Eli Hushes the Critics

Eli Manning has had to endure much criticism the last couple of years as the starting quarterback of the New York Giants.
New York football fans were content to give him a season or two to flourish, with most noting that big brother Peyton didn't exactly set the league on fire in his first season or two as a starter, either.
Peyton started full-time as a rookie in 1998 at 22 years old. First off, the '98 Colts had a better offensive line and a more solid coaching staff than the '04 Giants did for Eli.
Peyton went into the '98 season knowing he would be the starter, and in his first 16 games with the Colts, he threw 26 touchdowns, which is definitely impressive, especially for a rookie. But, he also threw 28 interceptions, which will kill a lot of scoring drives.
Eli began his rookie season on the bench behind starting quarterback Kurt Warner. After several games had already been played in the '04 season, Eli was thrown into the fire cold at 23 years old. He only threw six TD's, but he also threw just nine picks.
Peyton's numbers improved over the next few seasons, with his completion percentage continually rising, and his interceptions continually on the decline.
Eli's critics began to speak about his regression in '06, when he threw for fewer yards, the same amount of TD's (24), and one more INT than the previous year.
I can not say these things without adding that I was one of Eli's biggest critics.
I spoke openly about how he looked confused on the field, was not becoming the leader that the Giants need, and how basically he was costing the Giants football games.
With that said, let's just say that I'm glad that I am not the Giants General Manager.
Giants' management, whether it was the front office or the coaching staff, continued to believe in Eli, although there were many times that I wasn't quite sure why.
As we all saw, it was the right choice to make. Eli proved myself and a lot of others wrong when we called for his head. He stood tall through it all and stunned the world, literally, when he drove the Giants down field and threw what would be the winning touchdown of Super Bowl XLII, making history by stopping history, as the then 18-0 New England Patriots were finally defeated.
Unfortunately for the Pats, they are going to go down as probably the worst 18-1 NFL team ever. Because the one loss was the biggest game of the year - the game that should have been their coronation of a perfect season. Especially when you consider that the Patriots were not met by the NFC favorites. In fact, it was a Wild Card team, a team that had to go on the road and beat first Tampa Bay, and then on to the cities that were boasting the two best teams in the NFC: Dallas and Green Bay.
In the games against Dallas, Green Bay, and New England, the critics' picks were lopsided against New York each week.
Each week on ESPN, Fox Sports and CBS, most of the so-called "experts" picked the Giants to lose.
First, they said that the Cowboys were the best team in the conference.
Then, they said that it was Brett Favre's year. That with all of the records that he broke this year, and the fact that he took his team further than anyone would have guessed, suggested a win for the Pack, especially on the frozen tundra of Green Bay.
So, the season seemd to be on Favre's side. Throw in the week 2 game between the two teams where the Giants looked terrible at the Meadowlands and fell to 0-2, and it was basically a no-brainer that the Packers would win. Or, so one would have thought.
Instead, New York took the Packers to the brink, with the game being decided in overtime by the foot of Lawrence Tynes, another Giant who had his ups and downs this year.
The Super Bowl was the next stop for Eli and the boys. Again, few in the media gave the Giants any serious chance at all to win.
The Patriots were 18-0, and cruised through the season. They also beat New York in week 17, another point that was supposed to be in their favor.
It was supposed to be destiny for the Pats, the first time in 35 years that a team went into the Super Bowl with the chance to play an undefeated schedule.
To write a movie with those circumstances and have the Giants win the game, people wouldn't believe it. It wouldn't make a dime at the box office because it would be looked at as corny and predictable.
But Eli did just that. He watched his defense completely dominate what was supposed to be the best offense in the NFL, and make them look like a flag football team.
He moved his team strategically down the field, and even though they fell short a few times in the first half, when they should have been up by at least 14 points, Manning did not lose his confidence one bit.
Manning did what he had to do when he had to do it. He bounced back from a 14-10 deficit with less than three minutes remaining in the game and drove his team down the field for the winning touchdown.
Eli may have been inconsistent for some, or even most, of the season. But he played in the clutch so well, and produced such fantastic results, that he truly showed the mark of a champion.
Eli Manning is a Super Bowl champion and MVP, and that's enough to shut everyone's mouth.