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TEAMS WILL DARE ELI TO BEAT THEM REST OF WAY
The game changes for the Giants with Plaxico BurressPlaxico Burress
gone and no one to draw double coverage, so don't expect them to run for 200 or more yards in a game anytime soon (see Eagles game).Big Blue's Super Bowl hopes and dreams will come down to Pass/Fail.
I confronted Manning with that burden yesterday and he didn't even blink.
Those slumped shoulders of yesteryear have given way to a Bring It On swagger - what every championship team needs to see in its leader.
They will dare Manning to beat them from here to Super Bowl XLIII, especially given January in East Rutherford if and when the Giants clinch that No. 1 seed, and he will relish taking that dare.
"I like throwing the ball, believe it or not," Manning said. "That's my position, that's what I'm here for. I take pride in our running game, and try to get us in and out of good runs, but I still like to throw it. That's what I grew up doing."
Placing this kind of onus on Manning a year ago at this time would have frightened Giants fans to death, but not now. Asking Giant fans whether they'd prefer Manning over Tony Romo a year ago would have been dismissed as folly, but not now. Manning knows this offense so well, he loves The Big Game so much, that he has reached the stage of his development where he is fully capable of making everyone around him better, so don't sweat the Eagles game.
"Playing playoff games, and you win some of those big games, it gives you sense, and your teammates a sense that no matter what happens, how we start, or what's going on in the game, we're gonna find a way to win this game, we're gonna find a way to bounce back," Manning said.
The Giants are NFC East champions for plenty of reasons - the best offensive line in football, the legs of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and John Carney, the pugnacious defense, Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff, superior veteran leadership - and the winner who plays quarterback.
His won-lost record is 41-27. Phil Simms was 34-34 after the same 68 games, before finishing 95-64, with two Super Bowl rings. Simms had Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson and Carl Banks on his side - and Joe Morris and later Ottis Anderson - but when Bill Parcells asked him to go win the game, he could, and did (see Pasadena). Manning has Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Antonio Pierce on his side - and Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward - but when Coughlin asks him to win the game, he can, and will.
"We have a dominant defense, we have a strong running attack, but you gotta have a quarterback who can throw it when they dare you to throw it, and that's what I hope - I hope they stack eight guys in the box, that's what I'm looking for," Manning said. "When they're playing two safeties high, and you can't run the ball and they can sit there and play two safeties high, and you have to throw, that's not a good situation, that's when things are tough."
Manning reported to work yesterday morning a loser for only the third time since the 2007 regular-season finale against the Patriots and first time since Oct. 13 in Cleveland.
"It's been a while since we've lost games around here; it's got to the point where we're not used to it, and that's a good thing," Manning said. "You forget how bad it is losing around here, and that's also good, so hopefully we get back to that winning feeling."
Against another desperate team, the hated Cowboys.
"They're in a must-win situation, and we gotta have that philosophy also," Manning said. "They're fighting for the playoffs, we're fighting for home field and a first-round bye, we know we got Carolina and Tampa right on out back and whoever wins that game [last night], so we gotta step up and we gotta win a couple of these last games."
Getcha popcorn ready.
steve.serby@nypost.com
The game changes for the Giants with Plaxico BurressPlaxico Burress
I confronted Manning with that burden yesterday and he didn't even blink.
Those slumped shoulders of yesteryear have given way to a Bring It On swagger - what every championship team needs to see in its leader.
They will dare Manning to beat them from here to Super Bowl XLIII, especially given January in East Rutherford if and when the Giants clinch that No. 1 seed, and he will relish taking that dare.
"I like throwing the ball, believe it or not," Manning said. "That's my position, that's what I'm here for. I take pride in our running game, and try to get us in and out of good runs, but I still like to throw it. That's what I grew up doing."
Placing this kind of onus on Manning a year ago at this time would have frightened Giants fans to death, but not now. Asking Giant fans whether they'd prefer Manning over Tony Romo a year ago would have been dismissed as folly, but not now. Manning knows this offense so well, he loves The Big Game so much, that he has reached the stage of his development where he is fully capable of making everyone around him better, so don't sweat the Eagles game.
"Playing playoff games, and you win some of those big games, it gives you sense, and your teammates a sense that no matter what happens, how we start, or what's going on in the game, we're gonna find a way to win this game, we're gonna find a way to bounce back," Manning said.
The Giants are NFC East champions for plenty of reasons - the best offensive line in football, the legs of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and John Carney, the pugnacious defense, Tom Coughlin and his coaching staff, superior veteran leadership - and the winner who plays quarterback.
His won-lost record is 41-27. Phil Simms was 34-34 after the same 68 games, before finishing 95-64, with two Super Bowl rings. Simms had Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson and Carl Banks on his side - and Joe Morris and later Ottis Anderson - but when Bill Parcells asked him to go win the game, he could, and did (see Pasadena). Manning has Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and Antonio Pierce on his side - and Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward - but when Coughlin asks him to win the game, he can, and will.
"We have a dominant defense, we have a strong running attack, but you gotta have a quarterback who can throw it when they dare you to throw it, and that's what I hope - I hope they stack eight guys in the box, that's what I'm looking for," Manning said. "When they're playing two safeties high, and you can't run the ball and they can sit there and play two safeties high, and you have to throw, that's not a good situation, that's when things are tough."
Manning reported to work yesterday morning a loser for only the third time since the 2007 regular-season finale against the Patriots and first time since Oct. 13 in Cleveland.
"It's been a while since we've lost games around here; it's got to the point where we're not used to it, and that's a good thing," Manning said. "You forget how bad it is losing around here, and that's also good, so hopefully we get back to that winning feeling."
Against another desperate team, the hated Cowboys.
"They're in a must-win situation, and we gotta have that philosophy also," Manning said. "They're fighting for the playoffs, we're fighting for home field and a first-round bye, we know we got Carolina and Tampa right on out back and whoever wins that game [last night], so we gotta step up and we gotta win a couple of these last games."
Getcha popcorn ready.
steve.serby@nypost.com
ray:
