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Manning's transformation complete

BY BOB GLAUBER | bob.glauber@newsday.com

February 9, 2008

The day after Eli Manning put on the performance of a lifetime, Giants quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer indulged in a little game of "told you so."

"Remember I said it in training camp; he is more an athletic guy than people give him credit for," said Palmer, who joined the Giants' coaching staff in 2007. "I could see it in him right away, and people thought I was crazy for saying it."

There was no better example of Manning's athletic ability than the play that will go down as one of the most amazing in Super Bowl history. If not the most amazing. On third-and-5 from the Giants' 44 with 1:15 to play and the Giants trailing 14-10, Manning somehow avoided a heavy rush by the Patriots, escaped the grasp of Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour and spun to his right. He then found David Tyree down the middle of the field, and Tyree made a stunning catch by pinning the ball to his helmet with one hand after a 32-yard gain. Four plays later, Manning found Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone for the winning score.

"This kid can play," Palmer said. "I don't think there's any doubt about that anymore."

No, there is not.

Manning, acquired by the Giants in a blockbuster trade on draft day in 2004, showed the promise the Giants envisioned by earning his first four postseason victories and leading his team to its third Super Bowl title. It was a season of ups and downs -- general manager Jerry Reese even suggested Manning was "skittish" after a particularly dreary performance against the Vikings on Nov. 25 -- but in the end, he blossomed into a Super Bowl MVP.

"Whenever you have a quarterback between his second and third full season as a starter, it's a very important time," Reese said. "If they're going to make a jump, that's when it's going to occur. If you remember in training camp, he looked really, really sharp."

Manning seemed like a different quarterback in camp, showing a commanding presence and running the Giants' offense with more authority than he had in his previous two full seasons as a starter. He looked spectacular in a season-opening 45-35 loss to the Cowboys, throwing four TD passes.

But he suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter, and his play was somewhat affected in the next four games. He kept playing, though, and after a Week 2 loss to the Packers, he helped the Giants reel off six straight wins.

But Manning's four-interception debacle against the Vikings, in which three picks were returned for scores, had Giants fans wondering about him.

But Reese expressed confidence that his quarterback would respond, and the following week, Manning rallied the Giants with a stirring fourth-quarter performance in Chicago. His four-touchdown performance against the Patriots in a regular season-ending 38-35 loss seemed to provide a springboard into the playoffs.

"I think everybody was doing their jobs and doing them well," Manning said. "I think the biggest thing is we were all on the same page."

Against the 18-0 Patriots, Manning responded to Tom Brady's go-ahead drive in the fourth, marching the Giants 83 yards for the winning score.

It was the biggest highlight of his career. But maybe not the last one.