Talk about tough love. Eli Manning's father, Archie, made a statement yesterday that put me back in my seat. After expressing his happiness and excitement for Peyton, he directed his attention toward Eli and Rex Grossman.
"Our family is elated," Archie said. "It's a situation where Eli, like Rex, got to experience and see what it's like to win a Super Bowl."I'm pretty sure that's the last thing Rex wanted to hear and it probably went through one ear and out the other. As a matter of fact, it was probably the last Eli wanted to hear as well. For Eli it probably felt like a shot to the gut as he once again found himself dreaming of being in Peyton's shoes, while Rex was sitting alone in the locker-room with his head in his hands.
Leave it to Archie to pour salt into open wounds. Despite how that comment may [or may not] have come across to those two young quarterbacks, he's probably right. These two quarterbacks get a lot of heat by the media and fans but have a lot of time left to improve. People are so quick to forget that they are young and relatively new to the NFL. They are expected to be superstars with no growth period and that's just unrealistic. As painful as it may have been for both of them last night, each for different reasons, it was very valuable experience that they can use moving forward.
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-05-2007 @ 1:35PM
GeraldR5 said...
Eli Manning could be just as great (or at least close to greatness) as Peyton if he ever gets a decent head coach and receivers who can actually catch the ball. I saw a lot of games this year where good to great passes from Eli were dropped or muffed by incompetent or disinterested receivers. I don't think anyone in their right mind will ever accuse Tom Caughlin of being an offensive genius!
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 2:13PM
Bill Harmeyer said...
This is Peyton's ninth season or more than half way through his career. Both Eli and Rex are still in the begining of thier careers, specifically Rex in his fourth year but the first complete season without injury and as a starter. Both Eli and Rex need improvement. Maybe after nine seasons they both rings.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 2:33PM
Michael said...
Don't take Archie's comments out of context. Archie is a class act
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 2:39PM
anita said...
Can you imagine what it was like growing up in that household? Why do some parents always have to put a "but" on praise? "you did well, but!" Why can't Archie just say he was proud of Payton and also say that his is proud of both of his sons.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 2:50PM
Dale said...
How many years did it take Peyton to achieve greatness. It took him nine years to win a Super bowel.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 2:58PM
n.d. said...
Ok Archie is very right and do not take his comments and twist them. When Eli and Rex become the scholar of football that Peyton is then they will be in his class. I have followed Peyton since the first day he stepped on the field at the University of Tennessee. He had the benefit of working with the top head coaches there and with a super head coach at the Colts. But Peyton also studies and studies football---films, plays, this is his life. These other two are more interested is tooo many other things. A Peyton Manning only comes along once in a while and we are blessed to have him now and the privilege of watching a Master play the game .
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 3:04PM
drum said...
What the hell is archie talkin about, what did he ever win??
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 3:11PM
Donna B. said...
I think Archie's comments were meant to be motivational for Eli and Rex. Archie played in the Pro's for 15 years- he knows these guys are both rookies and would never expect them to handle the nerves, adverse conditions and everything else Rex faced last night like a more seasoned player like Peyton. I'm not taking anything away from Peyton- I'm a huge fan and LOVED the Colts win, but he has put in his time as QB. He deserved it, Archie has nothing but love and respect for all three men.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 3:26PM
Beverly G. said...
Don't take Archie's words out of context. As a New Orleanian who has met Archie on several occasions, he is a perfect gentleman and would never say anything to hurt someone's feeling. I'm sure Archie was talking about himself too because he never played in a Super Bowl due to being affiliated with a lousy team. He was a great player and is a great person.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 4:08PM
robert said...
What did Archie do?. If he did not have two sons in the NFL, he would be on "do you remember", It's nice to be a mouth when there is 15 minutes of fame to live.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 4:11PM
Silky said...
I understand Archie's comments completely, and I do not think they are mean spirited. He is holding Peyton up as a role model, that both Rex and Eli can emulate.
Another instance of AOL stirring the pot.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 4:17PM
k said...
Drum you are a real idiot....Archie may not have won anything, but you couldnt find a more classier man.
Archie would NEVER say anything to hurt anybody.
You need to read up on Archie's life as a football player, as a father and mentor....or maybe you can't read....um that's it, you can't read.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 4:20PM
Ben McKnight said...
