The Mannings

Little Eli Manning is really showing that he can fling the football with his father and brother. He received a lot of undeserved grief when he said that he was an elite quarterback. He was only answering a question. I'd be disappointed if he didn't answer the question as he did. Some obviously questioned his elite status then. Few question it now. Ron Jaworski watches a bunch of game film. It's his job and his passion. Apparently he just watched a bunch of film of Eli Manning. Jaworski's conclusion is that the younger Manning has become a top five quarterback in the league. Considering this is a league with Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, top five is very high praise. Jaworski has Eli Manning in very select company. When Eli was drafted in 2004, I thought that he'd eventually surpass his brother. I figured that his passing skills would develop as Peyton's did. I thought that Eli had a decided edge in athletic ability. Have you seen Peyton run? I thought that edge would be the difference. I was wrong. Now, Eli is a terrific quarterback. As Jaworski nicely showed, Eli is excellent at working through his progressions. He finds the open receiver and gets the ball to him. Peyton does all this as well. The difference between Peyton and pretty much every other quarterback is that he doesn't need the receiver to be open. His throws can open up the receiver. If I were to select the ten most amazing throws of the past decade, Peyton Manning would probably have more than half of them. He's amazing. He routinely makes throws that most quarterbacks can't see. There were several Indianapolis Colts games that I had to stop and rewind (thank you DVR) just to confirm that I saw what I thought I saw. His ability to open up a receiver is just unreal. Skipping away from the Manning for a moment, last year Aaron Rodgers used back shoulder throws routinely to open up his receivers, leaving defenders defenseless. Speaking of Rodgers, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy doesn't deserve him. As part of the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff that passed on Rodgers for Alex Smith, McCarthy doesn't deserve the benefits of having Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback. Back to the Mannings.

Peyton and Eli Manning are both elite quarterbacks. Peyton always seemed to be. Eli has joined him. Some have just recently put him on that stage. In reality, he's been there for a while now.