The trajectory of Eli Manning’s professional football career has been like none other – let’s begin with a little review in an effort to dispel any pre-conceived notions. For the first 4 years of Eli’s career he was generally regarded by everybody outside of New York as a joke. Many Giants fans even shared this sentiment, although you’ll have a hard time finding one who would admit that now. All in all, this was a fair characterization – Eli never had a passer rating above 80, and never had a completion percentage higher than 60%.

Then everything changed on that crazy day in February 2008.

Eli summoned his inner Little Giants and hoisted his toilet paper roll into the night sky. David Tyree scratched his head at just the right moment, and Rodney Harrison seemed to have lead in his shoes.

From that day forward, the average Giant fan felt validated. They would tell you that they put up with Eli’s first four seasons fully understanding that a Super Bowl would come their way. Many others would continue to see Eli’s performance as flukey and would continue to question his legitimacy despite his Super Bowl title – but then he went on and won again.

When Eli won his 2nd Super Bowl last February, everything changed again. His validation this time didn’t come solely from Giants fans. ESPN analysts lined up to throw Eli in a lineup of the game’s best quarterbacks. He had reached that upper echelon.

What really made this an interesting assertion is that Eli’s numbers never really popped. He’s thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in a season only once, and he’s thrown for 4500+ yards only once as well. But with Eli, it was never all about numbers. The analysts would tell you that he was a winner – it made sense, given his two Super Bowl titles. Further validation came in the form of statistics – the only commonly tracked stat that Eli has ever led the NFL in (aside from interceptions) is 4th quarter comebacks. It might be ugly, but the man was getting it done.

Then this season happened – the defending Super Bowl Champions failed to make the playoffs, losing the division to a rookie quarterback and getting bested by Tony Romo in the process. Eli collapsed down the stretch in pretty terrific fashion. My point is not to say that you need to win it all every year – nobody does that. My point is that Eli had it all this year – one of the most feared defenses in the NFL and a stable of offensive options that any QB would kill for. For a “top-tier” quarterback to not make the playoffs given this setup is a big deal – it should at least raise some eyebrows. But when you couple it with what I’ve been selling all along – the reality that Eli has a serious turnover problem – I think that Eli’s legitimacy should be seriously in question.

Now that you, Giants fan, are sufficiently pissed off (how dare I!), let me make a couple of clarifying points. I am not questioning the legitimacy of the Giants – I think they are a good team. And yes, I have seen Eli play very well. I have seen him come back and win in very impressive fashion. At his best, he’s dangerous, no doubt. But 4th quarter comebacks don’t impress me when you need to come back in the first place because you’ve given the ball to the other team twice already. Eli’s highs and lows have been very high and very low, but I’d argue that in order to be included in the lineup of the game’s best QBs you need to play at a high level with consistency. Tom Brady has done it. Peyton Manning has done it. More recently, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have done it. Eli Manning has not.

Eli’s 2012 campaign brought 9 wins and 7 losses, 3,948 yards, 26 touchdowns and 19 turnovers. Not bad, but certainly not top-tier (especially given the weapons he has). Trust me, I know the counter argument – two Super Bowls. I’d never argue against Super Bowls, as Super Bowls trump all. But let’s not allow the Super Bowls to skew the reality that Eli Manning is most certainly not a top quarterback consistently.

I’ve long compared Eli to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, and have been ridiculed for doing so. Both players have less experience than Eli. Both players also throw more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Eli. They complete a higher percentage of passes, and have a higher career passer rating. But most importantly, they win more – and it’s not close. Eli’s career winning percentage is 57%, Ryan’s is 71%, and Flacco’s is 67%. I’m keenly aware of what Flacco and Ryan have done in the playoffs – nothing – but I’m also a realist in the sense that I see the numbers telling me that Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan consistently play the quarterback position at a higher level than Eli does.

So ask yourselves, Giants fans – is Eli that good? What’s to say that with the team the Giants have built, those two Super Bowl titles shouldn’t be 3? or 4? Eli Manning’s inconsistency has undoubtedly hurt your franchise in the sense that he hasn’t been able to give the Giants an opportunity to win year in and year out – I think it’s only logical to think that if Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco was playing quarterback for the Giants they would have been even more successful, which is also a testament to how good the Giants are as a team. A true top-tier quarterback may very well have won more titles for you – and the Giants might then be mentioned in the same breath as the Patriots when discussing the best team of the past decade.

