A little smaller, a little rawer, a little less confident, perhaps, then his demi-god brother.
Eli Manning will be fine. I think the pedigree is too good, and, so did the Giants.
The biggest concern here is the very difficult division battle, and, overall schedule he faces.
I wouldn't be surprised if he even directs a few remarks to his brother in regards to the softball lobbed to the Colts every year.
You know: "Hey P. (What, don't you think he's got a nickname for his brother?) who do I have to pay to get a schedule like yours, Tagliabue or Murdoch?"
Even though he's young and raw, and still trying to shed some of that nice guy upbringing, his numbers last year can't be ignored. The passing attack should only get better.
The Giants still don't have that dominant, goal-line, go-to runner; which is OK. Tiki Barber is awesome and there isn't any reason not to let him continue what he does; which is move the chains and catch passes out of the backfield. Lots of his touchdowns can come from Manning.
Shockey is finally proving some durability and this should be a breakout year for Burress.
Even if it isn't, he's still a huge end-zone target that draws attention away from others.
The Giants could go a long way this year. The hardest steel comes from the hottest fire; and, a duel, Manning Superbowl, is a marketer's wet dream. And, not so far fetched this year!
He won't be drafted too quickly and shows more upside and certainly more reliability then a lot of the Q.B.s available.
Posting a sixth place finish with 97 points is very respectable, but, even better was his consistent point production including six points in week 17.
I'm not sure that the N.Y. media knows what to do with him. I think they accept that he's a good kid and respect him for it. I can't imagine any scandal derailing his confidence or attitude, and, until he screws up on the field, or leads the team down the rabbit hole, they will support him.
I would expect similar numbers, with a boost, this year.
The defense is special and the O-line growing. Coughlin's discipline is working and with a little luck on the injury front they could easily be the class of the N.F.C. East.
