As the starting quarterback at Mississippi, Eli Manning was forced to live up to the standards set by his father, Archie, at Ole Miss, let alone trying to avoid the shadow of older brother Peyton. Eli forged his own reputation, however, by setting or tying 47 school records, among them the passing mark (by throwing for 10,119 yards). Amid controversy, Manning went as the number one pick in the 2004 NFL draft when he was selected by the San Diego Chargers, who in turn immediately traded him to the New York Giants for N.C. State quarterback Phillip Rivers, who had been picked fourth overall. The Giants now have one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks, who finished his collegiate career by leading Ole Miss to a 2004 Cotton Bowl victory and has guided the Big Blue back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2001 and won Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl MVP !! Eli Manning has hand signed this 16x20 photograph of He and Michael Strahan Celebrating The New York Giants Super Bowl XLII victory. Custom Mat and Premium Black Color Framed. A Steiner Sports Hologram and certificate of authenticity is included. Comes fully certified with Certificate of Authenticity and tamper-evident hologram. Also backed by PhillyManCave.com's Authenticity Guarantee.
Eli Nelson Manning (born Elisha Nelson Manning on January 3, 1981) is an American football player for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. He played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) after attending prep school at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. He was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, and immediately traded to the New York Giants, who in return, gave up a package highlighted by 4th overall selection Philip Rivers. Manning won the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 after he led the Giants to a victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
The San Diego Chargers originally held the rights to the overall first pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. With Manning being the most highly coveted player in the draft, it appeared that the Chargers’ intentions were to draft Manning first overall. However, Manning (echoed by his father Archie) stated publicly that he would refuse to play for the Chargers if drafted by them. The Chargers selected him with the first pick overall nonetheless as the team had a deal in place with the New York Giants where the Giants would draft and then trade Philip Rivers and draft picks (used to pick Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding) to the Chargers for Manning.
Manning was one of four quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft along with Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, and J.P. Losman. Manning, Roethlisberger, and Rivers have been voted to the Pro Bowl since becoming starters, none has produced a season with a losing record (although each has had an 8-8 season), and Roethlisberger and Manning have each won a Super Bowl. They have been compared favorably to the Quarterback class of 1983, which included Hall of Fame quarterbacks Dan Marino, John Elway, and Jim Kelly.
Manning made his first career regular season start against the Atlanta Falcons at Giants Stadium on November 21, 2004. In his fourth start, against the Baltimore Ravens in M&T Bank Stadium on December 12, 2004, he ended the day with a 0.0 passer rating and was benched in the second half in favor of Kurt Warner, but remained the Giants starter through the end of the season.
Following 2004, Kurt Warner voided the last year of his contractand Eli was named the starter for 2005. Manning led 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 Manning 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 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 with five seconds remaining.Two weeks later, Manning overcame a weak first half at San Francisco to help his team secure 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 the Vikings won on a late field goal.
Manning’s second season was largely a success. He finished in the top 5 in both passing yards and touchdown passes, while leading an offense that finished 3rd in the NFL in scoring, with a total of 422 points. It was the most points the Giants scored in a single season since 1963. The Giants won the NFC East with an 11–5 record, and went to the postseason.
Manning’s second full season was reminiscent of his 2005 campaign. He started off playing well and completed over 65 percent of his passes through the first four games. However, he struggled in the second half of the season and his production diminished towards the end of the regular season. After losing a tough game to his brother Peyton and the Colts on opening day, Eli and the Giants rebounded from a 24-7 4th-quarter deficit en route to a 30-24 overtime victory over the division rival Eagles in week two.Manning threw for a career high 371 yards in the win with three touchdowns including a game winning pass to Plaxico Burress in overtime. Following a poor performance against Seattle the next week, Manning and the Giants responded by winning five straight games including wins over the Redskins, Cowboys and Falcons to push their record to 6-2.
Following this winning streak, key injuries including one to receiver Amani Toomer pushed Manning and the Giants into a downward slide.Playing against the Chicago Bears, Manning started well, but the Giant’s offense was derailed by the loss of left tackle Luke Petitgout to a broken leg. Manning was held to only 141 yards passing with two interceptions. Petigout’s loss left a gaping hole at the crucial left tackle position, and Manning was unable to repeat his first half success. Manning struggled the next week at Jacksonville and the week after that, a costly interception helped to culminate a huge collapse at Tennessee, with the Giants seeing a 21-point fourth quarter lead simply evaporate. Manning improved the following week, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants lost again. Finally regaining momentum, Manning threw three touchdowns in a win at Carolina, but then he stumbled badly in the final three games. He threw two interceptions against the Eagles and tallied only 73 passing yards in a game against the Saints. Although the Giants battled back to 8-8 the following week at Washington, Manning completed only 12 of 26 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. The Giants qualified for the postseason and met the Eagles again. Although he did significantly better in this game than the 2005 playoff matchup, completing 16 of 27 passes and two touchdowns, the Giants lost on a last-second field goal by the Eagles.
For the year, Manning threw for 3,244 yards, 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He completed 57.7 percent of his passes, a five point improvement from 2005, but he again struggled badly in the second half of the season. Manning finished the season with a quarterback efficiency rating of 77.0 (18th in the league) with 6.2 yards per attempt.
Eli Manning during the Giants 2007 training camp.
Manning trained in the Meadowlands with offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and new quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer. For the first time ever, Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey practiced in the off-season with Manning to perfect their timing and chemistry rather than training alone in Miami as they did in previous years.
