Palladino: Optimism Lies At The Heart Of Manning Brothers' DNA
By Ernie Palladino
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No matter how bad things ever got with the won-loss record or passing stats, Eli Manning was never a "sky-is-falling" type of guy.
Things were never as bad as they looked, even in 2013 as his interception total rose to a career-high 27 and the record sunk to 7-9. Hard work and a few good additions could cure whatever ailed the Giants.
Next year would be better. And then when they went 6-10 in 2014, the next year would be better.
So was it any wonder that Manning proclaimed Wednesday that his team stands basically a hair's breadth away from turning 6-10 upside down under new head coach Ben McAdoo? A little elbow grease, a little roster cleansing, and a couple of plays here and there are all the Giants need as far as he is concerned.
"I think we're close," Manning said in his first public statements since McAdoo took over for Tom Coughlin. "We have some pieces in place I'm excited about. All it needs is some new people. There are some areas where we need some help. But the Giants are always committed to doing whatever it takes to get the right people and get back to winning games and making the playoffs and having a championship squad."
With wild inconsistency behind Odell Beckham, Jr. and a defense that has more holes than a block of Swiss, the Giants are actually a long way away from the teams that won Lombardi trophies in 2007 and 2011. The talent deficiencies are why those Senior Bowl bleachers in Mobile, Alabama, felt so toasty for general manager Jerry Reese as he scouted this week's practices. It's why the NFL Scouting Combine next month will be all the more pivotal as Reese winnows down the 300 or so invitees into what he ultimately needs to become a list of potential long-term contributors. It's why the upcoming free agent period will prove a make-or-break segment as Reese tries to restock a wanting talent cupboard with able, consistent veterans.
Reality indicates the Giants stand miles from the top tier of the NFL. But Manning will never admit that. Optimism runs in his DNA, just as it does in his brother Peyton's.
Big bro is a bigger optimist than Eli, if that's even possible. If Eli took anything from him besides the 24/7 work ethic, it is the idea that bad times won't last forever unless one lets them.
Eli will probably remember that as he witnesses Peyton's valedictory next Sunday from the royal luxury box inside Levi's Stadium, right next to another optimist of note in daddy Archie. Even more than the Giants' situation, Peyton offers concrete proof that hard work and a good supporting cast can lead one back from even the gloomiest of circumstances.
He proved it the past four years in Denver. The 2011 neck surgeries should have sent him headlong into retirement, but he refused to let that happen. Manning worked, got himself a job with the Broncos, and then got himself back to playing great football despite losing all feeling in his fingertips. Then he got himself and the Broncos to the Super Bowl in his second year out there.
That one didn't work out great. But hey, keep working, keep playing. A quad injury didn't get him down in 2014. A torn plantar fascia this year, at age 39, sidelined him only temporarily.
He never groused about new coach Gary Kubiak's insistence that Peyton rein in his passing in favor of the running game and a hard-driving defense.
Now Peyton finds himself winding up an 18-year career in the Super Bowl, one last testament to the willingness to battle through adversity.
Eli and his big brother have that much in common. Peyton's numbers are bigger. Eli's ring box remains a little more crowded, at least for another week. But the optimism both carry around with them day to day is the same -- and constant.
It's what allows Peyton to work through the physical pain.
It's what allows Eli to see a winning record and a playoff run just around the corner, despite all evidence to the contrary.
It's what makes both of them great.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