By Jimmy Cunningham, howiGit New York Writer, Manhattan, NY

Tom Coughlin is one of the best coaches in the NFL. He is one of three active coaches to have multiple Super Bowl victories – one of them being Mike Shanahan who won his in the 90’s and has not had a winning record since 2006 –  the other being Bill Belichick, who Coughlin has beaten in both of his Super Bowl wins. However, Sunday night’s loss to the Eagles was a result of two poor coaching decisions in the last 2:30 of the game.

The first decision was how Coughlin handled his last two timeouts around the 2 minute warning. The Eagles had the ball trailing by 1, with a 1^st and goal from the Giants 8 yard line and 2:30 to play. LeSean McCoy ran for four yards and the Giants let the clock run to the two minute warning. The Giants then stopped the Eagles next two plays (calling their timeouts after both plays), forced a field goal, and had the ball kicked off to them with 1:49 left to play. What Coughlin should have done is use his timeouts on the other side of the two minute warning. Assuming the Giants stop the Eagles in the same way they get the ball kicked back to them with 2 minutes left. That is 11 seconds that Coughlin let tick away – an error that was magnified by what took place on the subsequent drive.

The Giants got the ball on the 35 after a good return from rookie David Wilson, who returned the ball well all game. Thanks to two pass interference calls on the Eagles’ corners the Giants had the ball on the Eagles’ 27 with 47 seconds to play. A 42-yard field goal is well within Lawrence Tynes range and the Giants looked like they had pulled off another last minute comeback. The Giants play calling was questionable from there on out, but Giants Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride can’t shave his face without screwing up so I can’t say I was surprised. After a dive play up the middle for a yard the Giants took a shot at the end zone and after some back and forth by both players offensive pass interference was called on Ramses Barden. The Giants get pushed back to the 36, putting them outside of Tynes’ range (Tynes’ career long is 53 yards). With 21 seconds left Eli threw an incomplete pass to Domenik Hixon leaving them with 3rd and 20 from the 36 with 15 seconds left. Time for one more play along the sideline, or even a dump over the middle and a spike, right?

Wrong.

Instead Coughlin sends out Tynes to try a career long to win or lose the game. Giants snap the ball, the kick is up, and it’s nowhere close – game over. But wait! Andy Reid, who somehow saved a timeout until the end of the game, iced the kicker. The play doesn’t count. One would think that after watching the kicker come nowhere close that Coughlin would take advantage of the other coach’s mistake – do the right thing and attempt to get closer for the game winner. Nope. Out came Tynes again, who this time was on target but was a yard or two short. There is a reason Tynes’ career long is 53 and not 56.

But what would have happened if Coughlin used his timeouts properly before the two minute warning? Instead of 3^nd and 20 with 15 seconds left there are 26 seconds left. I do not believe Coughlin would have made the same decision with 26 seconds left. They would have had time for a play almost anywhere on the field and time to spike the ball. If they got 5 yards they are in Tynes’ range. But Coughlin let precious seconds waste away and was left with a decision that he got wrong.

The Giants are now 2-2, and worse, 0-2 in the division. The Giants never make things easy for themselves, and I am not panicking nor calling for Coughlin’s head, yet. But I would feel a lot better today at 3-1 with a win in Philly. The frustrating part is the Giants players put themselves in position to win on the field, but the guy pulling the strings from the sidelines did not.

Eli Manning said yesterday on “The Michael Kay Show” that he’s in the same class as a quarterback as Tom Brady. Kay, who admitted that he was putting Eli on the spot, began by asking him point blank if he was “an elite, top 5 or 10 quarterback in the league.” Eli said without hesitation that he was. When asked if he then put himself in the same class as Tom Brady, he responded, “I consider myself in that class. And Tom Brady is a great quarterback, he’s a great player and what you’ve seen with him is he’s gotten better every year. He started off winning championships and I think he’s a better quarterback now than what he was, in all honesty, when he was winning those championships.”

Eli, with no due respect, I’m laughing in your face.

First off, I find it very funny that he was asked if he’s in Tom Brady’s class, not Peyton Manning’s class. Second of all, all of you New York Giants fans and Eli Manning leg-humpers just had to listen to your hero state that Tom Brady is better now than he ever was. For all the “Tom Brady hasn’t won a playoff game in 3 years” talk I’ve been hearing, Eli really just put your foot in your mouth with regards to Tom Brady not being what he once was. Third of all, I was actually going to give Eli credit for admitting in the same interview that his interceptions last season were a problem. Eli went on to say “I’m not a 25 interception quarterback, I know that. It’s going to be fixed…” Wow, some accountability from Eli-I’m-the-same-class-as-Tom-Brady, I thought. Then Eli went on to say how he didn’t think he made many bad decisions last year, at all.

