May 07, 2018
By selecting Penn State phenom Saquan Barkley in last month's NFL draft, the New York Giants signaled their renewed faith in two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
The 37-year-old quarterback showed signs of serious decline last season under a putrid Ben McAdoo offense, taking a ride on the bench in favor of Geno Smith before the Giants pulled the plug on their head coach.
In the NFC East, where Manning's always been a favorite punching bag, the crunch-time interceptions and dopey facial expressions have almost made him a sympathetic figure. Until last year, he was the only divisional quarterback who had won a title in recent memory, and yet he's still the face of humble futility.
Manning sat down for an exclusive interview on Saturday with Steiner Sports, discussing everything from his conditioning to his family life and the NFL at-large.
When Manning was asked about playing in stadiums around the NFL, he singled out Lincoln Financial Field as a place he still circles on his calendar.
"Philly, you just gotta get used to," Manning said, "...because you're not used to seeing a nine-year-old cursing at you and talking about my mom and stuff. Once you get used to it, it's fine. It just takes a year or two. Now, he's 24 and training his four-year-old to curse at me."
That sounds about right. Eagles fans are also some of the best-traveled in the NFL. Manning admitted last year that noisy Eagles fans disrupted the timing of a late season game in New York that came down to the wire and helped Philadelphia chase down a first-round bye.
The truth is that Eagles fans will be a bit saddened when Manning is done in New York. Losing and learning to like Tony Romo the announcer was hard enough. Kirk Cousins had potential as a long-term guy to hate. What are we supposed to do with Dak Prescott and Alex Smith?
