Loading ..."Poor Eli Manning” is a compilation of quotes by both the media and fans about New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl XLII & XLVI MVP Eli Manning.
Despite his success, negativity and doubt have followed Peyton’s younger brother since the moment he was traded from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Giants on draft day of 2004. Regardless of what he does or how well he performs – even in a league that lives and dies by the motto, “What have you done for me lately?” – he is questioned and criticized.
In Sunday's 27-23 victory over the Washington Redskins, Manning completed 26 of his 40 passes (65%) for 337 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. And although he led the game-winning drive, which was capped off by a 77-yard touchdown to wide receiver Victor Cruz, he did struggle for most of the game. In fact, he acknowledged as much in his post-game press conference.
After two very solid weeks of football, his struggles on Sunday -and especially his two interceptions- have paved the way for his doubters and detractors to return to the forefront. Additionally, there was some legitimate criticism worked in, but the vast majority were all over Eli just for the sake of being all over Eli. It's precisely why this column will last as long as Eli's NFL career.
Rob Parker, ESPN
"I say [Eli Manning] for front runner for MVP? No way, no how. He's come back and beaten some bad teams when he's looked terrible early on, [but] they've only beaten one team with a winning record. You struggle against Cleveland and Tampa Bay and even those others where you have to pull out miracles at the end. Even Washington, that had to be a blown coverage. That's an easy throw for most QBs to make. Cruz was wide open. … When it comes to Super Bowl's, yes he's been impressive, but maybe with a little asterisk because it was against an aging Tom Brady and Patriots who haven't won since spygate."
Dan Graziano, ESPN
"I watched that game Sunday, for those three hours, the best player on that field was not the two-time Super Bowl MVP. He got the last laugh, sure. And everyone who reads this blog regularly knows how I feel about Manning. But as of this moment, he's a notch behind Griffin for the starting quarterback spot on the All-NFC East Team."
MJD, Yahoo! Sports
"Let's not go overboard in kneeling at the feet of Eli Manning for being clutch. It was a good read and a good throw, but more than anything else, that was a bust by the Redskins. Safety Madieu Williams guessed wrong on a route and paved Cruz a yellow-brick road to the end zone."
DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins
"For [Eli] to say that in the first half he picked up on it and to not make a play until the last play of the game? I don't know how well he picked up on it. I feel we gave him that play. It wasn't something where he was a rocket scientist and he figured something out. We just played that as bad as possible."
“I give Eli Manning credit, of course … but Victor Cruz – he’s making Eli a bigger star and there’s no doubt about it.”
Ed Valentine, Big Blue View
"Not Eli's best day. Yes, he had the game-winning throw to Cruz. Yes, he passes for 337 yards. Manning threw two horrid interceptions, though. He also left a lot of plays — and points — on the table with errant throws that looked more like the beginning of his career Manning."
Brad Gagnon, Bleacher Report
"What was wrong with Eli Manning against Washington? I mean, the play to Cruz masks it all for most of us, but I didn't like what I saw from a less-accurate-than-usual Manning for much of Sunday's game at MetLife."
Burberry Shawty, Twitter
"I seriously think Eli Manning got Down syndrome or some type of sprinkle of retardation cause he ugly and talk slow."
Renegade., Twitter
"Eli manning is the perfect example of a no talent hack who gets lucky by randomly chucking a football down field."
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I’m starting to agree with the others that these type of articles should die and go back to hell from where they came. Still can’t believe more people visit the site to read articles like these…
With that said, the only one that made a legit point was Ed Valentine.
Also, LOL at shawty’s comment….’he got dat down syndrome cuz he uglie’
“I seriously think Eli Manning got Down syndrome or some type of sprinkle of retardation cause he ugly and talk slow.”
Well said. Hard to argue against such silver-tongued eloquence.
It sounds cruel, but if Baas is hurt again then we really need to start looking for a center. He’s good … I like him … but he’s been bitten hard by the injury bug. At the very least we need a capable backup.
Repost:
TonyMW says:
October 24, 2012 at 11:56 AM
+1
For all the talk of us losing Shockey, Toomer, Plax and then having multiple combinations of WR’s thus far in 2012, I think it’s safe to say that Eli f’n Manning is the common denominator here. Regardless of how “great” everyone is or can be, Eli usually puts the ball into a spot that it just can’t be dropped. While I’d love to keep Nicks AND Cruz, WR isn’t the only position on the team. I think the coaching staff has enough confidence in Eli raising the level of play around him that they won’t risk losing another key piece of the puzzle to afford a “luxury”. Having 2 potential top 5 WR’s (when healthy) is just that, a luxury.
