Forget the brotherly love for a second if you can.
When Peyton Manning spoke about his brother Eli’s future, it wasn’t the gushing of a proud sibling. Peyton was evaluating his brother through a quarterback’s eyes and Giants’ fans should love the vision:
“I feel strongly that this will not be the last Super Bowl that he will play in,” Peyton said yesterday on a conference call.
Peyton won his Super Bowl ring last year when he led the Indianapolis Colts to a 29-17 victory over the Bears. Eli has a chance to make a trip to the jeweler if he can lead the Giants to an upset of the undefeated New England Patriots a week from Sunday.
The Mannings have more in common than their last name. They have faced their share of criticism and now seemed poised to set a standard for brother QBs that might never be equaled.
Despite putting up gaudy statistics, Peyton, who never led Tennessee to a national championship in college, started to face questions if he could lead the Colts to a Super Bowl. Eli’s toughness and his intangibles were being questioned as recently as midway through this season.
Peyton knew Eli was destined to succeed.
“I just think he has what it takes to lead his team to championships” said Peyton. “I have always thought he has that, even before what has happened these last three weeks.”
“The one thing about Eli that I will say – this is just coming from my experience – when I call him on Tuesdays on his off day he is always at the facility lifting weights or studying film. When I call him on Wednesday nights or Thursday nights usually around 9 p.m., which is kind of the best time for us to talk, what is he doing? He is always studying film.
“And like I said, as a quarterback, I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate that kind of work ethic, because I’m very much for the same mode. I think what you put into it is what you are going to get out of it.”
Eli put in three seasons and despite the fact that his completion percentage went up every year, critics pointed to his increasing interception totals and his 0-2 record in the postseason. But Eli has now led the Giants on the toughest of roads to the Super Bowl – three straight road playoff wins.
“This is obviously the biggest game that he has ever played in,” said Peyton. “It was certainly the biggest game I had ever played in last year. But I feel he is ready for the opportunity, although I have to say that I feel strongly that this will not be the last Super Bowl that he will play in.”