Giants learned a long time ago of Eli Manning’s poise, toughness
The week-after-the-Big-One column is heavy on the Giants, as it should be. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on the greatest Anthem I’ve ever heard at a game — the late Whitney Houston’s, 21 years ago. I’ll get to other things around the NFL, too, but I still find so many things fascinating about the rise of Eli Manning, and the rise of this cornerstone franchise with him.
We’ll start in the stands at a football game in the small city of Oxford, Miss., a little more than nine years ago.
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Scene 1: Nov. 2, 2002, Oxford, Miss. The general manager of the New York Giants, Ernie Accorsi, is sitting outside, in the row of seats in front of the Mississippi press box, scouting the quarterback of Ole Miss, Eli Manning, against heavily favored Auburn. It’s bitterly cold. Taking notes that afternoon for his scouting report (which six years later would be an important element of Tom Callahan’s insightful book, The GM, on Accorsi’s last year with the Giants), Accorsi is watching two future first-round picks at quarterback — Manning and Auburn’s Jason Campbell — and seems riveted by Manning.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/02/12/eli/index.html#ixzz1mGUE9uEs
2.13.12
