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Feel Good Article Du Jour; New York Daily News 11/23
Topic Started: Nov 23 2006, 12:27 PM (29 Views)
Gene
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Down & Out
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Don't write off
Eli and Accorsi


Vic Ziegel, New York Daily News

The wild, wild world of sports is chock full of nuts who traded a Babe Ruth for a satchel-full of bills, a Bill Russell for Easy Ed Macauley, and my personal favorite, Patrick Roy to Colorado for Jocelyn Thibault. And now it turns out I'm as wrong as the investments I've made on too many horses. The worst deal ever made, this side of Manchester United, according to a regular on these pages, was all those bodies, including Philip Rivers, the Giants sent to San Diego for Eli Manning.

How is it that a guy, who like Rivers can't spell his first name correctly - you know who you are, Filip - thinks a first-place team has the wrong young quarterback, the son and brother of other great quarterbacks. And a mom who was homecoming queen. Eli's first pass was probably to the other end of the crib.

Maybe it's a New York thing. The world cheated us out of the AL MVP, and that last called strike to Carlos Beltran was another example of New York-hate. Give me enough time and I'll find a way to defend the Knicks.

OK, the Giants are in a slump, and that includes Manning. The coach belongs in that crowd, too. How is it that Jeremy Shockey, the igniting tight end, makes only two catches in the first half, after all those pledges from Tom Coughlin about getting him involved early and often?

Or that Tiki Barber, the star of this offense, carries the ball a lousy 10 times in Monday's loss at Jacksonville.

"Our strength is our front five and our running game," Tiki said, "and we didn't utilize that last week. If you're not gonna run the ball you can't win in the NFL. This is not rocket science."

Ernie Accorsi, who pulled off the trade for Manning, isn't taking out his handkerchief just yet. "Obviously, in this business, you need the courage of your convictions," he said yesterday. "I'm totally convinced by Eli's ability. I have the same conviction about him I always did and so does everybody in this organization. All the hysteria doesn't mean a thing to me."

He remembers a line uttered by Vince Lombardi. "Vince said, 'If you've seen him do it, he can do it.' Eli's going through a hard time but he's done it, he's 17-10 (since the start of last season)."

Manning ain't perfect. No argument there. After collecting 59 yards in the first half, he finished the night at 19-for-41, possibly the most anemic 230 yards ever gained. But that doesn't make him Browning Nagle.

The Giants are in a minor slide but they're 6-4, tied for first with Dallas, and own the head-to-head advantage. They're at Tennessee this Sunday, a game they should win, and come home for Dallas, a game they better win. There are no walkovers or chocolate kisses the rest of the season.

They came out of their bye week 1-2 and won the next five. The quarterback who threw 15 TD passes in those eight games was named Manning. Where was the Filip person then?

Nobody's ready to call the 25-year-old Manning a chip off the old block. He's still learning. His rookie season was kindergarten. Last year, his 24 TD passes were the most by a Giant since Fran Tarkenton in 1967. While those Giants were winning four of their last five games, finishing first in the NFC East, Rivers was spending his second year on the Chargers' bench. Right now, he's the darling of the league, and when they compare Rivers and Manning it's a no-contest. On the other hand, it's still November, six games left. Nothing is locked up.

The Giants put up some of their lowest numbers against the Jaguars - 13 first downs, 247 yards, time of possession that was hardly any time at all, 19:41. Yup, a night to forget.

"Eli's a concern," Coughlin says, adding, "When you talk about nine dropped balls you are not talking about a very good performance. Everybody around him has to play better."

Manning echoes those sentiments. "We didn't play well enough, we didn't execute real well, and we got to fix that," he said. "We got to make plays. We got to keep the defense on the field. Every quarterback goes through a phase when he's not playing great football. You can't lose your confidence. You can't be gun-shy. I haven't played well in (the last) two games. That doesn't mean I have to change everything."

If you do change something, and it works, Eli, point it out to my friend Filip. He might not see it.

Originally published on November 23, 2006

So I guess it was Filip Bondy who penned that absurd article the other day. Sheesh, that doofus should stick to writing his columns on soccer and figure skating and leave the reporting of real sports to the others.
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