying your way onto the
team, you’re going to be scrutinized, even if you’re brother isn’t one of the
best quarterbacks who snapped on a chinstrap.
Look at what Eli has done in his career:
·
First, he has started every game in seven full
seasons, covering one-hundred-twelve games, the third longest streak (for a QB)
in the HISTORY OF THE N-F-FUCKING-L.
·
He has thrown for four-thousand-plus yards in
three consecutive seasons, and more than three-thousand in every full year of
his career.
·
He has never thrown less than twenty touchdowns
in a full season and has never thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in a
season.
·
He has NEVER had a losing season under center,
winning sixty-nine games (a hair under ten per year) and boasts a .580 winning
percentage.
·
He set the NFL record for fourth-quarter
touchdown passes in 2011 with fifteen.
He’s had a very nice career, certainly better than what
the media reports. He’s played football in January a lot, and has been
relatively successful doing it. He’s stopped hearts then defribulated them
back. And, he’s never been better than he was this season, and seems to be
trending upward. It is no less reasonable to think that he could be donning the
mustard yellow coat in Canton than it would be to consider the same for Aaron
Rodgers. He certainly will be remembered for his time in the NFL.
But, debating if he is better than Peyton?
Really?
