Eli-te Manning?

Okay here is the issue at hand: Eli Manning's Giants are in the Super Bowl. That is one line I never thought would happen this year. The Giants have benefited from Eli's exceptional play as he has shown that he now is one of the star quarterbacks of the league.

Eli Manning has always had the hype and for the most part he has backed it up but always came up short in the end. Even back in his days at Ole Miss, Eli was projected as being not only the best Manning, but also possibly one of the best quarterbacks to play the game. At Ole Miss I watched Eli in several games over his career and even saw him in person when he came to Auburn in 2003. In that game Eli produced a consistent level of throws that led his team to the win but I really came away from the game more impressed with Jason Campbell's ability than what Eli showed me. Eli has never been one to wow me. Week in and week out the top QB's in the NFL produce throws and games that show me why they get paid millions of dollars. Eli never quite showed me the same caliber of talent of Brady, Favre, Brees, Palmer, and older bro Peyton. Now do not get me wrong Eli certainly has had his fair share of good games but even his best games I rate him as good but never Great.

It may seem that I'm just not a big fan of Eli but that's not the case. I've always liked the guy. He was always my fantasy QB for the first five games out of the year before self-destructing and leaving the Giants to scrape for the playoffs. The Giants were getting to a point where they were going to have to make a decision at the quarterback position and Eli has answered this year.

Watching Eli this year has been a breath of fresh air. No more throws off his back foot or ill advised throws to put the Giants behind from the start of games. He is now planting his feet, making better reads down field, and is finally making the throws that backs up his number one draft pick. The Giants now have won their last nine straight away games and are going to the Super Bowl. This is the Eli that lives up to the hype.