Filed under: Big Performances, Big Talk, Position Battles, Rivalries | Tags: Chicago Bears, Eli Manning, Hall of Fame, Indianapolis Colts, J.T. O’Sullivan, JaMarcus Russell, Kyle Orton, Marshall Faulk, New York Giants, NFL Football, NFL Network, Oakland Raiders, Peyton Manning, Pro Bowl, quarterback, San Fransisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl
There’s a Giant difference between these two brothers-et-arms… and there’s no question who’s going to be Manning the next football dynatsty — the numbers don’t lie, they Eli.
Experts say Giants QB Eli Manning surpasses brother Peyton
By RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERWednesday, October 8th 2008, 12:12 AM
It looks like younger brother Eli Manning may have taken the reins from brother Peyton as best quarterback in the family.Eight months ago, Eli Manning was the Super Bowl MVP. Now he’s the MVM.
In the battle for supremacy in the First Family of the NFL, young Eli has – at least temporarily – overtaken his older brother as the best Manning in football. Four games into the season, Eli leads Peyton in every significant, quarterback-measuring category. And one quarter of the way through his fifth NFL season, the kid once dubbed Eli the Terrible is suddenly rated the fifth-best quarterback in the league.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Marshall Faulk, the former Rams running back and now an NFL Network analyst. “I’ve listened to Peyton talk about his little brother and Peyton says that this kid is something special. You’ve got to believe Peyton Manning knows something about quarterbacks and he’s not just saying it because it’s his little brother.”
It is true that Peyton has been touting the merits of Eli ever since his kid brother was in high school, but it’s only recently that Peyton has truly had to look up at him. Peyton, of course, was watching from a luxury box when Eli won Super Bowl XLII last February, and became the second straight Manning to win the MVP. And now, Peyton is the leader of the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts, while Eli is 4-0 and leading arguably the best team in the league.
Not only that, Peyton – an eight-time Pro Bowler on the fast track to the Hall of Fame – has slipped to 20th in the quarterback rankings. His passer rating of 79.2 not only puts him way behind Eli (99.7), but also behind signal-callers such as Chicago’s Kyle Orton (87.6), Oakland’s JaMarcus Russell (84.9), and San Francisco’s J.T. O’Sullivan (82.2).
“It’s very early and I would never count Peyton out,” said one NFC scout. “But at the moment, it looks like Eli is set up to have the better year.”
Filed under: Benching, Firings, Position Battles | Tags: Buffalo Bills, Jim Haslett, Marc Bulger, Scott Linehan, St. Louis Rams, Steven Jackson, Trent Green
Jim learned a valuable lesson yesterday: You only miss ’em once they’re gone. Perhaps they’ll think twice before jumping into Greener pastures next time. ’till then…
Haslett Likely to Go With Bulger at QB
A source says it’s likely that new interim coach Jim Haslett will reinstate Marc Bulger as the starting quarterback in St. Louis.Scott Linehan, fired today by the Rams as their coach, benched Bulger last week in favor of Trent Green.
That move drew public criticism by Rams tailback Steven Jackson and failed to produce a win as the club lost Sunday to the Buffalo Bills to fall to 0-4.