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By PAUL SCHWARTZ
June 23, 2006 -- Fast-forward five years from now. Eli Manning is 30 years old, an established star quarterback, owner of many Giants passing records and on pace to accumulate a bundle more. He is what he was destined to become.
Just don't ask him to ever evolve into the charismatic leader some believe the Giants need him to be.
"That's just not me," Manning said this week in a one-on-one interview with The Post. "Maybe I'll be a little different but it's not going to be a full change. I'm not going to be the personality where I make everyone laugh, or the scene where you come in [the locker room] and I'm telling jokes and whatnot to the media or whoever. That's not me."
Anyone waiting for Manning to angrily grab a route-wrecking receiver by the neck or leap and frolic after a touchdown pass, anyone anxious to hear poignant words of wisdom or see him hold court in front of his locker had better move on. Verve and panache are not part of the equation when Manning steps out of the huddle or saunters up to the microphone. He often appears one yawn away from a nap.
"He's pretty unflappable, he really is," quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride said.
Cool and calm is what you want when it's third-and-eight and there's no evidence to suggest Manning won't be able to handle the physical and mental workload heaped upon him. In his first full season as a starter, Manning in 2005 directed the Giants to an 11-5 record and a first-place finish in the NFC East. He tossed 24 touchdown passes and divided the ball among Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress, Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer.
A troubling loss of effectiveness in the final six games, lowlighted by an incompetent showing in a humiliating 23-0 playoff loss to the Panthers, sparked a new wave of "Does Eli have it?" angst. Still, when Manning reports to training camp in Albany July 27, the expectations of his teammates, the fans and the front office are for him to take the next step toward eventual stardom.
"I want to get to the level I know I can get to," Manning said. "I understand that they say it takes time, there's a lot of things for me to learn, but I don't give that excuse to myself.
"When you start comparing yourself to other quarterbacks, I want to be playing at the level where [big brother] Peyton's been playing, Tom Brady, what [Donovan] McNabb has been able to do. The elite quarterbacks in the league."
At his best, Manning has studied the opponent and the gameplan so extensively that he is in complete command, making the correct read and delivering the ball on time and on target. He does not dwell on mistakes, is sturdy enough despite a non-muscular exterior and has a breezy manner that serves him well during the grind of a long season.
When he's going badly, Manning appears somewhat robotic, doggedly going through his proper progressions when some old-fashioned instinctive action would serve him better. The desire to make the right play is so strong that the throwing motion is an afterthought, leading to a breakdown in his mechanics.
With so many marquee attractions around him, Manning does not have to be an emotional lightning rod but the nature of his position forces him to fill the role of leader, even if his temperament makes him more of a blend-in character. He possesses no in-your-face threat.
"Every quarterback has their own way of dealing with things," he said. "You have to learn your teammates and figure out how to deal with each of them. Everybody needs to be talked to differently, everybody needs to be dealt with differently, how you get their attention, how to get them excited and not down on themselves, how do you correct them without it looking like you're getting on them, making sure no one else knows.
"You don't want to call anybody out. Sometimes you need to say something in front of everybody to get their attention, but you also don't want to get them upset. It takes some time to figure out those things."
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
LINK
June 23, 2006 -- Fast-forward five years from now. Eli Manning is 30 years old, an established star quarterback, owner of many Giants passing records and on pace to accumulate a bundle more. He is what he was destined to become.
Just don't ask him to ever evolve into the charismatic leader some believe the Giants need him to be.
"That's just not me," Manning said this week in a one-on-one interview with The Post. "Maybe I'll be a little different but it's not going to be a full change. I'm not going to be the personality where I make everyone laugh, or the scene where you come in [the locker room] and I'm telling jokes and whatnot to the media or whoever. That's not me."
Anyone waiting for Manning to angrily grab a route-wrecking receiver by the neck or leap and frolic after a touchdown pass, anyone anxious to hear poignant words of wisdom or see him hold court in front of his locker had better move on. Verve and panache are not part of the equation when Manning steps out of the huddle or saunters up to the microphone. He often appears one yawn away from a nap.
"He's pretty unflappable, he really is," quarterbacks coach Kevin Gilbride said.
Cool and calm is what you want when it's third-and-eight and there's no evidence to suggest Manning won't be able to handle the physical and mental workload heaped upon him. In his first full season as a starter, Manning in 2005 directed the Giants to an 11-5 record and a first-place finish in the NFC East. He tossed 24 touchdown passes and divided the ball among Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress, Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer.
A troubling loss of effectiveness in the final six games, lowlighted by an incompetent showing in a humiliating 23-0 playoff loss to the Panthers, sparked a new wave of "Does Eli have it?" angst. Still, when Manning reports to training camp in Albany July 27, the expectations of his teammates, the fans and the front office are for him to take the next step toward eventual stardom.
"I want to get to the level I know I can get to," Manning said. "I understand that they say it takes time, there's a lot of things for me to learn, but I don't give that excuse to myself.
"When you start comparing yourself to other quarterbacks, I want to be playing at the level where [big brother] Peyton's been playing, Tom Brady, what [Donovan] McNabb has been able to do. The elite quarterbacks in the league."
At his best, Manning has studied the opponent and the gameplan so extensively that he is in complete command, making the correct read and delivering the ball on time and on target. He does not dwell on mistakes, is sturdy enough despite a non-muscular exterior and has a breezy manner that serves him well during the grind of a long season.
When he's going badly, Manning appears somewhat robotic, doggedly going through his proper progressions when some old-fashioned instinctive action would serve him better. The desire to make the right play is so strong that the throwing motion is an afterthought, leading to a breakdown in his mechanics.
With so many marquee attractions around him, Manning does not have to be an emotional lightning rod but the nature of his position forces him to fill the role of leader, even if his temperament makes him more of a blend-in character. He possesses no in-your-face threat.
"Every quarterback has their own way of dealing with things," he said. "You have to learn your teammates and figure out how to deal with each of them. Everybody needs to be talked to differently, everybody needs to be dealt with differently, how you get their attention, how to get them excited and not down on themselves, how do you correct them without it looking like you're getting on them, making sure no one else knows.
"You don't want to call anybody out. Sometimes you need to say something in front of everybody to get their attention, but you also don't want to get them upset. It takes some time to figure out those things."
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
LINK
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