Now that Eli Manning is a Super Bowl Champion, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at a conversation Pete Fiutak had with him in 2002. On an interesting note, take a look at his thoughts about potentially playing in the cold of Green Bay.
Classic CFN
Conversation with Ole Miss QB Eli Manning
Interviewed by Pete Fiutak
From August 20, 2002
While many like to rip on "the media" for creating a hysteria in the name of a good story whenever possible, give credit where credit is due when it comes to the unique situation of Eli Manning. It seems that everyone realized right off the bat that it’s not fair to think Eli would be the legend that his father, Archie, was at Ole Miss or would be the golden boy pro prospect and college football icon that older brother Peyton was. That’s too much pressure and too much to ask of anyone.
A funny thing has happened though … Eli is turning into the sort of elite player his famous family members were.
Partly by calculated design and partly by playing for a team that isn’t the national power that Tennessee is, Eli and Ole Miss haven’t really hyped up the accomplishments as the family has chosen not to trumpet the Rebel star up as a Heisman candidate. There’s one problem with that … he is.
Let me be the one to say Eli Manning can be better than his brother and dad. Let me be the one to say that he can win the Heisman and take some NFL team deep into the playoffs without throwing an interception for every touchdown. I’m putting the pressure on by saying he is that good. There aren’t many chances for the Jan Bradys of the world to emerge from a shadow and become the head cheerleader, but this is one of them.
I did this interview in the spring and was stunned at how relaxed and mellow he is. He might have the family name, talent and future, but like all these guys he’s just another college kid. While he might have all the pressure in the world on him, you’d never know it.
CFN: Are you one of those guys who likes spring ball or is it a necessary evil?
Eli Manning: It’s fine. I like the chance to work with the receivers and it’s a little more relaxed. It’s more fun with more scrimmages and more laid back so it’s a nice chance to get out there and get new players into the mix.
CFN: How rusty do you get in the off-season?
EM: Not too much. We’ve been throwing since back in January and we throw two to three times a week before spring ball. The main thing for quarterbacks is throwing with the pads on. That first day or two takes a little bit to get going to change the motion a little bit and getting back to throwing with linemen around you. It’s different when there’s someone in your face rather than just throwing routes to open receivers. Once you get that real rush on you then you get the feel back and it all comes back pretty quickly.
CFN: You must know your defense backwards and forwards by now. How anxious are you to throw against someone else?
EM: Absolutely. I’m ready to throw against someone different as some of these guys have been here so long that it’s hard not to know what they’re going to do and they know what we’re going to do. These linebackers and safeties know our offense like we do and even when we put in new plays or new wrinkles, they’ll sniff it out quickly. You can fool them sometimes on a little pump and go, but they know what to expect. I guess it makes you better cause if the receivers are having a harder time getting open, it makes them work a little harder and makes it harder to get the ball to them.
CFN: How much do you care about the games on the schedule against the other top quarterbacks? Obviously you care, but is there something about playing against Kliff Kingsbury or Rex Grossman that gets you jazzed more than playing against someone else?
EM: You look at the schedule and get excited cause they’re good teams, not just good players. Every game in the SEC is a big one so it doesn’t take much to get excited at the thought of playing someone like LSU or Alabama. We’ve got a tough schedule with eight SEC games and that trip down to Lubbock, so I’m just looking forward to starting up and playing some teams again.
CFN: Your family or the loss to Arkansas last year (note: Ole Miss lost a classic 58-56 seven overtime game to Arkansas in 2001) … which do you get more tired of talking about?
EM: I’ve had more people come up to me to tell me they saw that (Arkansas) game lately and that’s one we lost. I always get the comparisons to Peyton or people want to ask me about him or if we talk before and after games, but I’ve had that my whole career. After a while I get tired of answering about that so I kind of have my standard answer whenever anyone asks me about my family. Every once in a while I try to change it up.
CFN: Even though it was a loss, is there any way you can take a step back from that Arkansas game and realize that you played in one of the greatest games in college football history?
