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Draft Of Destiny

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 18, 2008

This was the plan all along for Eli Manning - sort of.

He was supposed to take his place among the NFL's elite quarterbacks. He was supposed to be a star. He was supposed to lead a team to the Super Bowl. That team wasn't supposed to be the New York Giants, though. Not at first,

anyway.

Take a trip back to NFL draft day, 2004, to some high-stakes intrigue that comes full circle Sunday when Manning leads the Giants against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

If things had worked out as intended, Manning might well have been playing Sunday, but it would have been several hundred miles to the east in the other conference title game between San Diego and New England.

The Chargers originally drafted Manning, despite his warnings not to take him with that year's No. 1 draft pick. After Manning pouted and postured, the Chargers traded him to New York in a big package that included quarterback Philip Rivers, who now leads their attempt to pull what would be the greatest upset in conference championship history.

Both are underdogs this weekend, overshadowed by more accomplished opponents - Brett Favre in Green Bay and Tom Brady in New England. And for Manning, it's a chance to complete a coming-out party that began in the last game of the regular-season against ... why, New England, of course.

Small world.

Different Quarterbacks

Even though they are joined at history's hip, truth is Manning and Rivers couldn't be more different.

Rivers taunts opposing teams and fans and is prone to say things that wind up in headlines and on bulletin boards. Not that he cares. He comes out firing and never stops, either throwing or talking. His coach often wishes Rivers would shut up.

Manning's coach doesn't have that problem.

Manning just tries to stay out of his own way. He gets into trouble when he tries to do too much, so he stopped forcing things late this season and found success. It's not exciting, but it works. Even now, the story is more about what he isn't doing, the mistakes he doesn't make.

"I am not doing anything different or anything extra special. I am just trying to throw the ball to the guys, guys are getting open, and we are running the ball pretty well," he told reporters this week in New York.

"It is just a matter of playing each play for what it is and trying to keep the ball in our hands for the next play and don't give the other team a great opportunity. Don't give them a momentum-builder by a turnover. No penalties, no turnovers. If you can do that, you are going to put yourself in a position to win the game."

No self-respecting bulletin board would accept a clip with that quote, but stay with me here. We'll pause a second while you fetch some caffeine.

The Bucs can tell you all about Manning. He was not spectacular when the Giants beat them 24-14 in the opening round of the playoffs, but that's his game. He threw a career-high 20 interceptions this season, but only one in the last three weeks and none in two playoff games.

"He has really taken control of the game, control of himself, control of the offense, if you will, and he has played very, very well," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He has done the things we have had to do in order to win.

"He has performed in the pressure of a two-minute drill, he has performed in the green zone when he has had to with the clock being an enemy, so he has done the things necessary for us to win, and it is a great time for him to be playing that way, let's put it that way."

Chance To Step Up

Destiny would need a great sense of humor to put these two on opposing sides of the ball at the Super Bowl. It's not even certain Rivers will be healthy enough to play against New England (he says yes; Coach Norv Turner says maybe).

And the idea of Eli Manning going into Lambeau Field and beating Favre with a Super Bowl bid on the line, well, that would spoil a lot of storylines. It might create some other ones, though.

After the way Manning showed his disdain for San Diego, though - he refused to put on a Chargers cap for the cameras after they drafted him - a Chargers-Giants Super Bowl would be great theatre.

Maybe it was even part of the plan.

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