Reply
BLU-82 says:
October 24, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Eli is the common denominator. He makes everyone he throws to look better than they are. But don’t underrate Nicks or Cruz either. Those two are both legitimate number one’s. We certainly can get by without one of them, but we do become less dynamic.
I would rather build on a strength than degrade it to maintain an area of lesser strength. If we are going to take away from our offense, I want to see decisions which result in a vastly improved defense. Otherwise we’re in the same boat as we were but short a pretty good downfield threat. This is especially true because the defense has been the least consistent component of our team. We have a lot of talent on that side of the ball, plenty of young and cheap talent mind you, that sometimes doesn’t perform up to snuff.
Why throw more talent at an area that already has many of the tools it needs and hasn’t been able to put it together on a consistent basis? Especially when it appears that guys like Will Hill, Stevie brown, Prince, and Hosley can all be the next man up.
Reply
If it came down to a scenario where it’s “keep Nicks but lose Phillips or Webster”, I think I’d have to side with Nicks on that. I just don’t think it’s as simple as “losing player A to keep player B”. The fact of the matter is that we have a bunch of players nearing the end of their contracts, some very valuable and some role player/expendable types. If potentially losing a “luxury” (face it, having Nicks and Cruz IS a luxury) means keeping other valuable pieces that may not be so easily replaced, sign me up.
I still personally think that if Webster doesn’t regain his form and/or take less money, he’s as good as gone. I just can’t see him staying on the books for 7 million (?) at this rate. Anyone know the ramifications of cutting Boley loose? Just an inquiry……I love what Boley has done for the team, but is his high salary worth it when you have a couple of guys that can offer something similar?
Nicks, Cruz and a legitimate #3 make up the combination that turns us into a Superbowl contender. They’re the bullets in Eli’s gun. Reese can finesse the rest of the team with impugnity. But if he gets cute there then we’ll go from a serious threat to a “good team”.
There’s a handful of difference makers. You need to keep those 5-6 guys.
See, I just have to disagree there. We as fans are getting extremely spoiled in thinking that we need 2 stud WR’s to be an elite offense. (Kind of reminds me of everyone thinking we NEED 3 stud DE’s to be a productive D-line). I think with Eli at the helm we’d be just fine (as proven by your depth stepping up in Nicks’ absence). What I love to keep Nicks and Cruz together until they retire? Absolutely. I just don’t think it’s possible without potentially jeopardizing other aspects of the team. Sure a lot of these guys are technically replaceable, but where do the replacements come from? The draft? Far from a sure thing. Free agency? Not a huge fan. I may be the only one with this line of thought, but I like to keep as high of a number of our own proven productive players as possible.
With that said, I DO think that both Nicks and Cruz are retained. This is not an indication of what I think Reese will actually do. Just brainstorming.
I agree with everything you said except that both Cruz and Nicks will be retained. Steve Smith was thought to be someone we couldn’t lose. JR is cold blooded and will make a decision that’s not emotional. I think in the end like you said 2 elite WRs are needed to be an elite offense and one of the WRs will go elsewhere after next season.
See, for my money (Full disclosure: I have none), when you have players on your roster that allow you to create huge mismatches, you just can’t let that go. We didn’t -need- three stud DE’s, but having them made opposing teams face unique, difficult situations, and that caused ripple effects all over the field. By generating those mismatches, we made the opposition work harder to achieve the results they wanted.
The same applies with our offense in this case. Putting two number 1′s on the field isn’t necessary and the offense can function without them. But instead of worrying about having your #2 CB on a top level receiver alone is bad news, so that means teams need to bring in safety help, which opens up the run more effectively and makes our whole offense more effective. I mean- I’m sure you know how it works.
I’m not saying we wouldn’t be a contender without those two on our field, but we’d have tougher sledding as a result. We would have to work harder instead of the other way around. A number 1 receiver fell into our laps unexpectedly in Cruz, and he’s undoubtedly one of the biggest offensive playmakers in the league to boot. We have it, why let it walk?
If that means letting other guys go, that’s ok. As has been mentioned, if we need to lose Martellus, well that would chap my @ss a little but we saw what Eli did with Ballard. Next man up, please. Although yeah, his blocking would be very sorely missed.