Manning opened the 2007 season with an outstanding personal performance against the Dallas Cowboys, completing 28 of 41 passing attempts for 312 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an interception,but suffered a shoulder sprain and was removed from the game late in the second half. Although he did play against Green Bay in week 2 while throwing for 211 yards with one touchdown,the Giants defense performed poorly again and the team dropped to 0-2 with Green Bay winning, 35-13.In week 3 Manning got a come-from-behind victory as the Giants defense improved, pitching a shutout in the second half and stopping the Washington Redskins on a fourth and goal situation, winning the game 24-17. The Giants defense then shut down the Philadelphia Eagles with an NFL record-tying 12 sacks, holding the Eagles offense to one field goal. The Giants won with a score of 16-3. The following week, Manning overcame a dismal first half to throw for two second-half scoresin a 35-24 win over their in-city rivals, the New York Jets.
Following two straight home victories, Manning and the Giants obtained their fourth consecutive victory with a 31-10 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome on Monday Night Football. Manning performed well, completing 27 of 39 passes for 303 yards along with a pair of touchdowns while giving away two interceptions. Behind a dominant defensive effort, the Giants improved to 5-2 the next week with a 33-15 win over the 49ers. Manning played well again, throwing for two touchdowns in the effort. In week eight of the season, the Giants played a road game against the Miami Dolphins on October 28, 2007, in London‘s Wembley Stadium.Manning only threw for 59 yards in the rain and mud, but he scored the Giants’ only touchdown on a 10-yard run. This touchdown was the first in an NFL regular season game that was played outside of North America. The Giants defeated the Dolphins, 13–10, bringing the Giants to a 6–2 record at the mid-way point of the 2007 season.
After losing to their division rivals the Dallas Cowboys in week 9,New York Giants co-owner John Mara publicly questioned Manning’s ability to lead the New York Giants in 2007 but more importantly in the future:
| “ | The only thing we evaluate is ‘Can we win with this guy?’ That’s the one thing. When we talk about any player at the end of the season, the No.1 question is ‘Will he help us win?’ And to take it one step further, ‘Can we win a championship with this guy?’ | ” |
After a week of criticism in the New York media and being outplayed by Tony Romo, Manning had a bounce-back victory versus their conference wildcard competitors the Detroit Lions.Manning managed to throw for 283 yards and 1 touchdown but most importantly, no interceptions in a critical road game.
The following week in a 41-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Manning threw four interceptions and had three of them returned for touchdowns. He continued to struggle until the last game of the season, against the 15-0 New England Patriots. With a playoff spot secured, the Giants could have rested their starters for the playoffs, but they instead chose to keep in the regulars and attempt to stop New England’s quest for an undefeated regular season. The Giants lost 38-35, with Manning completing 22 of 32 passes for 252 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception.
On January 6, 2008, Manning went 20-of-27 for 185 yards playing on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The underdog Giants won 24-14, and Manning had two touchdown passes.
| “ | “Eli had a great game today,” receiver Amani Toomer said. “He took what was out there and didn’t force anything. He doesn’t get real excited; there is more than one way to lead a team … and he showed that today.” |
On January 13, 2008, Manning led the Giants to an upset victory over the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys, the number one seed in the NFC.For the third straight game, Manning played well, completing 12 of 18 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.The Giants were the first team to beat an NFC number one seed in the divisional round since the start of the 12-team format in 1990.This victory secured an NFC Championship berth against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, January 20, 2008. In the championship game, the Giants beat the Packers in overtime, with a score of 23-20.The dramatic victory secured Manning and the Giants a trip to Super Bowl XLII.This was the first Super Bowl appearance for the New York Giants since 2000,and their first Super Bowl victory since Super Bowl XXV.
Eli with the Lombardi Trophy during the Giants Super Bowl victory rally at Giants Stadium.
In front of a record-setting American television audience and on the strength of a late fourth-quarter drive led by Manning, the Giants beat the 12.5 point-favored, undefeated New England Patriots 17–14.
| “ | Manning takes the snap, back to throw, under pressure, avoids the rush and he’s gonna…fight out of it, still fights out of it, now throws it deep down field, wide open Tyree who… MAKES THE CATCH! AT THE 24-YARD LINE! What a play by Manning! | ” |
| —Bob Papa calling Manning’s completion to David Tyree, | ||
Trailing 14-10 with 2:42 remaining, Manning led the Giants 83 yards on a game-winning touchdown drive. On a crucial third-and-5 at the Giants’ 44 yard line, Manning connected with David Tyree on a play in which he avoided several near-sacks and Tyree caught the ball off his helmet for a large gain. Four plays later, Plaxico Burress caught a 13 yard touchdown pass with just 35 seconds remaining for the winning margin. Manning became only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw two go-ahead fourth quarter touchdowns in a Super Bowl (Joe Montana being the first). Manning also became the first quarterback to throw a last-minute, championship-winning touchdown in the NFL title game (including the pre-Super Bowl era) when a field goal would not at least tie the game Following the Giants’ monumental victory, Manning and the coaching staff spoke briefly with President George W. Bush.
Manning was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLII.He and his brother Peyton are the only brother combination to play at quarterback in the Super Bowl and the only set of brothers to win Super Bowl MVP, doing so in successive years.
For winning Super Bowl MVP he was given his choice of any 2008 model Cadillac, and Manning chose an Escalade Hybrid. The Wednesday following the Super Bowl he appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.
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