Eli Manning

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Eli Manning
Eli Manning as an Ole Miss Rebel QB.
Date of birth	January 3, 1981 (age 26)
Place of birth	New Orleans, Louisiana
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Position(s)	QB
College	Ole Miss
NFL Draft	2004 / Round 1 / Pick 1
Career Highlights
Awards	2003 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award 2003 Maxwell Award 2001 Charlie Conerly Trophy
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference NFL.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
2004-present	New York Giants

Elisha "Eli" Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) 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 wide receiver Cooper Manning.

1 Career
2 Personal life

[edit] Career

[edit] 2004 NFL Draft

Main article: Rivers-Manning Trade

Eli Manning was considered to be the top prospect prior to the 2004 NFL Draft. He became a target of criticism for stating that he would not sign with the San Diego Chargers, who owned the first pick in the draft, due to their recent poor record of holdouts with high first round picks such as Quentin Jammer and LaDainian Tomlinson. Manning's claim was proven to be somewhat justified when the Chargers' eventual first round player, Philip Rivers, had a lengthy contract dispute with the team. 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 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 —

The trade has so far worked out to be largely one-sided in favor of the Chargers. Their acquisitions from this trade have been the three future Pro Bowlers: Rivers, Outside Linebacker Shawne Merriman and Kicker Nate Kaeding. The Chargers also traded for Roman Oben, a Super Bowl winning Left Tackle from Tampa Bay with the 2005 fifth round draft pick the Giants gave them. The Chargers will also consider the third round compensation pick from the NFL in the 2007 draft for releasing Drew Brees as being inextricably linked with the Manning trade.

Many feel that this trade is comparable to the Minnesota Vikings acquisition of Hershel Walker for future draft picks that let the Dallas Cowboys acquire Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, all pro-bowlers.

[edit] 2004 season

Manning spent the first half of his rookie year being tutored by veteran Kurt Warner. After two tough defeats in the middle 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. On January 2nd,2005 against Dallas, Eli's future trademark as a "come-from-behind" quarterback came front and center as he led the Giants to a last-minute touchdown drive to end an eight-game losing streak with a 28-24 victory.

It was said several times, including by the renowned John Madden, that Eli had the brightest future of any of the quarterbacks taken in the 2004 draft, and that he believes that Eli Manning will be the best QB of that draft. It should be noted that he was the same guy that said the Patriots should just let the clock run out in the superbowl against the Rams. So, obviously, he can be wrong.

[edit] 2005 NFC East Champion

Following 2004, the Giants released Warner, and 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 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.

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.

[edit] 2006

Manning's second full season was reminiscent of his 2005 campaign. He started off playing well and completed over 65 percent off his passes through the first four games. However, he struggled in the second half of the season and his production fell off towards the end of the regular season. After losing a tough game to his brother Peyton and the Colts on opening day, Eli responded with the best comeback of his career. He rallied the Giants from a 24-7 deficit on route to a stunning 30-24 overtime victory over the division rival Eagles in week two. Manning threw for a career high 371 yards in the win and tossed three touchdowns including the game winner to Plaxico Burress in overtime. Following a poor team performance against Seattle, Manning and the Giants responded by winning five straight games including wins over the Redskins, Cowboys and Falcons to run their record to 6-2.

Following the winning streak, key injuries including one to receiver Amani Toomer began Manning's swoon. Against the Bears, he was held to only 141 yards passing and two interceptions. He struggled the next week at Jacksonville and a costly interception helped to culminate a huge collapse at Tennessee, with the Giants losing a 21-point fourth quarter lead. Manning improved the following week against the Cowboys, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, but the Giants lost again. Regaining momentum, he threw three touchdowns in a win at Carolina, but then 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 was significantly better this time around as compared to the 2005 showing, completing 16 of 27 passes and two touchdowns, the Giants lost on a last second field goal.

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 again, struggled badly in the second half of the season. Adding that coach Tom Coughlin will return for the 2007 campaign and given that Tiki Barber has officially retired, it will be up to Manning to lead the Giants.

[edit] Personal life

Manning is engaged to longtime girlfriend Abby McGrew. [1] [2]

Preceded by Carson Palmer	1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 2004	Succeeded by Alex Smith
Preceded by Kurt Warner	New York Giants Starting Quarterbacks 2004-	Succeeded by Incumbent