Monday, February 04, 2008

Manning proves just about everyone wrong

Manning proves just about everyone wrong

February 4, 2008 12:31 AM

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Eli Manning who won Super Bowl XLII hardly resembled the Eli Manning who made scouts cringe as recently as midseason. His transformation has caught just about everyone by surprise. Here's the way an opposing secondary coach put it during an analysis about which young quarterbacks had the brightest futures:

"I think he's got good skills, but all the other stuff, the intangible stuff, I don't think he has it. He gets scared when you get after him in the pocket. All the things you hate a quarterback to have, he has. And he's not accurate."
A pro scout put it this way:
"He missed throws in our game. There were throws you need to make if you are a front-line guy. He left yards on the field against us."

Even Manning's own general manager, Jerry Reese, used the word "skittish" to describe how his quarterback was playing at times this season.

The credit goes to Manning. He became a much better quarterback somewhat unexpectedly.

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