Best: Eli finding a good role as a teacher

There was something out of the ordinary about Eli Manning on Sunday when he arrived at the visiting team's interview podium at Reliant Stadium.

From the moment he opened his mouth, the Giants quarterback seemed more animated than usual, more expansive, more pleased with himself.

It was all somehow, dare we say it . . . Peytonesque?

The most telling passage came when Manning discussed Hakeem Nicks' second touchdown, on which the two took advantage of something the quarterback had noticed in studying Texans video.

Manning knew safety Bernard Pollard could be had by fakes to backs, so he drew him in with a subtle look toward Ahmad Bradshaw, leaving Nicks alone in the back of the end zone.

The play never was practiced during the week, but Eli told the receivers to watch for it.

"As I get older, as the receivers get older and more confident, they understand when I am telling them something, it's for their own good,'' he said later. "They might get a touchdown out of it.

"They're listening and understanding even if you don't get to practice it, it works in the game.''

For their own good? That sort of parental tone rarely has been heard from Manning in his seven pro seasons, but it's a good sign for a team that has asked for more leadership from him.

Given that his personality is not suited to being a rah-rah leader or a tough-love leader, a teaching pro is the best the Giants can hope for, and it's not a bad way to go.

Sure, Manning established himself for life by winning a Super Bowl three years ago. But remember that he had a veteran star in Plaxico Burress as his go-to receiver.

Now his three leading wideouts are second-year pro Nicks, 22, fourth-year pro Steve Smith, 25, and third-year pro Mario Manningham, 24.

Manning has thrown six of his eight touchdown passes to Nicks, for whom the tip about Pollard was only one example that the quarterback knows of what he speaks.

"He sits in the film room a lot,'' Nicks said. "He said it was something we could exploit, and we did.''

Manning was far from perfect Sunday, throwing two interceptions that raised his season total to eight. But as usual, there were plays that illustrated how valuable he is to the offense.

Perhaps his finest moment with Nicks was not the touchdown passes but a third-and-7 from the Giants' 32-yard line, just after the Texans got within 14 in the third quarter.

With Mario Williams about to take him down, Manning found Nicks by throwing to his back shoulder near the far sideline, where cornerback Kareem Jackson didn't have a chance.

"For a DB, that's pretty tough to cover,'' Nicks said. "Nine times out of 10, it's a win for us.''

Even with that Super Bowl MVP award on his resume, it is a little strange to see Manning viewed this way, given how he looked, played and acted when he first arrived in the league.

But he began to sow these seeds in 2004, when he ended his rookie season with a flourish.

Remember?

Manning checked out of a pass play at the Dallas 3-yard line against the Cowboys and instead handed off to Tiki Barber, who ran it in for the winning score with 11 seconds left. It was daring and shocking and a little reckless. But it worked.

Nicks was a 16-year-old high school junior in Charlotte at the time, so he had no way of knowing that a future mentor already was under construction.