Say what?

Listen Eli, there were a lot of tips, we get it. But you threw twenty-f’in-five interceptions last season. Even if 10 were tips, that’s a lot of interceptions – and they weren’t a result of bad decisions? Are you delusional? First off even the tips usually mean the ball could have been placed better – ask Tom Brady, an elite quarterback who has realized this. Second of all, if you throw 25 picks at least 10 of those at a minimum are bad decisions and are on you. Man up and accept that.

Second of all, there was grumbling last week of “Oh but Eli has more touchdowns than Tom Brady did at the same point in his career.” First of all, the only rebuttle needed in response to this assertion is the obvious one – Tom Brady had 3 rings at that point, Eli had one. But the championships aside, what makes an elite quarterback is not touchdowns or interceptions, but the ability to win games. To begin their careers Eli Manning went 60-43 – a .582 winning percentage. Tom Brady went 86-24 – a .782 winning percentage. In other words, shut your mouth Eli – you’re just making yourself looks stupid.

As if the 32 turnovers last season wasn’t enough.

By Thalia Bardell, howiGit Contributing Writer, Boston, MA

Thursday is fast approaching and at the rate the two sides are moving it looks like an NFL lockout is impending. The likelihood that a deal will get done in the next two days is about as likely as Kendrick Perkins returning to the Celtics (too soon for the Perk jokes?). As a Pittsburgh Steelers fan an extended off-season makes me a little nervous. Extra time for Ben Roethlisberger to act like a total goon? I need that like a hole in my head. However, I have to admit that it has been fascinating watching this drama unfold. The last time that the NFL had a work stoppage was 1987 and I was … not even born yet.

When baseball players went on strike during the 1994 season I was seven years old, not yet a Sox fan, and more concerned with getting the training wheels off of my bike. I feel, oddly, like I’m witnessing a piece of history right now. If the owners and players union can’t come to an agreement then I will be in the midst of events that have the opportunity to change the NFL as I know it. To get a tiny glimpse into the inner workings of a sport that I only see from the glamorous outside of televised games, TV endorsements, and Sports Illustrated covers reminds me that sports are a business like everything else. Sure, guys like Ochocinco, Peyton Manning, and Darrelle Revis make the big money – and honestly I don’t really care how they fare in this decision, but it’s the second stringers, the no names, no covers, and no Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercial, “little” guys that interest me the most. These men are simply out there trying to make a buck doing something they love, just as we are, and they don’thave the same amount of time as most of us to do it in. The average length of an NFL player’s career is about three and a half years (perhaps Brett Favre was not included in that calculation) — that’s approximately 56 games. For these guys, to lose even one paycheck is a pay cut they can’t afford.

For the sake of the back-up benchwarmers I hope that the NFL resumes play on schedule next year. But for my self-interest I almost hope that they don’t. I can’t imagine what September will feel like without football (although it would open up more time to watch the Red Sox), but to witness an exercise of worker rights that I actually care about would be interesting to say the least. I’m curious to see the reaction of the players, the fans, and the media if the lockout extends through the summer and threatens the fall. Maybe it’s my age, but I’m history star-struck and, for me, the lack of football might be more exciting than the football itself.

For Tom Brady, the accolades just keep on coming. And for all of you Brady haters out there who insist that Brady is hated by everyone outside of New England (such a NY thing to say — you think us Boston folks are Boston-centric, yet you’re the ones who refer to NYC as “the city” — talk about obnoxious) here’s proof that you couldn’t be more wrong.

The most recent GQ magazine put together what is honestly an excellent list of The 25 Coolest Athletes of All-Time. You know it! Tom Brady made the list.  I was lucky enough to read the entire article, including a write-up of each athlete on the list. While all of these athletes are pretty damn cool, Brady’s write-up was hysterical. I wanted to include a link to the article, but it’s not available online. The gist of the article was:

Tom brady is too good-looking. Tom Brady is too good at football. That said, he has had a messy swap between an actress and a super model, and he did lose a Super Bowl so he’s not perfect and you can’t hate him. But even when he does mess up, he goes home to a too perfect Brazilian super model who consoles him and gives him massages. He’s too cool, he really is. Just embrace him for being everything you wish you were, and don’t hate.

