Relax Giants Fans, Eli is Still the Man

It's been less than 24 hours since the New York Giants suffered one of the worst home playoff losses in NFL history, so it's understandable that the team's fans - as well as the media - are using today to rip into the team ... and they deserve it. The final score of 23-0 isn't even indicative of just how dominant the Carolina Panthers were in every single facet of the game. Consider these incredibly one-sided stats:

* Carolina held a staggering 42:45 - 17:15 advantage in time of possession

* Carolina ran 71 plays to only 35 for the Giants

* Carolina gained 335 total yards to only 132 for the Giants

It was – in every way – an embarrassment for the entire team, including the coaching staff. Yet – rightly or wrongly – the NFL is a quarterback league. Quarterbacks get a disproportionate amount of credit when a team wins ... but they also get a disproportionate share of the blame when their team loses.

Don’t worry, this is not where we start to explain how Eli Manning really wasn’t all that bad yesterday against the Carolina Panthers. He was that bad. In fact, he was awful. He looked like exactly what he is -- a 25-year-old, second year pro who was playing in the first NFL playoff game of his career. And that is what Giants fans – and the media – have to keep in mind. Sure, it would have been great if Eli Manning had played with poise beyond his years and carried the Giants to victory against a team that was much better prepared to win yesterday ... but it didn’t happen. Get over it.

Before the season began, the Giants would have eagerly signed up for an 11-5 regular season, an NFC East title and steady signs of progress from their neophyte franchise QB. Well, that’s exactly what they got. [Question: Does Walt “Clyde” Frazier actually own the rights to word "neophyte" or does it just feel that way?].

However, the feeling around New York today is that the Giants might actually have a problem at quarterback ... or at least cause for concern. Maybe Eli Manning will never develop into the QB everyone – and we mean everyone – expected he’d develop into. Relax. It was one game.

While there are no guarantees in sports, here's a scenario that will put things into perspective. You're starting an NFL franchise and can pick any player in the game to build your team's future around. Who's it gonna be?

Sure, Peyton Manning (age 29) and Tom Brady (28) are #1 and #2. Put them in any order you like, but if you're picking at number three, they're both off the board. So who are you going to take at three? Not easy, right? But as you start to consider the names, it's impossible NOT to include Eli Manning in the discussion ... even after yesterday's disaster. Ben Roethlisberger (23) and Carson Palmer (26) would certainly be in the mix (assuming Palmer comes back 100% from yesterday's knee injury). Maybe even college superstars Matt Leinart and Vince Young, though most likely not as early as number three. But that's really about it.

Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Green, Jake Plummer, Jack Delhomme, Kerry Collins, Steve McNair and Brett Favre are all competent QBs ... but they’re all at least 30 and would not be selected ahead of Eli Manning to build around.

There are also a number of other under-30 QBs would may have bright futures in the NFL, including:

Kyle Boller, 24 Drew Brees, 26 Marc Bulger, 28 David Carr, 26 Daunte Culpepper, 28 Byron Leftwich, 25 Donovan McNabb, 29 Kyle Orton, 23 Chad Pennington, 29 Philip Rivers, 24 Aaron Rodgers, 22 Chris Simms, 25 Alex Smith, 21 Michael Vick, 25

Admit it Giants fans, wouldn't you rather have your team's future tied to Eli Manning than any of these guys? Even the great (and by great we mean vastly overrated) Michael Vick? Yes you would.

So what was the point of this exercise? Simply to point out that if you're building around a guy who would arguably be the third overall pick in an expansion draft of the entire league, then things really aren’t all that bad. Just ask the fans of the 25 or so teams who have their Super Bowl dreams pinned on a quarterback whose future remains less promising than that of Eli Manning ... even is he did stink up the joint yesterday.