Eli Manning will officially announce his retirement this morning.
The face of the New York Giants for the better part of two decades, a two-time Super Bowl MVP and a man who accrued $226 million during his career is stepping away from the game at the age of 39.
The talking heads will bloviate about Manning’s Hall of Fame-worthiness in the coming days. It’s a debate that gets eyeballs and clicks, I suppose, but I find the discussion somewhat mundane.
When I reflect on the former Ole Miss quarterback’s career, I don’t really think about statistics or compare him to his contemporaries. Instead, I think about how uniquely he handled his circumstances without ever having a single public meltdown.
Drafted in 2004, Manning arrived in New York with a label. Thanks to the draft day machinations orchestrated by his legendary father, Archie Manning, Eli was labeled a spoiled brat. He didn’t want to play in San Diego and got his way, leveraging the Chargers to trade Manning to the Giants, essentially for Phillip Rivers and other assets.
Manning had to deal with one of the NFL’s most disingenuous players, running back Tiki Barber, early in career. When Barber publicly criticized Manning, he didn’t blink. Barber finally left, and shortly thereafter, Manning embarked on four seasons that shaped his football legacy.
Twice, he led the Giants on playoff runs that ended in titles. He won road games at Tampa Bay, Dallas, Green Bay (twice) and San Francisco and twice beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Manning did it all in the shadow of his older brother, Peyton Manning, and he never lashed out at those comparisons, either.
He just did his thing. In the twilight of his career, as the Giants’ front office failed him, Manning was all class. He gracefully handed over the only job he’s ever held to his successor, Daniel Jones, never calling out the organization and/or demanding a trade. Manning deserved better, and you know he knew it. However, day after day, with cameras and reporters in his face, practically begging him to get those thoughts off his chest, Manning never did anything but play the role of the perfect teammate. That required a level of poise and grace I can’t imagine. I suspect you can’t, either.
His final appearance came in December. With one week to go, Manning led the Giants to one final win. He walked off the Met Life Stadium field to cheers and to fans chanting his name. He walked into the arms of his family. Some legends _ John Elway and Peyton Manning _ ended their careers holding Lombardi Trophies. I thought it was fitting that Eli exited as a bit of an Everyman, holding one of his daughter’s hands and carrying his young son.
It will be interesting to see what is next for Manning. Maybe it’s broadcasting. Perhaps it’s ownership of some sort. It’s possible, given his personality, that what he craves is a few years of normalcy and anonymity — just being a dad to his children. We’ll see. Regardless, history, I suspect, will remember Eli Manning fondly.
Ole Miss basketball travels to Athens Saturday to face Georgia.
The Rebels (9-9 overall, 0-5 in the Southeastern Conference) have lost six straight games following Tuesday’s shellacking at the hands of Tennessee in Knoxville. Georgia (11-5, 1-4) hasn’t fared much better since a sweet non-league win at Memphis last month.
Yes, Ole Miss needs a win. Badly. However, what the Rebels need more is confidence.
“I really thought we got quality shots against a really good defensive team and we just didn’t make SEC plays around the rim,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said, referring to the loss in Knoxville. “We have to give Breein Tyree some help scoring.”
Other than Tyree, the Rebels’ lone senior, the rest of Ole Miss’ roster looks lost most of the time. Devontae Shuler has been inconsistent. That’s probably too kind of an adjective for sophomores Blake Hinson and KJ Buffen. Junior college transfer Khadim Sy has struggled for long stretches and freshmen Sammy Hunter and Austin Crowley haven’t been able to contribute in any substantive way.
The rest of the roster, frankly, hasn’t looked like SEC material. It’s something Davis has essentially acknowledged, even with at least 14 games remaining on the schedule.
Davis is left, in late January, to thread an awkward needle publicly. He has one commitment — four-star guard Matthew Murrell. Tyree is the only senior, and transfer guard Jarkel Joiner is gong on scholarship next season. Do the math. However, it’s too early to just punt the season, so Davis has to work his roster, trying to squeeze every drop out of the proverbial orange.
