Former QB Warner has watched Eli grow up
New York Giants' Quarterbacks, Kurt Warner, Eli Manning and a coach arrives with all smiles for practice at Giants Stadium. (Nov. 17, 2004) Credit: Newsday/Kathy Kmonicek
INDIANAPOLIS -- Kurt Warner used to wonder if Eli Manning would ever escape his brother's shadow, if the youngest Manning son could survive, let alone thrive, under the intense glow of the New York spotlight.
Warner, the quarterback initially charged with leading the Giants during the 2004 season, just couldn't gauge whether the rookie would crumble under the weight of lofty expectations. There had been so many unknowns about Eli. But it seems those questions have been answered.
"I didn't really know what he was going to be," said Warner, who was benched in midseason that year in favor of Manning. "But I saw a guy who stayed consistent -- exactly what we see now -- a guy that had resolve, that didn't allow things to bother him. And I think that's been his biggest attribute up to this point in his career."
Consistency always was a concern when it came to Eli.
He showed he could handle fourth-quarter pressure in 2005, his first full season as the starter, by leading comeback wins over the Broncos and Eagles. But last season he threw a career-high 25 interceptions.
"Your teammates have to know what they're going to get," said Warner, now an NFL Network analyst. "And I think that was a question with Eli coming into this year. We've seen the upside, and the upside could be really good. But you also saw the inconsistency. And that's what always kept him in that next tier of quarterbacks, because you weren't sure."
But the turnaround in Manning's play came this season, when he threw for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns while leading the Giants to five fourth-quarter comeback wins. And if Manning continues to play well consistently, Warner believes the "sky's the limit for him."
But even if he leads the Giants to a second Super Bowl win over the Patriots, Warner isn't convinced that will seal Eli's legacy as a better quarterback than his brother.
"Peyton's one of the best, if not the best, quarterback this league has ever seen," Warner said. "So just because you win one more Super Bowl than him does not mean that you're better than him. It's no slight on Eli. Eli has played great. But we have to be honest."
Warner, who played for three teams during a 12-year NFL career, said he empathizes with Peyton, whose future with the Colts is uncertain after undergoing three neck surgeries.
"I hope he's back playing soon. I would love to see him stay in a Colts uniform," said Warner, who was the Super Bowl XXXIV MVP for the champion Rams and led the 2008 Cardinals to their first Super Bowl. "I'm not sure it's going to happen. But I hope he's playing.
"I found myself later in my career having to kind of re-establish myself somewhere. So there's a lot of things he's going through that I can definitely relate to at this point in time."
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