Eli Manning

Elisha Nelson "Eli" Manning (born January 3, 1981, in New Orleans, Louisiana) is the starting quarterback for the New York Giants NFL franchise. He is the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and Olivia Williams Manning, and is the younger brother of current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and former Ole Miss receiver Cooper Manning, whose college career was cut short by spinal stenosis.

Academic achievements

Eli earned numerous academic honors while at The University of Mississippi (commonly referred to as "Ole Miss"). He made the Chancellor's Honor Roll in the Fall of 1999 and the Fall of 2002, the Dean's Honor Roll in the Spring and Fall of 2000. Additionally, Manning made the U.M.A.A. Honor Roll in the Spring of 2001, 2002, and 2003. He also made the 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 SEC Academic Honor Roll. He was also named to the 2001 and 2002 Verizon District VI All-Academic first team and the 2001 Verizon national All-Academic second team. He received the 2003 The Sporting News Radio Socrates Award, which recognizes a collegiate student-athlete who demonstrates excellence in academics, athletics, and citizenship. He received the NCAA's Today's Top VIII Award (the highest honor given to student-athletes by the NCAA, which includes an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship). Manning was also a finalist for the Draddy Award, given to the top student-athlete in the nation. Manning received the 2003 Colonel Earl (Red) Blaik Leadership Award from The All-America Foundation, which included a scholarship to the University of Mississippi given in his name. Manning was also elected to the Ole Miss Student Hall of Fame.

He is currently a member of U.S. President George W. Bush's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.[1]

Pre-NFL football career

As the clock ticked away on his college decision, Eli received an interesting call from David Cutcliffe. Formerly the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee, he had been hired as the head coach at Ole Miss. Eli knew how much Cutcliffe had done to help his older brother Peyton improve his game. The news that he was now in charge of the Rebel program was all he needed to hear. The 18-year-old followed his father’s footsteps, and made his way to Oxford, Mississippi.[2]

Eli Manning played college football at the University of Mississippi and studied for a marketing major. During his 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).

In 2001, Manning earned honorable mention All-America honors from Football News and collegefootballnews.com. He also won the 2001 Charlie Conerly Trophy, given to the top collegiate football player in the state of Mississippi. He was one of 12 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback. Before the season, Manning was named to the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook's 2001 preseason All-SEC first team.

In 2002, Manning was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. The Associated Press voted him second team All-SEC after the season. He was also named the Best Leader in the SEC by The Birmingham News. Before the season, Manning was selected to the 2002 Playboy All-America team. He also was named to the preseason All-SEC second team by The Birmingham News, The Sporting News, and the Southeastern Post.

In 2003, Manning led the Rebels to a 10-3 record and a 31-27 SBC Cotton Bowl victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He earned numerous accolades for his play. He won the Maxwell Award, given to the nation's top player. He also won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation's top senior quarterback. He was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback. He was also a finalist for The Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year Award. He earned first team All-America honors from The All-America Foundation and Southern Football Weekly. He was named second team All-America by The Associated Press and The Sporting News, and honorable mention All-America by Sports Illustrated. He was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press and the SEC Coaches. He was selected as the SEC Player of the Year by The Commercial Appeal and the SEC Coaches. He won the Charlie Conerly Award, given to the top collegiate student-athlete in the state of Mississippi. He was named the 2003 SEC Most Valuable Back by the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club. He received the Touchdown Club of Atlanta Wally Butts Award as the Southeast's Top Offensive Back. He earned first team All-SEC honors by both The Associated Press and SEC Coaches. He also garnered All-SEC honors from The Chattanooga Times Free Press, CollegeFootballNews.com, and The Commercial Appeal. He was selected as the 2003 Mississippi Amateur Athlete of the Year by the Jackson Touchdown Club. The Clarion-Ledger named him Mississippi Sportsperson of the Year. He was invited to play in the 2004 Senior Bowl, but chose not to play. He was also named to the SEC Good Works Team. Before the season, Manning was named to the 2003 preseason All-America first team by Lindy's and Football Action. He was also named to the 2003 Playboy preseason All-America team.

The NFL Draft

Manning was considered to be the top prospect prior to the 2004 NFL Draft and became a target of criticism for stating that he would not play for the San Diego Chargers, who owned the first pick in the draft. In the past, players such as John Elway and Gary Zimmerman had also refused to play for teams looking to draft them. The Chargers were in discussions with several teams prior to the draft, including the New York Giants, about a possible trade, but nothing was agreed upon before the draft began. Despite his stated intention not to play for them, the Chargers drafted Manning with the first overall pick in the draft. Manning refused to wear a Chargers cap for the traditional photo holding the team shirt, increasing the antipathy felt by Chargers fans. The Giants then selected N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers with the fourth overall pick in the draft, another player the Chargers had shown interest in. The two franchises were then able to work out a deal that would send Eli to the Giants for Rivers along with their 1st and 5th round picks in 2005 and a 3rd round pick in 2004 — from which the main acquisitions from this trade have been DE/OLB Shawne Merriman and K Nate Kaeding. The controversy put a damper on the celebration that normally goes with being the #1 pick, as the Charger fans in the crowd yayed and chanted "Go Eli!" when he was announced. Shortly thereafter the Giants fans drowned out the rest of the crowd and loudly voiced their approval of the trade that made Eli a Giant, even if some were displeased about the amount given up by New York in the trade.

