Eli - Against All Odds - Again

Everyone heard what Eli Manning said at the beginning of this year about being in the same elite class as Tom Brady.  People laughed at the idea, it was so preposterous. Sure, Manning led his team to victory over Brady's in Super Bowl XLII, but that was just a freakish streak of games for a quarterback that had a terrific surrounding cast.

Of course when you compare yourself to the golden boy of the NFL (the one without a neck brace), you are bound to rub some people the wrong way.  At that point in his career Eli had beaten Brett Favre in the NFC Title game at Lambeau field and Brady in the Super Bowl, which -- as impressive as it is-- is not enough to compare yourself to one of the all-time greats.  Eli just spoke his mind and showed a rare bit of vocal self-confidence, and a whole can of worms (labeled "Elite Quarterbacks") was opened.

This added another little storyline to the Giants/Patriots matchup in week 9. Up to that point in the season, both Manning and Brady had played top-notch football and ranked among the cream of the crop statistically.  In what will go down as one of the best regular season games in Giants history, Eli one-upped Brady and the Pats with two touchdowns as time was winding down.  As expected, this only made an ugly and over-publicized issue worse.  Whenever ESPN wasn't caught up in Tebowmania, they would debate where Manning ranked in the quarterback pecking order.

As the season went on and the Giants began to struggle, the conversation seemed to lull until week 13 when Aaron Rodgers' Packers invaded Metlife Stadium.  Manning hung with Green Bay's QB the duration of the game, but New York's defense just looked foolish for 60 minutes as Rodgers shredded the secondary whenever the ball was in his hands.  The Giants' woes continued as they fell 38-35.

Manning's play was the one constant through a season of ups and downs, but eventually the defense came together just in time.  With wins over the Jets and Cowboys in the last two games of the season, Eli's team managed to slip into the postseason with a 9-7 record.

In the first round, New York drew a home game against the Atlanta Falcons where they dominated every aspect of the game.  Matt Ryan's offense failed to score once while Manning's unit scored three times through the air, en route to a 24-2 New York victory that set up a rematch with the 15-1 Packers.

Once again, in order for the Giants to advance to the Super Bowl, they had to go through Lambeau.  Considering that Green Bay receivers dropped 8 passes, Aaron Rodgers played another great game, but Manning managed to outplay another Packers quarterback on a playoff stage and brought his team to the NFC Title game for the second time in five years.

Now here we are.  The Giants are one win away from a possible rematch with Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, but you can bet that the Pats will be ready this time.

Nobody is laughing at Manning now.  In what has been the best season of his career Eli has added several signature wins to his resume, this time without the help on an elite defense.  Eli's provocative statement at the beginning of the year now seems a whole lot less silly.

At this point, I don't think that Eli has any doubt that he is on Brady's level, it's just the rest of the sports world that is still stubbornly holding onto doubts.  Eli has an opportunity to add to his growing pile of accolades by possibly advancing in the tournament and defeating Tom Brady's Patriots.  Again. 

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