Eli couldn't hold Peyton's jock strap. His coach is of no consequence. Eli never has been, or will be, a great NFL QB. He's serviceable.
Humor me and look up his completion % in college. Now look up Peyton's. He's just not as accurate (or smart, or strong, or charismatic) as his older brother.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 4:35PM
Stan said...
Archie and all of the Mannings are a class act. Also, Archie's comment was taken totally out of context. When Grossman was struggling this year, Archie would call Rex's parents b/c its hard hearing harsh stuff about your kid day in and day out. He wasn't slamming Rex and would NEVER slam Eli. Also, if everyone would quit comparing Peyton and Eli--they are 2 totally different individuals who happen to be from the same family. Eli will find his way; just wait and see.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 5:02PM
ben drieth said...
Great. There's that word again. "Class." The word all these bozo posters are obsessed with. The word everybody thinks they know something about.
Micheal and K, for example, what the hell do you know about Archie Manning as a private person? What do you know about him behind the closed doors of his home? What does anybody really know about him or Johnny Unitas or anybody else? Remember when everyone thought Joe DiMaggio was a "class" act, just because he married Marilyn and smiled into the camera? What, did you guys read some slanted biography on Archie? Who would write a biography about him anyway?
I can't believe so many people think they can make snap judgments on other people based on...Based on what? Sometimes the most competetive, fiery people on the field are the nicest off field. And sometimes the people who seem "classy" (wow, I'm starting to hate that word) on camera aren't anything of the sort.
As for his comment, of course it's taken out of context, but isn't that what we've been doing here? We watch every little reaction a player or coach makes just mere moments after a gut-wrenching, last-second loss and suddenly we know all we need to know about them. We're all f'ing experts on character.
Enough already. Or, on second thought, let's go ahead and pick apart Archie's statement for a couple of days for the fun of it, and see how all the Manning lovers like it. Sure as hell, these over-sensitive armchair psychiatrists will be getting their panties in a bunch over Archie's character (or lack thereof)instead of celebrating Peyton's big win.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 5:12PM
zebras love horses said...
Beverly, a lot of people who've met Presidents Clinton or Bush would also say what charismatic gentlemen they are based on their brief meetings. However, there are other people, certain women, for example, or land owners in Texas, who have gotten to know these guys a whole lot better, and I assure you, they think otherwise.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 5:31PM
kgh10 said...
Ben you hit that on the nose. I cannot stand to hear the word "classy" anymore. Speaking of words used out of context...what the hell does classy mean anyways? I mean, I KNOW the actual definition, but everybody throws that word around like they know what the hell they're talking about.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 5:56PM
jon turner said...
ben i guess you dont know much about football or eli for sure. in college he held the best completion % for the sec his junior and senior year. hell he took a team like ole miss to share the sec west with LSU who went on to share the national title. and if ole miss kicker would have made a field goal ole miss would have beat LSU that year. so maybe you need to look up records.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 6:56PM
ben drieth said...
Jon Turner, I've got no problem with Eli. You must be mixing me up with someone else. My beef has to do with all these hypocrites who carry on and on about "class." Definitely one of the strangest conversations on sports I've ever heard.
Reply
2-05-2007 @ 9:25PM
Les Redmon said...
I HAVE SEEN MANY GAMES OF PAYTON MANNING AND SOME OF ELI'S. I HAVE SEEN MANY, MANY DROPPED BALLS BY RECEIVERS OF BOTH MANNINGS AND MANY MISSED BLOCKS. THE QUARTERBACK IS THE KEY PLAYER BUT FOOTBALL IS STILL A TEAM SPORT.
BOTH MANNINGS HAVE HAD WEAK TEAMS AROUND THEM IN THE PAST AND ELI DOES IN THE PRESENT. IT TAKES A LOT OF EXPERIENCE TO PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL. ELI WILL GET BETTER AND BETTER BUT HE WILL STILL NEED MUCH BETTER PLAYERS AND COACHES AROUND HIM THAN HE HAS NOW. COACHES ARE PART OF THE TEAM. HE IS A FINE QUARTERBACK AND PROBABLY WILL BE A TRULY GREAT ONE...BUT HE NEEDS ABOUT THREE TO FIVE MORE YEARS
AND A BETTER TEAM.
Reply