Eli focuses on game, not his legacy

Eli Manning insists he's not pondering the lasting ramifications of Super Bowl XLVI, a game some think could help define his true status.

Manning's legacy is becoming a hot topic, a conversation that's grown with each impressive win during the Giants' ride to their fifth Super Bowl. There's chatter that he could surpass Joe Namath's iconic stature around New York if he can guide the Giants to a win over the Patriots in Indianapolis a week from Sunday.

That also would give Manning more Super Bowl rings as a starter than any other quarterback who's laced up the cleats in this city -- and one more than even big brother Peyton. But Eli said he isn't concerned one bit with the whole legacy thing.

"I don't think that's anything I worry about," he said Thursday. "My job is to try to play at a high level for the Giants. The important thing when you play in big games like a Super Bowl is, don't let the fact that it is a big game make you think about other things. You've got to keep it kind of simple in a sense and say, 'Hey, this is a great opportunity for this team, this organization, to win a championship.'

"That's the important stuff. That's what you play for."

Sure, but isn't there a part of Manning that has daydreamed about everything revolving around this Super Bowl? Such as playing in a sparkling domed stadium that was built partly because of Peyton, who's been synonymous with Indy for 14 years? What about the "revenge" the Pats will be seeking after the Giants ended their bid for a perfect season four years ago?

"No, you think about their defense," Manning said. "You start thinking about the last time you played them, some of the new things they did, what was their scheme, what was the type of game it turned out to be. You just stay focused to that. Think about the football part.

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"You don't think about the celebration, you don't think about the ticker-tape parade. You think about playing that game, those plays, things that might happen, the decisions you've got to make. It's important for everybody to keep that focus."

Manning has done that lately, particularly in the overtime victory in last Sunday's NFC Championship Game. He was battered by the 49ers' rugged defense. He was sacked six times and hit 12 other occasions but never blinked, leaving Victor Cruz blown away by his toughness.

"It makes me understand that no matter what happens, no matter how many times they get to him," the wide receiver said, "he's going to keep getting up. He's going to move to the next play and act like it never happened. So it definitely increases my confidence in him, and my confidence was already sky-high throughout this season."

Manning's stature in New York might reach sky-high proportions if he can deliver the Giants' fourth Lombardi Trophy, even if his "aw shucks" personality refuses to contemplate what kind of imprint he'll leave once his playing days are done.

"You had a goal at the beginning of the year to win the Super Bowl," Manning said. "That's what we are working on. We have one game, and you are really thinking about going out and playing your best game of the year. That mindset, that's the focus I have. When you start thinking about other things and what this might mean, that's when you are really distracted on what your job has to be."