Glauber: Don't blame Eli for 3 interceptions

One look at the statistics and you'd think Eli Manning had a so-so day in the Giants' 31-18 win over the Panthers in the first regular-season game at New Meadowlands Stadium.

The three touchdown passes looked fine, and the 66.7 completion percentage was as good as you could ask.

But what about those three interceptions?

Here's what about 'em: Before every single interception, the ball hit a Giants receiver's hands first.

So how about we revisit the idea of a so-so day and call it a mostly brilliant one? Because it really was one of Manning's best efforts, the latest sign of a continued upward trend in the seventh-year quarterback.

Coming off his first career 4,000-yard season, Manning picked apart the Panthers' secondary to help the Giants christen their new stadium with a win over the same team that closed down the old stadium with a 41-9 drubbing.

"With a brand-new stadium, the crowd, you want to go out there and play well," Manning said. "It was very important for us to come out and get a win. We fought through some things early on, put ourselves in a hole, but we stayed positive, stayed confident, fought through it and made some big plays."

Most of those big plays went to second-year receiver Hakeem Nicks, who caught Manning's first three touchdown passes of their first season in the new stadium. There was a 26-yard score late in the first quarter, a 19-yarder late in the second to make it 14-9 and a 5-yarder late in the third that gave the Giants a 24-16 lead.

In the end, Nicks more than made up for the one play he wishes he had back - a pass that caromed off his hands and was intercepted at the Panthers' 42 to end the Giants' first drive. Ahmad Bradshaw and Ramses Barden also deflected Manning passes that were picked off.

"Eli and I had a good week of practice with our routes and our individual work," said Nicks, the Giants' first-round pick in 2009. "I feel pretty good right now, but at the same time, when I see the film, there will be things I'll critique myself on."

Other than the tipped pass, there wasn't much to complain about. In fact, Manning was extraordinarily efficient. Had the three tipped passes been caught by Giants instead of Panthers, he would have finished with a completion percentage of 76.7.

"That really shows the confidence he has in himself," coach Tom Coughlin said of Manning's resilience. "He continued to stay focused and not let the last play determine the outcome of the next play, which is very important."

With the Giants' defense showing vast improvement from the last time they faced the Panthers - even with some difficulties as the Panthers threatened in the second half - and with Manning showing he still is an ascending player, this is a team that we've felt all along has the capability of making it to the postseason.

But in a league in which dramatic twists and turns are the norm, even on a week-to-week basis, it is much too soon to issue any sweeping proclamations. Especially when Manning will face yet another significant test: After the thumping of a mediocre Panthers team, it's on to face big brother Peyton and a Colts club that is coming off a 34-24 road loss to the Texans.

Manning Bowl II is nearly upon us. But this time Eli plans to enjoy the moment more than the last one - Peyton's 26-21 win over Eli in the 2006 regular-season opener at Giants Stadium.

"The first time, being there was such a big fuss about it, I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should have," Eli said. "I think this next time, you start to realize, this might be the last one, or there might be one more here or there. It's rare, and you try to appreciate the fact that the national anthem is being sung, and you look over and see your big brother there standing on the sidelines. You try to enjoy it and have fun with it and understand that it is something you don't know how many times it's going to happen."

Actually, it could happen a second time this season, but only if . . . "You want the opportunity to get to the Super Bowl, but ideally, I wouldn't want to be playing [Peyton] and the Colts," Eli said. "My parents would probably hate it. But we've got a long way to go from there. We're just going to worry about the game in Indianapolis, go in there and see if we can play well and get a win."

At least for one Manning, the run-up to Eli-Peyton II will be a lot more enjoyable than the first one.

Especially after yesterday's promising start.