It’s really is a hysterical article, and it makes a pretty good point. Now I know GQ magazine won’t sell all of you, so you can instead check out this article on ESPN. Brady just won his 2nd AP Offensive Player of the Year award, making him the only quarterback in NFL history to win the award twice. He’s also the only active player to win the award twice. Also, note the statistic showing the highest touchdown to interception ratio in NFL history. Just another statistic where he dominates Peyton Manning, not to mention every other QB in NFL history. You can’t blame Peyton for this one though — interceptions run in the family.

If you are one of the lucky few who has read my Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning comparison, listened to my constant regurgitation of Brady-Manning facts, or if you just generally despise my Tom Brady man-crush (I just got his Uggs limited edition boots!), you’ve got to read Bill Simmons’ latest article comparing these two quarterbacks. Grab a beer first — this sucker is long — but it’s worth every word.

Special kudos to Billy boy for bringing a Biggie-Tupac parallel to this article — what can I say, I like your style. I don’t like linking to other writers’ articles, because frankly other writers suck. But Bill Simmons has some good taste when it comes to teams he roots for. And with this article, I must say, well done Bill.

Check it out.

I caught last night’s Sportscenter following the Eagles loss to the Vikings. Andy Reid snapped at the media in his press conference, which was awesome. They later showed an empty podium, waiting for Michael Vick to come out and address the press. Said Sportcenter anchor Steve Levy, “I wonder is Vick will show up to an empty room like Eli Manning did last week. Of course he won’t. People will actually stick around to listen to Michael Vick speak.”

Ahhhh Steve. You make things so easy for me…

Let’s start with the numbers — the current standings in the NFC West:

St. Louis                         7-8

Seattle                             6-9

San Francisco              5-10

Arizona                          5-10

Now I understand that winners get all the headlines and nobody cares to celebrate futility. I can assure you that my intent is not hit anybody while they’re down (unless it’s the Giants). But I feel like the mess that is the NFC West has been overlooked this year. Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford looks poised the lead his St. Louis Rams into the playoffs with a losing record, and the rest of the division is a whole lot worse.

So how bad is it?

Look, we all know that the NFC is the National League equivalent of the NFL. But this division in particular is collectively boasting a 23-37 record on the season. The second worst division? The AFC South at 28-32. Four games below .500 is a lot different from 14 games below. Even more telling is the collective point differential versus opponents — the NFC West is -322 points in this category.  Second worst in the league is again the AFC South, at -39.

I figured this deserved some ink, somewhere.

Overall, this was a pretty boring week in the NFL. To touch upon the teams most relevant to our readers:

1) The Patriots defense looked like hell in the first half against the Detroit Lions, allowing 17 first half points. Bill Belichick then made halftime adjustments and Tom Brady turned it on, resulting in a 35-7 second half beat down, 4 Tom Brady TD’s, and a 45-24 victory. Still, I’m not going to get excited about beating the Lions with their backup quarterback starting.

2) The Jets cruised by a lousy Cinci team, 26-10.

3) The Giants pulled out a late victory over the Jaguars, 24-20. Eli Manning managed not to turn the ball over for once resulting in a win — big surprise this formula works! This was an atrociously played football game. David Garrard was given an opportunity to win the game in the 4th quarter and should be shot for his performance. This was a crucial win for the Giants — a loss could have derailed their season.

4) Jay Cutler did what he decides to do about 10% of the time — play well — and the Bears beat Michael Vick’s Eagles despite his amazing TD pass late in the 4th quarter. A strange loss for Philly, this one keeps the Giants in the hunt in the NFC East.

All of that said, I must touch on fantasy football this week. I have long thought that fantasy sports are useless, and I continue to think so. Nothing should keep you from simply rooting for your favorite team. That said, I am in a league for work and have had a huge season with my running backs. Here is how they performed this past week:

Chris Johnson — 7 rushes for 5 yards

Darren McFadden — 8 rushes for 2 yards

Reggie Bush (backup) — 1 rush for 1 yard

Suffice it to say, I lost big time despite Tom’s big performance. Frustrating, to say the least. Even Adrian Peterson only managed 6 rushes for 36 yards. And they call these fools fantasy studs….

Check out http://chrisross91.wordpress.com.

His name is Elisha Nelson Manning ladies and gentlemen. Yup, Elisha. Elisha Elisha Elisha!  How is this not bigger news already?

Check out http://chrisross91.wordpress.com.