Jeremy Dahlstrom first developed a passion for all things baseball in grade school when he would spend hours reading the backs of his baseball cards. Then, while attending college, he acquired an affinity for the written word, which he continued to foster during his employment with several minor league sports organizations.
Over the years, Jeremy has enjoyed various outlets for his fitful bouts of writing exuberance and maintains a variety of interests outside of his love of baseball, including all other sports related topics, music, movies, politics and current events.
After realizing that his friends could take only so much of his sometimes aimless blatherings, he sought a new outlet for his rhapsodizing sentiments and was lucky enough to end up at eSports.
Jeremy can be contacted at jeremy.dahlstrom@mchsi.com
From the moment Eli Manning and his father Archie orchestrated the 2004 draft-day trade from San Diego to the New York Giants, Eli has been criticized for being less of a Manning than his brother.
Peyton was the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, and worked his way to the top of his profession with a poise that was far from unexpected because of his quarterbacking lineage and his collegiate success while at the University of Tennessee. But ever since brother Eli, five years younger than Peyton, made his awkward entrance into the NFL he has been faced with criticism from all comers.
Due to his inherent shyness and a lack of emotion shown on the field of play, Eli has been attacked by the debilitating New York press, Giants fans and teammates alike for what is, in essence, is an inability to meet the expectations that come along with being a Manning.
Many of his critics had become resigned to the fact that, regardless of his physical abilities, he would never perform on a level with his All-Pro brother, because he did not possess the constitution or leadership skills to become anything more than a serviceable NFL quarterback.
Coming into the 2007 NFL season, Eli Manning had thrown 54 touchdowns and 44 interceptions in his first three seasons in the league. Those numbers were hardly totals representative of an overall number one pick.
Throughout the regular season and into the week 16 game at Buffalo, it seemed to be more of the same for Eli. In the wind and snow against the Bills, Eli managed only a mere 111 yards passing for zero touchdown and two interceptions. He also fumbled the ball five times in a game saved by a Giants rushing attack that managed 291 yards on the ground to beat the Bills and clinch a playoff berth.
Up to that point, the 2007 season seemed to be just more of the same from Eli Manning. Each step forward seemed to be followed by another step back.
Regardless of how the team as a whole performed prior to the regular season ending matchup against the New England Patriots, much of the New York media handicapped the Giants chances of performing well in the playoffs citing Eli's propensity to turn the ball over as a major obstacle.
On December 29, 2007, the New England Patriots were standing on the brink of greatness. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1966, only one team had finished the regular season without a loss – the 1972 the Miami Dolphins, who finished the regular season 14-0 and proceeded to win Super Bowl VII to finish the season at 17-0.
Heading into the final regular season game for the Giants and Patriots, many questioned whether Giants head coach Tom Coughlin would rest his starters and concede a win to the record challenging Patriots. Coughlin likely went into the game intending to sit his starters if it got out of hand, but as the contest progressed he was able to witness one of the finest games of Eli’s career.
With Eli demonstrating the leadership heretofore lacking in his career, the Giants headed into the fourth quarter of that game with a 28-23 lead. Ultimately, the Giants defense would run out of steam and the Patriots would come out victorious 38-35, but Eli would end the game 22-for-32 for 251 yards, four TDs and one INT. He had looked calm and in control for much of the game. He looked like a different quarterback.
In the playoffs, starting with a Wild Card game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Eli and the Giants faced a seemingly insuperable path to the Super Bowl. They would have to win three straight road playoff games, something that had happened only twice before in NFL history.
Taking the momentum they had built in the regular season finale against New England, the Giants swept through the Bucs, the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers to reach the Super Bowl, where they would face the Patriots once again.
In each playoff contest, Eli held his own against more heralded counterparts, Jeff Garcia (Tampa Bay), Tony Romo (Dallas) and Brett Favre (Green Bay), completing the unlikely playoff run with four touchdowns to zero interceptions. He had played like a veteran quarterback in total control of his team's offense and avoided the costly errors that had plagued him throughout in his career.
Super Bowl XLII ended up being a much anticipated rematch of the regular season thriller that saw the birth of the new Eli Manning. The pre-game hype naturally surrounded the New England Patriots regular season exploits and the questions about their place among the all-time great teams in NFL history.
As for the Giants, just like that week 17 game, they were being overlooked by a majority of the media, experts and fans alike. But, from the onset, it was clear that this was the new Eli Manning leading the Giants though.
After winning the opening toss and electing to receive, Eli led the Giants on a 16-play scoring drive that consumed 9:59 of the clock. Manning even set a Super Bowl record by converting his first three third downs before the offense ultimately settled for a Lawrence Tynes field goal.
The Patriots answered with a similarly impressive drive, which resulted in a touchdown just seconds into the second quarter. From that point on, it was a game of defensive prowess until the fourth quarter, when Manning pieced together another scoring drive that resulted in a nifty five-yard pass to David Tyree and a 10-7 lead for the Giants.
In typical New England fashion, Tom Brady again answered with a 12-play scoring drive consisting of mainly short passes to receiver Wes Welker and multi-purpose back Kevin Faulk. Brady ended the drive when he found Randy Moss on a six-yard pass for a touchdown, which gave the lead back to the Patriots, 14-10.
The game might have ended there if the old Eli Manning had marched back onto the field. But after four weeks of excellent play, the Eli Manning that came onto the field with 2:39 left in the game was the calm, confident field general that had so recently emerged.
Starting from its own 17 yard line, Manning orchestrated a 12-play drive to take the lead with less than a minute to play. On the biggest stage of his career, facing a team many had already declared the greatest the NFL had ever seen, Manning marched his offense 83 yards in just over two minutes to find Plaxico Burress in the left corner of the end zone for the game winning TD, 17-14.
The Patriots got the ball back with 29 seconds left on the clock, but were stopped by Michael Strahan and the mauling Giants defense to end the game.
During the post game ceremonies, Eli was presented with the Super Bowl MVP award. After being in big brother Peyton's shadow for so many years, it seems little brother Eli saved his best for the biggest stage.