“Recruiting is always important, every single day,” Davis said Thursday. “After we watched the tape a couple of times, we had plays we had to make. We have to add some pieces for next year that can make SEC plays.
“I don’t think it’s a buy-in thing. The guys have been a good practice team.”
I don’t envy Davis. I expect a good bit of change after the season, but damn, there’s a ton of season left. And there are no “easy” games on the schedule until Vanderbilt comes to town Feb. 29 (yes, the Commodores are worse). So the veteran coach is doing all he can do — coach.
“I just think we have to keep the course, keep working with development and we have to be more physical around the goal and make plays,” Davis said. “The rest of our team is not shooting a great percentage at all. We’ve got to get Breein some help.”
On Thursday, he was frank about Hunter, a freshman from the Bahamas who simply hasn’t been good enough on defense to play in this league.
“Sammy’s motor has to get better,” Davis said. “I still think he’s a good talent. He’s not reacting quickly enough to the ball.”
Davis pointed out that Hunter is getting a rebound about every 11 minutes played this season.
“You can’t survive in this league doing that,” Davis said.
Davis said he believed Sy would be a better shot-blocker this season than he’s been, Part of Sy’s problem, of course, is he can’t block shots from the bench. Foul trouble has killed Sy this season, and that, in part, has killed the Rebels.
“We have to keep him on the floor,” Davis said.
Davis was talking about Sy, but he could have been referring to his entire team, sans Tyree. This team talked of the NCAA Tournament in the fall. That dream, barring a miracle in Nashville in March, is dead. Now guys are playing for their scholarships. Keeping their minds in the moment is going to be a tall task for Davis and his staff.
Before the season, idiots like me thought the SEC would be an eight-bid league. We were wrong. If the season ended today, the league would get no more than five (maybe six) bids. Only LSU, Kentucky and Auburn can feel very good about themselves right now. Florida is likely fine, while Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi State are all sort of bubbly.
Heading into this weekend’s SEC-Big 12 Challenge, that’s not where the league thought it would be.
“I think the league a year ago was as good at the top as I’ve seen in my time here,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “There were 4-5 teams that could’ve gone to the Final Four last year. This year, I don’t know that are teams at the top of the league are quite as strong. The middle of the league is much, much better. It’s as balanced as I’ve seen it.”
The late signing period in college football is just 12 days away. On Sunday, an Ole Miss source said the Rebels would bring in no more than four or five official visitors this weekend. As of this morning, RebelGrove.com has confirmed just two official visitors — Phenix City, Ala., safety Mike Harris and Metairie, La., safety Donovan Kaufman. There are conflicting reports regarding the visit destination this weekend for Amite, La., cornerback Daran Branch. Branch is committed to Ole Miss, but rivals.com's database lists a visit to Georgia this weekend.
Messages left for Branch have gone unreturned, but we will continue to seek clarity.
Here is what is crystal clear: Lane Kiffin is going to be picky. He’s not going to sign guys just to fill out a class. If Kiffin doesn’t think a prospect can thrive in the SEC, he doesn’t bother. Personally, I think that’s the path to contention, even if fans find it somewhat harrowing.
Finally, the weekend might _ or might not _ bring clarity on five-star running back Zachary Evans. As of last night, Evans was planning to visit Tennessee this weekend. He might _ or might not _ visit Florida or Georgia next weekend before signing _ or not signing _ with his school of choice on Feb. 5.
Ole Miss, per sources, would like for Evans to enroll now and get his college career started in Oxford. As of late Thursday, that option had some support from some influencers in Evans’ life. Others, however, want to play the recruiting process out and maximize leverage (I’m trying to be diplomatic here, and that’s not my strong suit).
I don’t do recruiting predictions or crystal balls and all of that stuff. I don’t know what’s going to happen. As of Thursday night, neither did Evans.
