Background InformationThe 2006 President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports
New York Giants — No. 10
Quarterback
Date of birth: January 3, 1981 (1981-01-03) (age 27)
Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
National Football League debut
2004 for the New York Giants
Career history
College: Mississippi (Ole Miss)
NFL Draft: 2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Teams:
New York Giants (2004-present)
Elisha Nelson "Eli" Manning (born January 3, 1981 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the 2007 world champion New York Giants of the National Football League.
He is the younger brother of Peyton Manning and Cooper Manning and the son of Archie Manning and Olivia Manning. He played college football at University of Mississippi after attending high school at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Manning was the MVP of Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008, in which he led the Giants to an upset victory over the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
Manning was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. However, a draft-day trade sent Manning to the Giants in return for the fourth overall pick Philip Rivers, a third round selection in the 2004 NFL Draft and the Giants' first- and fifth-round picks in the 2005 NFL Draft.
College CareerCollege career
Eli Manning during his tenure at Ole Miss.Prior to deciding which college to attend, Manning received a call from David Cutcliffe, formerly the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. Cutcliffe had been hired as the head coach at Ole Miss and had previously helped Eli's older brother Peyton improve his game. Upon learning Cutcliffe was now in charge of the Rebel program, the 18-yield followed his Father's footsteps, and made his way to Oxford, Mississippi.
During his football career at Ole Miss, Eli set or tied 47 single-game, season, and career records. His career numbers include 10,119 passing yards (fifth on the SEC career list), 81 touchdown passes (third on the SEC career list), and a passer rating of 137.7 (tied for sixth on the SEC career list). Manning also led the Rebels to a 10-3 record and a 31-28 SBC Cotton Bowl victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2003. He was invited to play in the 2004 Senior Bowl, but chose not to play.
As his senior year came to a close, Eli won many awards including the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award, the Sporting News Radio Socrates Award, and the SEC Player of the Year. He was also a candidate for the Heisman Trophy but voters chose Oklahoma's quarterback Jason White (1,481 voting points) to win the award. Eli had 710 voting points making him third behind White and Pittsburgh's sophomore wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Manning graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Marketing and a GPA of 3.44.
College Awards2001 Conerly Trophy - Best College Football Player in Mississippi
2001 Davey O'Brien Award (finalist) - Awarded to the Nation's Top Quarterback
2003 SEC Most Valuable Back - Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club
2003 Conerly Trophy - Best College Football Player in Mississippi
2003 Mississippi Amateur Athlete of the Year - Jackson Touchdown Club
2003 National Scholar-Athlete Class - Division I-A QB
2003 Preseason All-America First Team by Lindy's and Football Action
2003 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award -Awarded to the Nation's Top Quarterback
The Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year Award
First Team All-America - The All-America Foundation
First Team All-America - Southern Football Weekly
Second Team All-America - The Sporting News
Honorable Mention All-America - Sports Illustrated
SEC Offensive Player of the Year - The Associated Press and the SEC Coaches
SEC Player of the Year - The Commercial Appeal and the SEC Coaches
First Team All-SEC - The Associated Press
First Team All-SEC - SEC Coaches
All-SEC - The Chattanooga Times Free Press
All-SEC - CollegeFootballNews.com
All-SEC - The Commercial Appeal
Mississippi Sportsperson of the Year - The Clarion-Ledger
SouthEast's Top Offensive Back - Touchdown Club of Atlanta Wally Butts Award
Dave Shanahan's "Most Excellent Passer of the Year Award"
I think it would only be appropriate to breakdown my favorite player, Eli Manning.Strengths1. Smarts. Eli is probably one of the top 3 smartest QBs in the NFL. He knows what he is doing and is always under control. His ability to read the blitz and change coverage and protection is remarkable. Rarely do you ever see a blitzer come unfree. He sees the field well, and does a great job of switching from a pass to a run and vice-versa whenever he sees the coverage dictating what he can and cannot do.
2. Arm. The most underrated part of Eli's game is his arm. He can make every throw. He has the ability to throw it deep, or lob into a zone. One of his great throws came against the Cowboys at NY right before the end of the half where he placed it perfectly to Jeremy Shockey on the sideline with 4 defenders around him. We have seen him throw it deep and throw a rocket when needed (Tyree's TD catch.)
3. Mobility. The most improved part of Eli's game and i am no referring to just "The Catch". He is becoming a better scrambler and has been much better with throwing on the run. He is not a threat to scramble for long yardages, however he buys himself a few more seconds in the pocket to find a receiver.
4. Leadership. let's face it, he will never get into your face and yell at you. But when your are down 4 with 2:53 to go to win the Super Bowl..... I'll take him over just about any other QB in the league. His coolness and confidence make him the QB that he is. Everyone questions his leadership except his teammates. I'll take their word over any fan.
5. Presence. He is in the biggest market in the world, playing for some of the harshest critics, and is the baby brother of a future hall of famer. However, none of that seems to bother him. He let's things roll off his back which is perfect. He knows he isn't perfect, but doesn't let people, players, or the media get to him. Some QBs couldn't survive in NY. Eli can.
Weaknesses1. Decision making. This is his biggest weakness, and if he ever improves in this area, he will be a topflight QB. Sometimes he forces passes to people, then there are times he depends on one guy. If we get the QB who played like he did in the playoffs... we'll have a great QB.
2. Technique. Improving over the year. Still could be better. Doesn't throw the perfect spiral. Still tends to throw off his back foot. At times, rushes throws.
3. Thinking. This is an odd negative, however Eli sometimes lets his last throw impact his next throw. That was never more prevalent in the Minnesota game. Eli is at his best just going up there and winging it. Maybe that is why he does better in the hurry up offense, then the regular offense.
Well that's all I have for now. Hope this doesn't cause a war....
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