Eli Manning Is A Favorite Of Joe Montana, NFL Network
Eli Manning is one of those quarterbacks that seems to get far more disrespect than respect, no matter what he does. Perhaps, this is because Eli’s big brother is Peyton Manning; maybe it’s because the New York Giants appear to be either really good, or really bad during any given season. Whatever the reasons, the general dislike for the younger Manning tends to outpace the reasons for his dislike to the point where you’d be hard pressed to find someone who knew that despite the Giants having a pretty bad 2015, Eli Manning threw 35 touchdown passes and just 14 interceptions.
Those numbers are likely some of the reasons why former NFL great quarterback Joe Montana chose Manning when he appeared on a radio talk show and was asked whether he’d rather have Manning or Tony Romo behind center for his team. According to RantSports, Montana was on the Boomer and Carlton Show in New York on Wednesday when the question was posed. The four time Super Bowl winning quarterback didn’t hesitate when he said he would definitely take Manning.
A new Eli in town. Eli Manning gives his early impressions of Eli Apple!
?: https://t.co/eReEpVVZw3 pic.twitter.com/jVqMcw7QHG
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 12, 2016
Despite Montana preferring Eli Manning, RantSports demonstrates the perception that is floating around fans and writers focusing on the NFL. Called a “turnover machine” who has caught fire four or five times a season, Manning doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt Romo does in some circles. Romo has indeed turned the ball over less, though he’s also played in less career games. Manning is also lapping the Dallas Cowboys quarterback when it comes to yards and touchdowns over the course of his career.
The numbers being very comparable is why the two QBs are often put up side-by-side against each other. While Montana didn’t go into specifics as to why he would taking Manning over Romo, there’s likely one big aspect the former 49er looks at. Manning has won two Superbowls while Romo has never managed to get his team to the biggest of big games. While Manning is still working to gain as much respect as he should be getting from some circles, the NFL Network appears to understand Eli Manning’s got the potential to be one of the best players in the entire league.
The crew at that network recently discussed who would take the mantle of NFL MVP for the upcoming season. The roundtable pointed out whoever the player was, needed to have a ridiculously good season, considering they were talking about contending with performances like incumbent Cam Newton’s. Newton put up 35 touchdown passes while running for another 10. He also got his team 15 wins and a birth in the Super Bowl.
The Giants drafted Eli Apple so now Eli Manning is going to go by Elisha. https://t.co/wf1O2UEIWY pic.twitter.com/3XP44AuMnX
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 10, 2016
According to Giants.com, Jamie Dukes, a former offensive lineman who played in the league for 10 years, said he believes the award could go to a New York Giant for the first time in three decades. Dukes said Eli Manning “could be that guy.”
“Just think of the pieces that they’ve added — because it’s about the pieces they’ve added — and here you have a team that’s desperate and they’ve been desperate for a while. Eli is going to put up big numbers. Because he plays in New York, I think that all the attention is going to be there on him. And I think he’s going to have an opportunity to do it.”
Manning might be viewed as having a kind of up and down career, but the fact of the matter is there have been few quarterbacks over the last few years who have been as productive. In the last two seasons, Manning threw for 8,842 yards. If that wasn’t enough, Manning also tallied 65 touchdowns and just 28 interceptions. Just how good are those numbers? Eli Manning trails only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, who have both racked up MVP awards in their career in touchdown passes over that period of time.
[Photo by Mel Evans/AP Images]
