Warner: Not an insult to call Eli ‘complementary’ player

It doesn't sound like a compliment to call a quarterback a “complementary” player. But when Kurt Warner used that term to describe Eli Manning at an NFL Network event on Thursday, he insisted that he meant it in the best possible way.

“It's not meant as an insult,” the Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL Network analyst said. “When they've been good with Eli, it hasn't been because they throw the ball 40 times on Eli's arm. That's what I mean by him being a complementary piece. It isn't a bad thing. It's just, there are other guys who are built around throwing the ball 45-50 times and that's where they thrive. I don't think Eli thrives there.”

More to Warner's point, he thinks Manning will thrive this season.

“Eli is really good in the big moments,” Warner said. “If you can not ask him to have to carry the load every snap, every game, I think there's no question (he still has it) because that's where he thrives. Give him a good team around him, put him in big moments, and he'll play well. I think he's got plenty left in the tank as far as who he is and what he can do. Now they just have to make sure it's not all based on his right arm and I think they're built to make sure that it isn't.”

The biggest addition, Warner said, is Saquon Barkley.

“I can't remember the last time he's had a good run game,” Warner said of Manning. “That is always a great piece. I played on some teams that had no run game. When we went to the Super Bowl (with the Cardinals) I think we were the worst run team in the league. There is so much pressure on the quarterback to make every single throw. It's just very, very difficult to do. If that run game with the guys they've added up front can give Eli something, with the weapons he has on the outside, there's no question I think that's where he's at his best. Play-action. Make some big throws down the field. But not have to throw and pick teams apart and make every throw. It's more about making the big throws.”

That's really been the story of Manning's career. He's had more iconic moments than iconic seasons in his 14 years with the Giants. Some of the most memorable catches in not just Giants history but recent NFL history have come from his hand. He's never been an MVP-candidate player, never a league-leader in stats, and if you play fantasy football you know that he can be a drain on your team. But give him the ball in a pressure situation and there are few quarterbacks who perform better on a regular basis.

The key for the Giants this season will be getting to those points where Manning can excel.

“When they've been great, they've had a good defense that could keep the game close, give him a chance at the end, and he's been phenomenal,” Warner said. “That's when Eli has been at his best.

“By no means is that a knock on him. There are very few quarterbacks out there who you say to: Here, take the ball, win every game for us. It's very difficult to do and I don't think Eli is one of those guys. But he is an extremely good quarterback and a championship-type quarterback, which is what you want.”