EM: I think it’s something I can always look back on and realize it was something special even though it was a loss. I’ve never really had a feeling like that after a loss. It wasn’t like I was upset or devastated, but we put everything we could into that game and there’s always going to be a winner and loser even if you did everything you could do. Both teams played their hearts out to win that game and we just came out on the wrong end. It didn’t really hit me until a while after that it was such a great game. After the game I was in a strange mood going over what I could’ve done differently in each overtime. That was what was so strange is that I had to start thinking which overtime it actually was when things happened. Was it the third overtime or the fourth overtime? It was strange, but a few days later I was able to realize what a game it was.
CFN: Do you like this overtime system or would you rather have it NFL style?
EM: It really doesn’t matter to me. Obviously you don’t want to see a game go into seven overtimes, but it’s so rare, it has never happened before, but with the two-point rule it should make the games end quicker. One bounce here or one there and it would’ve been over, but it didn’t happen. We made two-point conversions and (Arkansas QB) Matt Jones made that great play scrambling around and finding his guy at the back of the end zone, so there were several things that had to happen to get it to seven overtimes.
CFN: I’ve heard interviews with your dad saying how much you love college and aren’t even thinking about coming out early. Is that true and what is it about the college experience that you love so much?
EM: I love everything about it. I love being in college. I love playing college football. Staying here during the summer with friends taking classes and working out has been really special. I don’t know if I’m ready yet to leave it and go out into the real world and deal with all that. This is a fun time and I love this whole special experience. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and seeing Peyton’s situation when you go to the NFL, you don’t have the same friendships cause people have families and kids and different lives. On a Tuesday night here we’ll get together and watch TV or play video games and hang out. On weekends it’s fun being together in the hotels and playing on Saturdays that it’s a really special experience.
CFN: You’ve got the big family name. You’re from a big-time program in the big-time conference. You went 7-4 last year beating LSU. Why didn’t any bowl want you?
EM: I was really upset by that. It does motivate us. We started out so strong going 6-1, then the loss to Arkansas sort of took something out of us. I can’t really pinpoint what it was, but we just didn’t seem the same after that game. It’s hard to describe it. We proved last year that we can beat any team and play with anybody and we have a lot of the same players back. We can’t go halfway this season and we have to play a full season to get to a bowl and we know that now.
CFN: What is it about WR Chris Collins that makes you work so well with him?
EM: There’s a feel. He’s so in tune with where the seams are and even though we might not have seen something before or have talked about it, we’ll know what the other wants to do. He can see that the linebackers are going to blitz and will cut off his route or will read that he has to just get open at times when things break down. He’ll find an area and I’ll find him. He has a great feel for getting open and make plays and that comes from understanding the offense. If I call a play wrong, he’ll know how to correct it.
CFN: What do you do to get away from the pressure of being a Manning and do you even want to get away from that?
EM: It’s really not that hard to get away. Oxford is a small town and a college campus town. You see a lot of the same people over and over again and after a while they don’t really see me as a quarterback or as a Manning. Once you get friendly with them, they don’t treat you any differently. I can go out and be myself and I don’t have to change who I am.
CFN: Other than the Colts, who’s your favorite NFL team?
EM: I’ve always been a Brett Favre man and I like watching Green Bay play. I love watching how he goes out there and has fun yet still always wants to win and has that competitive fire. I’ve always been amazed at how he plays.
CFN: The dude’s the greatest cold weather quarterback ever. Being from the south, how the heck would you handle playing in Green Bay in December?
EM: Give them a dome. It’s 45 degrees here and not snowing and I’m complaining. I like playing down here where it’s hot. 50 degrees is cold enough for me.
I did this interview right before the 2002 Final Four.
CFN: So who’s going to win the Final Four this weekend?
EM: I’m picking Oklahoma I think. This year once the brackets came out I was on spring break so I didn’t really do one against anyone. I played against Oklahoma guard Hollis Price so I’ve been kind of following what he’s done. He destroyed us.
CFN: Did you have any hope of guarding him?
EM: No. I didn’t even have a chance. He’s so quick that I fell down every time trying to keep up. They put a full press on us and it was my job to throw the ball in. In the first quarter I think I had three five-second calls on me and I called two timeouts. The coach was yelling at me. It was horrible. There was nothing I can do. He destroyed us. Just destroyed us.
CFN: He doesn’t play defensive back though so I guess you’re alright.
EM: Absolutely. That’s why I’m a quarterback and not a point guard.