Giants' Michael Strahan: 'I Need [Eli Manning] to Mature Now' Posted Jul 10th 2007 3:24PM by Dan Benton Filed under: NY Giants, NFC East, New York, The Word http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/07/10/giants-michael-strahan-i-need-eli-manning-to-mature-now/ Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who holds the NFL record for sacks in a single season, is starting to feel his age. "I always tell them (media) I'm retiring every year," Strahan said. "I've been saying I'm going to retire for the past five years ... who knows, man. Every year I go day to day, game to game. Some days I wake up and I think there is no way I can do it. Other days I wake up and I think I can do it for another five years. We'll see." Based on that comment, you'd think the pressure to win a championship is at an all time high. And, actually, it is. Strahan realizes that he doesn't have many opportunities left and that each chance could be the last one. He also realizes that other players, namely Eli Manning, need to step up in order for him to hoist that Super Bowl trophy. "You don't say, 'Well, we can win in two years or three years.' I don't have two or three years right now. I'm thinking of winning right now. They say Eli (Manning) is going to mature. Well, I need him to mature now. The thing about this season is that the sense of urgency is greater than it has ever been." Quite a few players have been singling Manning out this offseason, calling for him to finally break out. Whether or not that happens, remains to be seen. However, it's clear that he's not going to get that five-year window most young quarterbacks get. It has become apparent that it's now or never for Manning, as well as Strahan.
I agree Eli came in with a lot of hype...and has done nothing but look scared and make horrible choices
I can honestly say I've never liked Eli. The fit he threw about being drafted by the Chargers turned me right off. And talk about over hyped! He's the prime example of it.
John Elway threw a similar fit when he was first drafted, and he was also the most hyped player of his draft class. Elway turned out ok...
I thought it was because Elway was leaning towards baseball...not trying to force his way on another team..
I was going to say that. I hated Elway because of it. Even though he lived up to the hype, I still never liked him.
Just another reason of a long list whby the Giants will never win with this group of misfits.. How bout shut the fuck up and worry about yourself staying healthy and contributing.. God I hate the Giants and especially Strahan..
I did some digging to find out why Elway threw such a hissy. I found this: 1983: With the number 1 pick in the NFL Draft the Colts select QB John Elway from Stanford. Elway refused to report to Baltimore mostly because of his disdain for head coach Frank Kush. Despite Ernie Accorsi?s efforts to persuade Elway to report and fearful that the Colts would get nothing for the overall No. 1 pick, Robert Irsay trades away the rights to Elway to Denver for T Chris Hinton, QB Mark Hermann and a No. 1 draft pick. The Colts finish their final season in Baltimore with a 7-9 record as attendance continues to plummet and the gap between owner Robert Irsay, local politicians and the fan base widens. http://www.coltsheritage.com/history.php
Exactly. Even the so called "classiest player ever" Tiki Barber, was a gigantic baby last year. Calling out coaches and everyone else. I remember the anonymous player complaining about Coughlin making them practice in pads. The Giants are the single whiniest, babiest, coddled team I have ever seen. Their fans never can admit this trainwreck and that their heroes are whining babies. It annoys me to no end. They need to scrap that team from the ground up and bring in hard workers who don't blame other people. Coughlin could be the best thing that happened to this team but he players are too spoiled to realize it.
By calling Eli out and putting the pressure EVEN more so on him has just upped his INT ratio for the season. There goes his rating. I predict that the Giants won't win more than 5 , If I were a Giants fan I'd take that now.
This could shape up to be a great year for Jets fans as the Dolphins, Giants & Raiders could be the three worst teams in the league.. Now if only we can figure out a way to destroy the Pats we'll be good to go..
I'm shocked.. honestly tho, I've never liked either of them. Every time I see straytooth, I think back to some interview where he was talking shit about other people's lack of etiquette, something or another; simultaneously munching loudly on a sammich. With Eli, obviously it's him pouting on draft day looking like he was about to have a temper tantrum. The giants really are a bunch of babies.
Figured this would get blown out of proportion. Manning's not an idiot, he knows he needs to take his game to a higher level to get the team over the hump. This isn't "calling him out", it's making an obvious observation. Fact's are, Eli hasn't been nearly as bad as people make him out to be. His offensive line annually sucks, his coaching staff has a history of boobery, his teams have suffered some major injuries the last couple of years. But yeah, he does need to improve. And I think I can. Now back to you're regularly scheduled bashing. I'm looking forward to allan1's contribution.
If you could make Strahan five years younger, tape his mouth shut, send him off to live his private life in a controlled biosphere and cut his salary in half, I might trade a high pick for him.
He wanted to stay as close to the west coast as possible. Since the option of baseball gave him leverage, he forced Baltimore to trade him. Back then players didn't have much leverage, that's when the USFL was first getting off the ground, so that wasn't a viable option yet for most guys.