If that means losing Beatty- well, that’s a tougher decision but I still think you go Cruz. But I’m glad I don’t make that call, have fun with that one Jerry. And if we’re losing KP, C. Web, perhaps even Boley? All would piss me off a little as all are very valuable, but we have tough decisions to make. I just think Cruz and Nicks are THAT valuable in terms of what they bring to the offense and what they open up for Eli.
Oh- and remember, we have jerruh and dan snyder in our division. Both would pounce on Cruz, and despite our dear leader’s best efforts, both retain a lot of cap space. Food for thought. And that applies to anyone we let walk, but if you thought djax was a horror to watch against our defensive backfield, imagine the horror of Cruz. Again, just food for thought.
Goat- With all due respect, Steve Smith is NOT Cruz or Nicks and he would have never been on their level. Especially after the injury.
I also don’t think this is going to be an issue of us losing Cruz OR Nicks. At this point, if either goes it will be Nicks. I’d imagine a Cruz deal would have to be done before the start of the 2013 season.
In regards to losing Beatty, I don’t think there is anyway we can let that happen. We’ve been mediocre at that position for a while now (for any Diehl homers, yes he played admirably but was a HUGE liability imo). I think that the LT position is one of the most difficult positions to fill sufficiently, and it looks like we have a guy trending up. At this point I have to take Beatty over Nicks.
I agree that Beatty is a critical element of the offense at this point. He’s developed into a stud LT. If it came down to Cruz, Nicks, and Beatty and we could only retain two, I’ll just say I’m very glad I am not JR.
My point about Steve Smith isn’t that he was as good as Cruz as now but that he was looked at as being as irreplaceable and maybe moreso. Let’s not forget that Steve Smith set several franchise records himself and was the first Giant’s probowl WR in ages. I know the JAG he’s become but not’s not forget what he was.
It’s no question out of those 3 Beatty would definitely be one of the 2 retained. Not even close. Not a difficult decision.
Let’s not get into Beatty/Cruz/Nicks, haha. I think they’re all critical. I lean to Beatty, but don’t think JR would put himself in a position to choose between the three as we drafted him to become what he is now and as I’ve made pretty clear, my stance is they are all invaluable to the offense.
Anyway I disagree that Nicks and Cruz won’t both be retained, I think JR will make that happen. But that’s crystal ball talk anyway.
SS sure seemed invaluable, but we would have felt his loss much more acutely if not for the emergence of Cruz who literally fell into our laps. Who’s your slot guy without SS and Cruz? We didn’t have one, IMO, till Cruz emerged.
He not only replicated what SS did, he brought a level of explosiveness to that position which we’d never dreamt of. We don’t win the SB, imo, without Cruz.
So just like Cruz emerged someone else will emerge. It might be like how Hixon has emerged to replace MM. Hixon isn’t better than MM but good enough that we don’t feel a big drop off. It’s not like JR knew Cruz would be Cruz. But JR knew we had enough possible solutions that the $ for Smith wasn’t worth it.
We have been a top 10 offense for 5 years. We were a top offense before Cruz and Nicks and we will still be one if we can’t retain one of them. It’s not to say the loss wouldn’t hurt but it’s one that we could overcome because we have other talented and young talent at RB and TE that should make those positions stronger by 2014.
Seriously, enough with the Twitter comments. They are despicable. Why do you even give them credence?
A few of the other comments were not exactly off track for that particular game.
If Eli has a bad game (which he did, despite the win) why should he be beyond reproach? You guys have to man up. lol!
If we can’t say anything ‘not wonderful’ about RG3 … peace and blessings be upon him … then it’s only fair that the same courtesy be extended to a 2 time Superbowl MVP.
Because the comments are absolutely ridiculous and are not just criticizing him for a couple of bad throws. It’s not just “reproach” for the game. It’s the notion of them saying he is a “lucky” QB.
norm:
Last thread you said the Giants’ defense has been playing badly and relying too heavily on TOs much like Green Bay’s last season. I responded but then realize there was an UUT so here’s my repost of it:
I see what you’re saying, but “bend or break” or not, the Giants’ defense is 9th in the league in opposing PPG. Yeah, the Packers forced a lot of turnovers last season, but they also ranked 19th in the league in opposing PPG, so I think comparing the Giants to GB is a little unfair.
