So captivating was the Giants’ remarkable run to glory in Super Bowl XLII that the difficult road traversed to get them there is often overlooked or forgotten completely. Leave it to Eli Manning, as grounded and mature a 27-year-old as you’re going to find, to remind everyone of the journey.
“You can’t look at just the last four games and say, ‘This is who we are,’ ” Manning said Friday after a workout at Giants Stadium. “You got to look at the whole season. Last year, if you look at some of the games, we were almost fortunate to make it into the playoffs in the first place. We got a lot to improve on.”
Make no mistake, Manning has enjoyed the ride. As the Super Bowl MVP, he engineered a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to slay the mighty Patriots, locating Plaxico Burress with a mere 35 seconds left for the winning points in a stunning 17-14 victory. A Super Bowl-winning quarterback is an exalted position; a Super Bowl quarterback in New York is the stuff of legend. Manning wears the crown well, with little pretense, and around the Giants there is absolutely no concern that the glory will go to his head.
For the past two weeks, Manning joined his teammates at the offseason program, lifting and running and sweating. Where else would he be? Following the emotional victory parade up the Canyon of Heroes, he smartly stuck to his usual after-season routine, getting away for three weeks, hitting the beach, going hunting, visiting friends and family in Mississippi, Nashville, Tenn., (fiancee Abby McGrew’s hometown) and New Orleans. He went back to his roots.
“People who you can feel at home with and relaxed with and you can be yourself,” he said.
Upon his return, there were countless appearances, charity events and celebratory parties to attend, and attend he did, willingly. He’s planning a wedding this offseason. But when it came time to get back to work, Manning was back at it, with no fanfare.
There are specific areas Manning has honed in on, seeking to enhance his performance. He was not happy with last season’s deep passing game and has a plan in place to get it going.
“I’d like to add 10 more yards to my throw, to my deep ball,” Manning said.
He’s putting more of an emphasis on strengthening his legs, which he figures will add distance to his throws and prevent injuries during the season. Judging from his words and actions, Manning is under no illusion that his impressive string of playoff starts, culminating with his out-dueling of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, means he has finally arrived as a complete NFL quarterback.
“It’s satisfying, but I still work extremely hard in what I’m doing. I’m not content with where I am in my play,” Manning said. “I played well through the playoff run, but I’d like to do that over 16 regular-season games and into the playoffs rather than wait until the last four.”
That attitude, Manning believes, has permeated throughout the team.
“I think what we realize is that we can become a better team,” he said. “Last year, we got hot at the end of the season, but we need to become a better team all-around and guys realize that. Guys understand we can’t just stay content where we are.
“We got to keep the same attitude we had last year, we don’t have to talk about repeating. That doesn’t have to be part of our discussion. Our discussion is to get better. Last year was a great season, it was fun, but it’s over. There’ll still be times to enjoy it, when we get our rings, when we go to the White House, you enjoy those moments and celebrate it, and that’s fine. Once you’re in here, once you’re working out, once you’re committed to [getting] better and doing the football stuff, you got to turn the page and say it’s a whole new year. If we stay the same team as we were last year, we’re not going to be able to do this again.”