Eli Manning is Now A Real Player
“What counts in sports is not the victory, but the magnificence of the struggle.”
- Joe Paterno
That just about sums up the experience between Giants fans and Eli Manning in the past 3 or 4 years. Some light, but mostly misery. In 2005, Eli’s first full season as a starter for the Giants, he had his best statistical year, throwing for 3,700 yards, with 24 touchdowns 
and only 17 interceptions. He had good moments, he had bad moments. The Giants finished that year 11-5, only to be shut out by the Carolina Panthers in their first post season game, 23-0. In 2006, Giants fans began to be impatient of Manning. It had been 3 years since his rookie season, and still, he played like a rookie, with no experience, and breaking down in the pressure. In 2006, Eli threw 301-522, with 24 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. The Giants, who melted down at the end of the season, finished at 8-8, good enough to earn the last seed of the Wild Card. Hoping to finally win a postseason game, Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and the New York Giants took on the Philadelphia Eagles, in a game so close until the end, when David Akers knocked in the game winning field goal. In the beginning of the 2007 NFL Season, things were looking very gloomy for Eli Manning. The Giants began the year at 0-2, and nothing was going their way. People were calling in WFAN saying the Giants should have held on to Rivers, drafted Big Ben, and all the common New Yorker complaints. I stuck with him, still saying he was an ok QB, just that he needed some time to adapt to the NFL. When the Giants went on their 6-0 surge, after the 0-2 start, things started getting bright. However, fans were still complaining about Eli Manning (who really was not doing much – most, if not all games were won by the exceptional play by the Giants defense and the many rushing yards that Brandon Jacobs and soon to be hurt Derrick Ward were racking up) and were booing him off the field at times. Towards the season, somebody must have walked up to Eli and knocked him in the head, because at some point near the end of the season, everything changed. Eli Manning was playing the way he was supposed to be. He was making smart passes, stepping up in the clutch (which was really one of the best parts), and most of all, winning games.
In the last 3 playoff games from the Giants, Eli Manning has been as good as anyone could have expected. According to Yahoo.com, Eli Manning has 4 touchdowns and no interceptions after the three playoff games. He has looked as sharp as can be in all games (especially the first two games- the Green Bay game he didn’t have any touchdowns), and was throwing the big passes when they needed it.
I really believe that finally, the wait is over. Eli Manning is here, and he is going to be a superstar for a long time. Us Giants fans just have to give him a break here.