The Giants gave up a lot of yards last year too, but when it was time to shut opponents down, they did. As long as they’re not giving up points, I’m fine. Sure, it would be nice for the D to not make us sweat every game, but as long as it is getting the job done, everything is cool.
They seem to be rounding into form. I’m sort of discounting last week. Gimmick offenses always work against us. We’ll have a much better read after Sunday’s game.
Agree w/ Krow here. Before last week they were playing really well, and they did look good a points last week, save a few broken coverages and some insane plays by Griffin. Now they get a chance to play a defense which was traditional, but owned the Giants D line in week one. If they’re playing as well as they looked lately, we’ll know for sure on Sunday afternoon.
I think that with the style of defense we run, regardless of gimmicks, we’re going to see a few games where we let up 400+ yds against good offenses. If we indeed continue to stay in the top 10 in points allowed, maintain at least 2 TO’s per game (we currently have 18 in 3 games) and prove this is not due to a small sample size, I’ll take the 380 ypg allowed. With our offense, I’ll still feel pretty good about our chances in the playoffs.
*Obviously 18 in 7 games
Also, it seem we’re tied for 6th in 3rd down percentage. That may have something to do w/ converting a lot on the first 2 downs (don’t know the numbers there), but at least it shows we can make stops when we absolutely have to.
Last week should be an outlier considering it was an prolific running offense largely driven by option plays. But the fact that we were able to force a number of turnovers and substantial pressure on RG3 makes up for whatever yards we gave up.
If we keep giving a buttload of yards for the next couple weeks, that would be cause for concern. As for now, though, we seem to getting better with each coming week.
If we give up a ton of yards to a less than stellar Cowboys team w/ a wounded running game and can’t force a ton of turnovers and/or lose by a fairly substantial margin….consider me officially worried.
if this doesn’t get KD back, nothing will:
http://florida.arrests.org/Arrests/Angel_Lugo_5461015/
Ummm !!!
That guy was pretty entertaining. Seems as though is has to be him and it’s always nice to put a face with a screen name. Especially one that will live on in G101 infamy.
Here’s one for you Benton! Apparently, DeAgenlo Fall believes they gave the Giants the win. Teams are generious like that. Santana Moss fumbled on purpose. Slow motion shows he willingly dropped the ball for the Giants to pounce on.
“I don’t feel like he made that play. I feel we gave him that play,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said, via the Washington Examiner. “We just had one guy set his feet, and one guy not do this. I could have thrown that ball, and he would have scored. It wasn’t something where he was a rocket scientist, and he figured something out. We just played that as bad as possible.”
Haha, the Giants are firing back:
Cruz told the media that what Hall said about him was “a little disrespectful.”
Manning fired back at Hall by saying, “I appreciate him giving it to me. I don’t think it took a rocket scientist either. A guy was running open and I hit him.”
Giants defensive end Justin Tuck also gave his thoughts on Hall.
“DeAngelo Hall is not that smart,” said Tuck.
http://profootballzone.com/nfl/giants-players-rip-deangelo-hall-for-his-comments/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=giants-players-rip-deangelo-hall-for-his-comments
Hall also added, “I could have thrown that ball and he would’ve scored.”
Good discussion today, no doubt prompted by the reemergence of the Cruz contract issue. For my money, winning teams solidify and develop their core. More specifically, a GM must continue cultivate playmakers at certain offensive and defensive positions–QB, LT, WR and DE. Other positions are important (eg. You can’t win in 2012 with hot garbage in your defensive backfield), but just as certain positions are worth more draft capital, so to are certain positions worth more of your salary cap expenditures. For us, the core is and ought to be comprised of Eli, Beatty, Nicks, Cruz and JPP. Everyone else is negotiable, so long as we have those 5 guys locked up, we will be in contention. I look at guys like Boothe, Phillips and Bennett as guys we really want around (especially the latter two) but cannot afford to break the bank for if it means jeopardizing the longterm viability of the core. By the same token, Osi, Tuck, Rolle, Bradshaw, Canty, Boley and Webster are all going to need to be reevaluated in light of the talent behind them and their respective contract costs.
I wouldn’t want to be Reese in these next few seasons, but we should all feel supremely confident that he will make the tough decisions and that he has a firm grasp of what it takes to build a championship team. And should we lose one of these core players, we should rest assure that Reese will just go and unearth another beast in the draft and free agency. It’s what he does.