The other Manning makes a name for himself

Eli Manning proclaimed he was in the same class as Tom Brady before this season.

We all laughed.

But throughout the year, with the other Manning noticeably absent, Eli has solidified his spot as one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks.

Maybe it's because I'm a younger brother, but I always felt for Eli. He probably always will be suffocated by the all-consuming shadow of Peyton Manning.

Peyton has the bigger arm, puts up better stats and is much more marketable than his timid younger brother. One look at Eli leaves you with the idea that he feels like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming big-rig, while Peyton resembles a mad scientist, toying with the defense by calling false signals and performing hand motions similar to that of the Macarena.

But it is Eli who has won five of his last six playoff games and is 7-3 in his playoff career, with an NFL record five road playoff wins, while his big brother is a mere 9-10 in the playoffs. And it is Super Bowl MVP Eli and the Giants who defeated the the previously undefeated Patriots and Brady, a franchise and quarterback who have been Peyton's kryptonite, in Super Bowl XLII. That win came just one year after Peyton earned his only Lombardi Trophy opposite Rex Grossman.

This is not to say that Peyton isn't great. I believe he is the unofficial NFL MVP this season. When a team that went 10-6 last season and at least 12-4 the previous seven seasons loses just one major player and suddenly goes 2-14, it is pretty safe to assume that player is highly valuable, as is the case with Peyton.

But what it does mean is that there is room for two Mannings on the NFL's Mt. Rushmore of quarterbacks.

This postseason, Eli has thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception and has averaged 308 yards in three games against the Falcons, Packers and 49ers. He has become the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have three games in a single postseason, with at least 275 pass yards and two pass touchdowns in each game.

But it's not just that Manning has played well during this stretch that is impressive, but it is the amount of abuse he can take, get up and still deliver when the game's on the line is most impressive.

In last week's NFC Championship Game, Manning was sacked five times and knocked down 20. At times, he was seemingly running for his life, while his jersey looked as if he decided to return home to New Orleans at halftime, just take a dip in the bayou swamps. Despite taking shot after shot from the 49ers' front seven, the best in professional football, Manning was still able to hit 32 of 58 attempts for 316 yards and two touchdowns.

This isn't a recent development. Manning has been clutch in the fourth quarter all year. He carried the 9-7 Giants on his back during seven game-winning drives in the regular season and post-season. In a season headlined by both Drew Brees and Brady breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing record, Manning also put up huge numbers. He racked up 4,933 passing yards with 29 touchdowns in a season when the Giants' defense slipped all the way to 26th in the NFL. The Giants needed Manning to earn every one of those yards and touchdowns in order to get to the playoffs because their defense just couldn't hack it. So, this season Eli pretty much pulled a Peyton.

Now there's a week and a half for the pundits to compare the two brothers and reflect on the Giants' and Patriots' previous Super Bowl matchup. They will talk non-stop about how ironic it is that Eli is headlining Super Bowl XLVI against Brady in the house that Peyton built, Lucas Oil Stadium.

But when Feb. 5 comes, the younger brother will have a chance to finally silence his critics, at least momentarily. If he beats Brady for a second time on the game's biggest stage then one question will be asked forever:

Who's the Manning?