Eli belongs in the same category as Peyton, Brady, Favre

After upsetting the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants entered the season-opener, defending their potential Super Bowl run this season.

Playing without retired Michael Strahan, who motivated the crowd and hoisted the Lombardi trophy on opening night at Giants Stadium, and Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who underwent season-ending surgery.

But that didn’t stop the New York Giants defense, and didn’t stop them from winning the Washington Redskins, their division rivals, with a 16-7 victory. The Super Bowl defending champs are looking to repeat, and winning the first game put them a great position.

Last season, the Giants seemingly struggled early, before rebounding to defeat the Patriots in the final game of the season, and in the Super Bowl, which was consider one of the greatest upsets in sports.

However, the defense was the key in the Giants victory. They limited the new-look Redskins to 11 first downs and 209 total yards, spoiling the debut of Redskins coach Jim Zorn and his West Coast offense.

No matter what offense a team runs against the Giants, their vigorous defense indicated they could slow down a number of teams.

Surely, the Giants wasn’t going to let the Redskins walk into Giants Stadium, and defeat them on a special night, and surely they were going to come out pumped up for the season.

It was a fun-filled night, and it was a great offensive night for Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning. His father Arche Manning was in attendance, embracing a special moment, and watched Eli open the game with an 84-yard drive before scoring himself on his game-opening 1-yard rushing touchdown.

Absolutely, Manning outplayed Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell, who finished 15-of-27 for 133 yards, but he was ineffective converting third downs, while Manning threw 19-of-35 for 216 yards. Arguably, Manning played like a reigning Super Bowl MVP, securing the ball and remained consistent from start to finish, throwing one pick in the entire game.

He showed progress by handle pressure, which resulted in less turnovers. Arche acknowledged awhile back that Eli was better than his older brother Peyton.

Well, Eli has developed into a consistent quarterback, and has become the team-leader since the retirement of Strahan. Manning belongs in the same category of New England’s quarterback Tom Brady, Indianapolis’ quarterback Peyton Manning, Pittsburgh’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and New York Jets’ quarterback Brett Favre.

Eli is that good, he has proving after leading team to a Super Bowl title, and his team over the Redskins, that he’s a great quarterback in the league. He should receive more recognition for his performance, and more praise for leading a team to a Super Bowl victory over the then-undefeated Patriots,

Whoever thought the Giants would beat the Patriots in a Super Bowl, and whoever expected Manning to engineer the Giants.

Manning has eliminated turnovers, and has faced less criticism, after last season impressive and unbelievable run.

Certainly, Manning is considered one of the leagues top quarterbacks, in which he’s as great has his brother and many other quarterback greats.

We can hear Manning name mentioned for many years to come, while Peyton, Brady and Favre is constantly getting older.

A few years from now, everyone will talk about the greatness of Eli Manning.