In 2013, San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers won the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award after reviving his career. Controlling a new offense where he got the ball out much quicker, dramatically decreasing his turnovers from 2011-2012 from 55 to just 12 in 2013. Rivers went on to throw for 4,478 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, with a quarterback rating (QBR) of 71.7 and a passer rating of 105.5 as he led the Chargers to their first postseason birth since 2009. He also led the team to a playoff win.
That same year, similar to Rivers 2012, Giants quarterback Eli Manning gave his worst performance of his career, throwing a career high in interceptions (27), and career lows in QBR (36.5), passer rating (69.4), and touchdown passes (18). New York somehow got a 7-9 total despite starting the year 0-6.
While we can’t blame Eli Manning for all that happened in 2013 (receivers running the wrong routes and dropping passes, along with horrible protection on the offensive line can do that), he certainly didn’t do much to say otherwise. Coming into the 2014 season, people questioned whether this would be Eli Manning’s last season in a Giants uniform, and if the future of the G-Men would involve a new quarterback.
So far, the answer to those questions is no. Not only has Eli Manning managed to silence most of his critics thus far, but he has arguably playing at a level not seen since his 2011 season.
The secret to Eli Manning’s success so far comes from two sources. The first is from new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, implanting a West Coast Offense style game plan for the Giants. The second comes from Eli Manning going Rivers-esque and releasing the ball at a much quicker rate than before.
But make no mistake; McAdoo is NOT a QB whisperer. Eli Manning has shown many times in the past that he has been a very good quarterback (and in some cases, elite). Rather, Eli Manning’s prime has been revived and he looks better than ever.
Admittedly, the new offense got off to a very rough start in the preseason. Despite going undefeated, Eli Manning and the offense came under fire for appearing weaker than the previous season. In a week one loss to the the Lions, it didn’t look any better. Eli Manning and the offense struggled throughout the game, and Manning finished with a 27.2 QBR, in addition to a 54.5% completions , as the Giants got wrecked by Detroit 35-14.
In week two against the Cardinals, a fire was lit. From the raw stats, you’d think Eli Manning struggled yet again. He threw two interceptions to go along with two touchdowns, and got an 83.0 passer rating on the day. Looking at that game again, however, shows that the stats completely lie. Eli Manning was awarded a 77.7 QBR (50.0 QBR=average). How could that happen with a two interception game?
The answer is simple: Eli Manning performed much better than what the two interception stat line suggests. Manning’s first interception was actually a tipped pass from his receiver, and his second came during garbage time, when the Giants were already down by 9 points.
Secondly, according to Pro Football Focus, Eli Manning’s receivers dropped more passes than any other team (except the Dolphins). These included perfect throws laid to waste because the receivers didn’t bother to try catching anything. So in short, Eli Manning played great in spite of the raw stats, completing 66.7% of his passes.
Against the Texans, the offense finally clicked. With two touchdowns and zero interceptions while throwing for 234 yards and completing 75.0% of his passes, Eli Manning led New York a 30-17 victory, getting the Giants their first win of the season while also giving Eli Manning a 78.7 QBR.
But it was Thursday Night’s game on the road against the Redskins that silenced the critics (for now). Eli Manning put on a clinic, throwing for 204 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers in the first half allone. . In total, he threw for 300 yards, a 71.8% completion rate, 4 touchdowns, had 1 rushing touchdown, 1 interception (which should have been a touchdown catch), and earned a 97.5 QBR.
Quite frankly, yesterday was perhaps the best I’ve seen Eli Manning play ever. His throws were being released at a quicker rate, packing more velocity than what I’ve seen from past seasons as well. Eli Manning also threw three great passes to tight end Larry Donnell (all touchdowns), and did a near flawless job reading Washington’s defense. Granted, his receivers were still dropping passes (one led to his only interception of the day), but ultimately the pieces came together.
One throw I was really impressed by came in the closing seconds of the first half. With 6 seconds left, on 3rd and 15, Eli Manning threw a perfect pass to a wide open Victor Cruz, who got out of bounds with 1 second to spare. It sent kicker Josh Brown out to make a successful 29-yard field goal as the first half expired. The throw was not only dead on, but Eli Manning’s quick release put New York in a better position to kick the field goal.
It was an MVP like performance as the Giants won 45-14. And Eli Manning did this despite only getting four days to prepare for a prime-time game on the road.
I’m going to go ahead and say it; right now, Eli Manning is playing like a top five quarterback. His last three games have been very impressive, and the new offense appears to have given the two-time Super Bowl MVP new life. And no, I’m not kidding when I say he’s playing like a top fiver quarterback. Sure, he has five interceptions, but only 2 or 3 of those were his fault (the others that shouldn’t count were tipped/misread by the intended receiver).
Much like Philip Rivers in 2013, Eli looks alive and better than ever, giving the NFC East some much needed competition. Can this hold up? It might not be guaranteed. Eli Manning has always been on a roller coaster his entire career, and I’d compare it to a game of Russian Roulette; you never know who he’s going to give the bullet to. We don’t know if he’ll be able to sustain the successful start in the next 12 games.
The fact remains that he’s currently exceeding expectations in McAdoo’s offense, so there is hope. And that’s more than enough for the Giants right now.
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