I grew up a Giants fan in the seventies. At different times, the team had great defenses, but almost always putrid offenses, culminating in The Fumble in November 1978. But beyond how basically dreadful the Giants were, we had to sit and watch as America's Team kept dominating the NFC East (why were they in the East in the first place, for chrissake? New York, Washington, Philadelphia...and Dallas? The Cardinals were in St. Louis, and that certainly didn't make much sense either). In the seventies, they went to five Super Bowls, winning two. They were led for most of the decade by Roger Staubach, whom we simply referred to as "him," kind of like Red Sox fans would refer to "Aaron Fucking Boone" when speaking of the hero of the 2003 ALCS.
Staubach was famous for his late-game theatrics, building his reputation in the 1975 NFC division playoffs on a last-second touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings, that became known as the "Hail Mary" pass because, after the game, Staubach told reporters that just before he threw the pass to Drew Pearson, he said a quick Hail Mary prayer. (The name has stuck to any such pass thrown in desperation at the end of a game.) In truth, Staubach only had little over a dozen 4th quarter comebacks in his career -- John Elway has twice that many -- but it sure as hell seemed like he had more, and as I became more involved a fan, I understood that no lead was safe against the Cowboys; in his time Roger Staubach owned the last two minutes of a game the way that Elway would a generation later.
As Staubach's career ended with the decade -- his career started late because of his service in the Navy, where he'd won a Heisman trophy -- the Giants' luck turned. NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in to stop the feud between the patriarch of the team (and in many respects the league itself) Wellington Mara and his nephew Tim, telling them to trust his judgment and accept George Young from the league offices, to run the team. His first draft pick was Phil Simms. He also drafted Lawrence Taylor. The result: within eleven years, the Giants had won two Super Bowls.
Since Young retired (he has since passed on), the Giants have had two General Managers, Ernie Acorsi and Jerry Reese. Acorsi put together the team that went to the Super Bowl in 2000 (they got crushed by the Baltimore Ravens), and Reese has been in charge of the teams that have won two Super Bowls in the last five seasons. Acorsi's stamp is stil very much on this current Giant team, because it was Acorsi -- at Reese's recommendation, as Reese was Acorsi's top scout -- who made the trade with the San Diego Chargers that brought Eli Manning to New York.
And Eli is rapidly become the Staubach of this era. No lead is safe against him.
Mike Lupica's column in today's New York Daily News tells it like it is: this is not only a fun time to be a Giant fan, it is the most fun time ever. Steve Serby's column in the Post makes a similar declaration, focusing on Eli himself: He declares Manning the best QB in the league right now.
Is there anyone else in the league you'd want to bring your team back from a fourth quarter deficit? Philip Rivers? Big Ben? Aaron Rodgers? Drew Brees? Even Tom Brady and Eli's big brother Peyton? Nope. Even before his first Super Bowl triumph in the final minutes against Brady, Eli had a knack for success running the two-minute offense. It was the one thing everyone on Sportstalkradio could agree with about him. Eli was very cool under pressure, though at times that coolness was translated as a deer-in-headlights look. Since that great finish against Tom Brady, who was going for history in the desert in January 2008 (the Patriots were 18-0, looking to cap a perfect season, and Brady was going for his fourth Lombardi Trophy, which would put him in very short company alongside Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana), Eli has simply been money in the fourth quarter, as he was this past weekend against the Redskins (who have a helluva young quarterback themselves, and as a Giants fan I can only hope he's more reckless running the ball and takes too much of a beating to have as great a career as I think he's gonna have).
Let's not kid ourselves: Big Ben in a foxhole is great, tough as nails, and he's proven he can do it on the big stage. (He's 2-1 in Super Bowls.) Brees and Rodgers are are gifted quarterbacks in the classic mold, and they've each one a title and probably will win more. Brady is Brady, and Peyton has managed to get the Brady-monkey off his back, winning one title and losing another Super Bowl (to Brees and to Saints coach Shawn Payton's gamble of starting the second half with an onside kick). But Eli right now tops them all. Will he be higher on the All-Time list than his brother, or Brady? Probably not. But Giant fans have to be thrilled at the way their organization is run: five Super Bowl appearances since 1979, and right now the best quarterback they've ever had is in his prime.
Oh, and the nice part: Eli has already surpassed "him" on the list of most fourth-quarter comebacks.
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