He gave everything
Giants’ 2-9 season. Remember, he played for the Saints when fans in the Superdome put bags over their heads. He played for a team that was 1-15 in 1980. He’s the best NFL QB never to make the playoffs.
“I can relate. We had some bad ones,” Archie said. “It’s been just a God-awful year for the Giants. Nobody wishes that kind of year on any organization.”
Can Archie envision Eli finishing up in Denver, which is in desperate need of a QB, just like Peyton did?
“There is no way of knowing,” he said. “It will all shake out.”
Can he remain with the Giants so his career can end in New York?
“Everything will depend on the decisions that are made when the season is over — all the decisions that are made throughout the organization and throughout personnel,” he said.
The decisions will include whether to retain McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese. If they are both gone and a new coach and GM want to return the keys to Manning, things could change. But the heartache he feels now might make it impossible for him to get over the way he’s been treated and require him to finish his career elsewhere.
McAdoo said he consulted with ownership before making this move and that the organization was on the same page. That means John Mara signed off on it, which will make the pain run deeper for Eli.
Archie said he and Peyton were talking about how at their summer passing camp the last two years, Eli was throwing the ball better than in the Super Bowl years. “A quarterback can play as long as your team is good when you get north of 35,” he said. “When you get older and your team is not winning games, then they change coaches and quarterbacks. They change a lot of things.”
One thing that won’t change is Manning’s legacy with the Giants. He won two Super Bowls, each with last-minute gamewinning drives to beat Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots. So his place in Giants history is set.
“That’s the great thing about being Eli’s daddy. You don’t have to worry about stuff like that because he doesn’t,” he said.
But like any father, his heart breaks for his heartbroken son. HOWARD SIMMONS/ DAILY NEWS