NFL career

Manning spent the first half of his rookie year being tutored by veteran Kurt Warner. After two tough defeats in the middle part of the 2004 campaign, Coach Tom Coughlin decided to start Eli against the Atlanta Falcons. Despite several poor performances, Eli finished the season with three successive solid games against the Steelers, Bengals and Cowboys. Against Dallas, Eli's future trademark came front and center as he led the Giants to a last-minute touchdown drive to end an eight game losing streak.

2005- NFC East Champion

Following 2004, the Giants released Warner, and Eli was named the starter for 2005. Manning lead the Giants to a 2-0 record with victories against the Cardinals and Saints, before traveling to the west coast for a test in San Diego. Chargers fans did not forget the snub, and on September 25, 2005 when Eli and the Giants made their first trip to San Diego for a game since that draft day, the crowd booed Manning loudly every time he touched the ball. San Diego defeated the Giants, 45-23, but Eli displayed what may have been his most impressive performance of his young career, going 24-41 for 352 yards and two touchdowns.

Following his performance at San Diego, Manning returned home to throw for almost 300 yards and a career high four touchdowns against the Rams at Giants stadium in a 44-24 romp. Two games later, he led a brilliant last-minute drive against the Broncos to secure a 24-23 victory for the Giants. The drive culminated in a two yard touchdown to Amani Toomer. The following week, Manning overcame a weak first half at San Francisco to help his team to their first official road victory of the season, 24-6. Despite a poor performance at home against the Vikings, throwing four interceptions, he again led his team back to tie the game in the final minutes before Minnesota won on a late field goal.

Eli's second season, when looked at as a whole, was largely a success. He finished in the top 5 in both Passing Yards and Touchdown Passes, while quarterbacking an offense that finished 3rd in the NFL in scoring, with a total of 422 points. It was the most points the Giants have scored in a season since 1963. The Giants won the NFC East with an 11-5 record, and went to the postseason. In his first playoff game, Eli succombed to the Manning family tradition of choking in the playoffs as the Giants lost 23-0.

The one knock on Eli during his first full season was his completion percentage. Manning completed just 52.8% of his passes, leading many to harp on this area of concern. He showed the effects of going through an NFL season for the first time, as he visibly wore down late in the season. His play fell off, culminating in a bad performance in the playoffs against Carolina. Still, all things considered, his first full season was a success, especially given that many great QBs in pro football history struggled mightily to begin their careers.

2006

On September 10th, 2006, Eli became a part of history when he and his brother Peyton became the first brothers in NFL history to oppose one another as starting quarterbacks for their teams. The game was dubbed The Manning Bowl by the media. Despite completing 20 of 34 passes for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns (to 1 interception), Eli and the Giants fell to the Colts, 26-21. The following week, Manning led the Giants to a stunning 17 point fourth quarter comeback against division rival Philadelphia. Manning overcame eight sacks and numerous hits to throw for over 370 passing yards and three touchdowns. In overtime, he avoided a heavy rush to find wide receiver Plaxico Burress for the game-winning score.

Despite the impressive finish in Philadelphia, Eli and the Giants were not able to build on the victory. Eli threw three interceptions in the first half at Seattle. Coupled with poor defense in the secondary, the Giants were beaten handily 42-30. Eli did, however, end up throwing three touchdown passes in the loss. Following a bye, Manning and the Giants rebounded by knocking off the Washington Redskins 19-3. Eli was strong in the win, throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown. The following week, Eli started slow, throwing two interceptions in the first quarter before rebounding with a fine second half. He hit 17 of 30 passes on the day for 180 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Jeremy Shockey (Shockey's first 2 touchdown game in his career) in the 27-14 win at Atlanta. In a huge Monday night encounter in Dallas, Manning managed to make a few key plays, despite a mediocre performance, throwing for two touchdowns and almost 190 yards in the convincing 36-22 victory over the Cowboys, moving the team into first place in the tough NFC Eastern Division.

In the first of three consecutive home games for the Giants, Manning helped to keep his team calm despite winds in the Meadowlands in excess of 40mph. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Manning managed the game well, throwing for 154 yards and a superb touchdown to Plaxico Burress in the 17-3 win, the team's fourth straight overall. Manning helped his team move to 6-2 the next game in a 14-10 win over the Houston Texans. Eli threw for 179 yards and one touchdown in the game. The next game wasn't a big improvement for Eli as the Giants lost 38-20 to the Bears in the Meadowlands. The Giants were depleted and a 108-yard missed field goal run back was a stunning blow after the Giants led 13-10 at halftime.