Sports

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Amani Toomer had no trouble hauling in the soft toss thrown to him by his quarterback, Eli Manning. But when Eli’s older brother, Peyton, lofted the ball in his direction, Toomer playfully overran the pass, which dropped to the broiling artificial turf set down yesterday at the South Street Seaport.

Toomer shrugged his shoulders and thrust his arms into the air as if to gesture “What gives?” to Peyton, who responded with a hearty laugh. Peyton Manning may be the absolute model, the record-breaking future Hall of Famer, but young Eli is Toomer’s teammate, and loyalty can’t be ignored.

“It’s always exciting when you have a young, developing player in Eli, we’re excited to see what he’s going to do this year,” Toomer said.

Seeing Eli stand alongside his taller, broader and more accomplished older brother makes it near-impossible not to imagine what Archie Manning’s youngest son will be when he is a hardened, wizened NFL veteran. The Giants invested greatly in Eli and wouldn’t have done so if they didn’t believe he could approach big brother’s standards.

“That’s what everybody is kind of betting on,” Toomer acknowledged.

The Manning boys, along with Toomer and new Giants kicker Jay Feely, were at Pier 17 in the Seaport to promote the Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football season. Fans were able to catch passes from Eli and Peyton, and those who root for the Giants couldn’t help wondering if their guy can follow in Peyton’s formidable football footsteps.

As a rookie with the Colts in 1998, Peyton started every game and went 3-13 and learned so much during that apprenticeship that in year No. 2 he was 13-3. Eli had to wait his turn last season behind Kurt Warner. He started the last seven games and went 1-6. Can the light turn on as brightly for Eli in his second season as it did for Peyton?

“I told him a while back there’s going to be some bumps and bruises, but I promise you, the experience you gain your rookie year will pay off for you in your second season,” said Peyton, who last season was a near-unanimous choice as the league MVP after firing 49 touchdown passes, breaking Dan Marino’s single-season record. “You just feel more comfortable.”

During their increasingly rare time together, Peyton and Eli try to steer clear of shoptalk but inevitably the subject is broached and Eli, a big fan of his older brother, knows that early struggles are normal growing pains.

“Last year as a rookie coming in here, with Kurt Warner here, the guy’s been a Super Bowl MVP, I just didn’t know my part, what questions to ask,” said Eli, who reports to Albany in 10 days for his second NFL training camp. “Now I ask more questions, I’m more vocal around the locker room, just more comfortable in all areas. It should be better.”

Although Eli is more easy-going and reserved, it’s clear he’s studied Peyton’s moves and the two enjoy a natural balance in their relationship.

“This young stallion here makes me feel old,” kidded Peyton. “He’s 24 years old, I’m 29, my arm’s kind of hanging off to the side. We threw together the other day, we were down in New Orleans, he likes to throw after me, he always waits until the wind picks up, he throws it further than me and throws it harder than me, likes to embarrass me in front of all the people watching us throw.”