Tiki Says Eli Is Better Than Peyton
ESPN – Tiki Barber, who once questioned Eli Manning’s leadership abilities, now thinks the New York Giants quarterback has improved to the point that he is better than his brother Peyton. “The expectation was that he was never going to be Peyton. I remember having these conversations with people who watched Eli in college, saying, ‘He’s good, but he’s never going to be Peyton, he’s not Peyton.’ Guess what? I think he’s better than Peyton.” “Because of clutch. What matters in sports? It’s winning and losing. You get to the stage and what do you do? Eli’s gotten there, and he’s won,” Barber said. Eli Manning, 32, has led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles and is 8-3 in the postseason, while Peyton, 37, has one championship and has a 9-11 playoff record. Following his retirement in 2006, Barber questioned Eli Manning’s leadership skills. Now, however, he thinks his former teammate can be one of the top five quarterbacks in history. “For Eli to crack the top five of all time, he’s got to have a 2011 season a couple more times and win another Super Bowl and be Super Bowl MVP, and then I think he’s in the discussion for the top five of all time,” Barber said.
First off, I just had this convo with KFC – does anyone really give a shit what Tiki has to say about the Giants? I mean why is this even news? He’s always been a selfish hypocrite, so the fact that he’s changed his tune about Eli comes as no surprise. All he wants is to be a topic of conversation. Good or bad, though, his opinions don’t matter. He’s just not the “always a Giant” type like, say, a Ray Lewis will be to Baltimore.
He’s obviously right though. 49 touchdowns in a season is impressive. Eli squeaked past 30 only once. Peyton’s career high in yards is less than his little bro, but he’s consistently been in 4,000/30 territory and is clearly a more accurate passer. When both of their careers are finished, Eli will most likely be looking up at Peyton’s career totals. But the difference in those numbers isn’t enough to offset the difference in how they’ve performed when it mattered most. Rings aren’t everything but, although he didn’t win them by himself, Eli played a huge part in his two titles. He wasn’t Trent Dilfer. Peyton’s choked repeatedly. A Broncos Super Bowl this year could certainly change things – as could an underachieving close to Eli’s career. Right now though, all things considered, that idiot Tiki’s on the money.