Eli speech provides the spark
Rarely, if ever, is anything associated with Eli Manning described as “fiery,” but that is the way the franchise quarterback came across to his teammates with a rare show of raw emotion.
Manning, prior to a 12-9 overtime victory over the Chiefs, spoke quickly and passionately, exhorting his teammates before kickoff of a game in which the Giants were 10 ¹/2-point underdogs at home. In the locker room, Manning urged the Giants to play harder than the Chiefs and to do everything possible to rekindle that winning feeling.
“Eli is the heartbeat of our team,” running back Orleans Darkwa said Monday. “Pregame, he gave a fiery speech that got everybody riled up, and to have a guy like that, that has been through so much, that’s got those two Super Bowl rings, we follow him. We follow his footsteps in everything, so to have him come up there, it just shows the weight that he carries on this team, and he’s definitely up for it.
“I think everybody tries to follow his footsteps because at the end of the day, he’s been there, he’s done that, as far as reaching to the promised land and getting those two Super Bowl rings. Everybody is trying to push for that goal, so we try to follow his footsteps as much as possible.”
Manning, 36, always has been more about deed than word, although he is a strong communicator when it comes to organizing his offense and relaying what he wants and how he wants it done, in practice and in games. Normally, Manning leaves the emotional heavy lifting to others, but with the Giants sitting at 1-8 and coming off woeful losses to the Rams and 49ers, the franchise quarterback decided to speak up.
Following the game, Ben McAdoo excitedly congratulated the team in the locker room then shouted, “Eli, c’mon in here and break us down!”
Manning’s teammates gave a rousing cheer — one of them reached out and playfully tousled his hair.
“Hey, enjoy it. We got to keep it going,” Manning said, his voice rising. “We deserved this win. We deserve to feel this good. We got another one Thursday. Let’s feel good on Thanksgiving!”
Given the impact he has, perhaps Manning should try to put a charge into his teammates more often.
“I mean, he talks to us a lot,’’ Darkwa said. “I would say I guess the difference [Sunday] was just you could sense the fire in his voice. But at the end of the day, Eli is going to be Eli. He shouldn’t change the way he commands the room. He shouldn’t change the way he talks to us, and that’s just how he is. That’s how he leads us, and like I said, if the Super Bowl rings don’t hold any weight, then I don’t know what else should. You got to be able to follow a guy like that and listen to what he says.”