It’s a Bad Week to be a Manning but it’s Worse to be Eli
Originally published on The Bleacher Report.
Rare is the week when Peyton and Eli Manning play on different days and can watch each others’ game, and how unfortunate that this time they had to watch each other lose. Yes folks, for this first family of football, it was a bad week to be a Manning.
It started with Sunday night’s game and the Cowboys capitalizing on the Colts’ weaknesses where other teams could not. Tony Romo, who won for the third time in four games, has established himself as a team leader and actually put a smile on Bill Parcells’ face. Manning uncharacteristically threw two interceptions but ultimately when he needed to make the big plays he is known for he just couldn’t do it. Now that Peyton can’t go undefeated he can stop worrying about being perfect and concentrate on playing well in the playoffs; a more worthwhile endeavor and one he has struggled with. For Tony Romo and the Cowboys the win on Sunday propelled them to 6-4 and it became an even sweeter victory with the Giants’ disaster of a game last night.
Cut to that game, where Eli Manning is struggling to make Giants fans believe that he was worth that first round pick which will be an even tougher battle for him because his play last night was atrocious. Certainly Plaxico Burress needed to put in more effort; when your only job is to catch a football, you can try a little harder. And someone should tell him that when your team already seems to be playing with no emotion that its probably a bad idea to pretend to faint when an official rightly calls back a pass that you didn’t even catch. Instead of getting back in it, he stood at the line of scrimmage shaking his head. Manning needed more protection then he was given, but more often then not his throws were too low, too high, too hard or poorly timed. The announcers said Eli never looked comfortable and as such they lost to a team that has lost twice this season to the Houston Texans.
Though both Mannings and their teams lost, it was a worse for the New York Giants. With the Eagles suffering the loss of Donovan McNabb and the Redskins playing terribly, the Giants had the chance to secure the lead in the NFC East. Instead, their loss combined with the Cowboys victory ties the two teams and leaves the Giants as the team with something to prove. For Jacksonville, the AFC south is clearly in the hands of the Colts, but their defense looked sharp and David Garrard has emerged as a fast and physical replacement for Byron Leftwich. This was an important game for Eli whose season looks to be unraveling. Maybe the pressure to be Peyton-esque is too great, or maybe he just isn’t that good but in a week where being a Manning was not synonymous with being a winner it was still worse to be Eli.
Rare is the week when Peyton and Eli Manning play on different days and can watch each others’ game, and how unfortunate that this time they had to watch each other lose. Yes folks, for this first family of football, it was a bad week to be a Manning.
It started with Sunday night’s game and the Cowboys capitalizing on the Colts’ weaknesses where other teams could not. Tony Romo, who won for the third time in four games, has established himself as a team leader and actually put a smile on Bill Parcells’ face. Manning uncharacteristically threw two interceptions but ultimately when he needed to make the big plays he is known for he just couldn’t do it. Now that Peyton can’t go undefeated he can stop worrying about being perfect and concentrate on playing well in the playoffs; a more worthwhile endeavor and one he has struggled with. For Tony Romo and the Cowboys the win on Sunday propelled them to 6-4 and it became an even sweeter victory with the Giants’ disaster of a game last night.
Cut to that game, where Eli Manning is struggling to make Giants fans believe that he was worth that first round pick which will be an even tougher battle for him because his play last night was atrocious. Certainly Plaxico Burress needed to put in more effort; when your only job is to catch a football, you can try a little harder. And someone should tell him that when your team already seems to be playing with no emotion that its probably a bad idea to pretend to faint when an official rightly calls back a pass that you didn’t even catch. Instead of getting back in it, he stood at the line of scrimmage shaking his head. Manning needed more protection then he was given, but more often then not his throws were too low, too high, too hard or poorly timed. The announcers said Eli never looked comfortable and as such they lost to a team that has lost twice this season to the Houston Texans.
Though both Mannings and their teams lost, it was a worse for the New York Giants. With the Eagles suffering the loss of Donovan McNabb and the Redskins playing terribly, the Giants had the chance to secure the lead in the NFC East. Instead, their loss combined with the Cowboys victory ties the two teams and leaves the Giants as the team with something to prove. For Jacksonville, the AFC south is clearly in the hands of the Colts, but their defense looked sharp and David Garrard has emerged as a fast and physical replacement for Byron Leftwich. This was an important game for Eli whose season looks to be unraveling. Maybe the pressure to be Peyton-esque is too great, or maybe he just isn’t that good but in a week where being a Manning was not synonymous with being a winner it was still worse to be Eli.
