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You have to love this one.....have you ever seen an NFL QB's father come out and speak to the fans of the team pleading iwth them to give his son some time?
ARCHIE: SON WILL RISE AGAIN
By STEVE SERBY
ARCHIE Manning, the first father of the NFL, has this message for panic-stricken Giants fans:
Don't give up on my baby boy Eli.
"Just keep the faith," Archie said yesterday. "I like Giant fans. I understand this day and time. It's kind of the football world we live in. You want success for your team; when it doesn't happen, you get upset. You blame the coach, you blame the quarterback, you blame the GM. Nothing I can say is gonna change any of that.
"I'm not gonna get mad at Giant fans. I like Giant fans. I like going to Giant games. They've been nice to our family. Now, this is a little tougher. You gotta keep fighting, keep playing.
"It's been like a yo-yo with Eli. They've changed their opinion before, they can change it again. The Mannings aren't mad at Giant fans. We understand."
Archie has sent several supportive text messages to Eli during the recent struggles and was asked what he planned to tell him when he gets his son on the phone.
"I'm not his coach, so I don't get into football stuff," Archie said. "It's not a whole lot you can say. To condense anything I tell Eli, it would be, hang tough, and I love him and I'm proud of him. That's about it. There's no marathon conversation. During good times, we don't go overboard; I tell them, congratulations. During bad times, I tell them to hang tough. You just keep sawing wood."
Archie's all-world quarterback son, Peyton, also reached out from Indianapolis to his little brother.
"I know they have weekly conversations," Archie said. "I wouldn't think they'll have any more and it probably won't be any longer. Eli knows the deal.
"I never ask what goes on in their conversations. Peyton's a tough guy and Eli's a tough guy. I know he's very supportive of his little brother, as he always has been. I'm sure whatever he told him was short but supportive. I know this: I'm almost positive it'll be no different than another week."
Archie, who endured his own struggles as Saints quarterback, remembers Peyton's rough start with the Colts.
"I remember some tough Sunday nights and some tough Mondays and Tuesdays before you go back to work," Archie said. "You just hang tough, and he did. He fought his way out of them. What goes on in Indianapolis is not exactly like what goes on in New York, we know that."
Archie and his wife, Olivia, spent Thanksgiving here with Eli.
"We have heavy hearts for him," Archie said. "You don't like to see your children struggle, but you understand. It happened all over the league. There are parents every Sunday whose children have good days, and children who have bad days. On the bad days, you hurt for them. That's the way this parenting thing is."
It doesn't surprise Archie that Eli stood at his locker Monday in the face of a media blitz and calmly answered every question.
"Eli's not gonna blow up," Archie said. "He's not blaming anybody for this. He's not gonna turn on the press. He will keep battling."
Now, with the NFC East title likely on the line Sunday against the Cowboys, the Giants need Eli to outduel Tony Romo and show he is not in the throes of a regression to his rookie season.
"He's improved too much since then," Archie said of Eli. "This isn't a golfer who's had the yips and all of a sudden he's got the yips again. This is football. This is a team that's struggling right now and a young quarterback who's struggling along with it."
Archie said he doesn't believe Eli's problems are related to his mechanics.
"I've had people calling me that watch a lot more film than I do tell me his mechanics are fine," Archie said.
Eli always will have his parents and brothers Peyton and Cooper believing in him. The key will be to make sure his Giants teammates do not stop believing in him.
"I can't predict Sunday; I can't predict the rest of the season," Archie said. "I believe in my heart Eli's gonna be fine. He wants to be a good player, and he doesn't mind working for it."
steve.serby@nypost.com
To sign up for Daily Newsletter Alerts, please visit http://www.nypost.com/php/newsletter/classify_newsletter_clicks.php
ARCHIE: SON WILL RISE AGAIN
By STEVE SERBY
ARCHIE Manning, the first father of the NFL, has this message for panic-stricken Giants fans:
Don't give up on my baby boy Eli.
"Just keep the faith," Archie said yesterday. "I like Giant fans. I understand this day and time. It's kind of the football world we live in. You want success for your team; when it doesn't happen, you get upset. You blame the coach, you blame the quarterback, you blame the GM. Nothing I can say is gonna change any of that.
"I'm not gonna get mad at Giant fans. I like Giant fans. I like going to Giant games. They've been nice to our family. Now, this is a little tougher. You gotta keep fighting, keep playing.
"It's been like a yo-yo with Eli. They've changed their opinion before, they can change it again. The Mannings aren't mad at Giant fans. We understand."
Archie has sent several supportive text messages to Eli during the recent struggles and was asked what he planned to tell him when he gets his son on the phone.
"I'm not his coach, so I don't get into football stuff," Archie said. "It's not a whole lot you can say. To condense anything I tell Eli, it would be, hang tough, and I love him and I'm proud of him. That's about it. There's no marathon conversation. During good times, we don't go overboard; I tell them, congratulations. During bad times, I tell them to hang tough. You just keep sawing wood."
Archie's all-world quarterback son, Peyton, also reached out from Indianapolis to his little brother.
"I know they have weekly conversations," Archie said. "I wouldn't think they'll have any more and it probably won't be any longer. Eli knows the deal.
"I never ask what goes on in their conversations. Peyton's a tough guy and Eli's a tough guy. I know he's very supportive of his little brother, as he always has been. I'm sure whatever he told him was short but supportive. I know this: I'm almost positive it'll be no different than another week."
Archie, who endured his own struggles as Saints quarterback, remembers Peyton's rough start with the Colts.
"I remember some tough Sunday nights and some tough Mondays and Tuesdays before you go back to work," Archie said. "You just hang tough, and he did. He fought his way out of them. What goes on in Indianapolis is not exactly like what goes on in New York, we know that."
Archie and his wife, Olivia, spent Thanksgiving here with Eli.
"We have heavy hearts for him," Archie said. "You don't like to see your children struggle, but you understand. It happened all over the league. There are parents every Sunday whose children have good days, and children who have bad days. On the bad days, you hurt for them. That's the way this parenting thing is."
It doesn't surprise Archie that Eli stood at his locker Monday in the face of a media blitz and calmly answered every question.
"Eli's not gonna blow up," Archie said. "He's not blaming anybody for this. He's not gonna turn on the press. He will keep battling."
Now, with the NFC East title likely on the line Sunday against the Cowboys, the Giants need Eli to outduel Tony Romo and show he is not in the throes of a regression to his rookie season.
"He's improved too much since then," Archie said of Eli. "This isn't a golfer who's had the yips and all of a sudden he's got the yips again. This is football. This is a team that's struggling right now and a young quarterback who's struggling along with it."
Archie said he doesn't believe Eli's problems are related to his mechanics.
"I've had people calling me that watch a lot more film than I do tell me his mechanics are fine," Archie said.
Eli always will have his parents and brothers Peyton and Cooper believing in him. The key will be to make sure his Giants teammates do not stop believing in him.
"I can't predict Sunday; I can't predict the rest of the season," Archie said. "I believe in my heart Eli's gonna be fine. He wants to be a good player, and he doesn't mind working for it."
steve.serby@nypost.com
To sign up for Daily Newsletter Alerts, please visit http://www.nypost.com/php/newsletter/classify_newsletter_clicks.php
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