New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan probably are the two most under-appreciated signal callers in the NFL.
Both have been very good, and at times great, quarterbacks, but there seems to be a league-wide reluctance to elevate either into the stratosphere with quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning.
For Manning, with his two Super Bowl rings and two MVP trophies, it may not really matter. For Ryan, he must get the Falcons turned around and back into the playoffs, where he’ll need to have some mega-playoff success.
“Eli has been a great Giant, and he will always be that way in that everything he does is in the best interest of our team,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “No one should every question that.”
Before the past two seasons, Ryan had an unprecedented string of five consecutive winning seasons and four trips to the playoffs for the longtime losing franchise. The Falcons were defeated by the eventual NFC Super Bowl representative each time (Cardinals, Packers, Giants and 49ers).
“Matt Ryan is an outstanding play-action passer and always has been,” Coughlin said.
It’s been a tough week in New York for Manning after a few late-game decisions backfired and led to a distressing 27-26 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night.
He told running back Rashad Jennings not to score. He threw an incomplete pass when he should have fallen down to keep the clock running.
It is those kind of miscues that keep some from anointing Manning as one of the great quarterbacks of his era. But not Ryan.
“He’s a great player,” Ryan said. “Has been for a long time. He’s always a tremendous competitor. It seems like whenever they need him to make a play, he can come up with it. He can dig down deep and find a way to make a play. I’ve always had a ton of respect for Eli.”
Ryan posted a 56-22 record over his first five seasons and guided the Falcons to the playoffs as a rookie, but he does have that troublesome 1-4 record in the playoffs.
But when asked earlier this summer about his elite status in the league, Ryan said he just wants to be called a “winner.”
Thanks to some personnel mistakes and a rash of injuries, Ryan hasn’t been able to call himself a winner the past two seasons, as the Falcons returned to their losing ways by finishing 4-12 and 6-10.
“Matt, I’ve always had great respect for him,” Manning said. “He’s been a tremendous player. He’s still is playing very well. I just watched the first half the other night. He was on a roll. He looked very sharp. I have great respect for him.”
After the Falcons dabbled in an all-pass attack for three seasons, they are back into a balanced attack that plays well to Ryan’s strengths. Ryan had his most success in the power offenses of Mike Mularkey, although they finished the regular season 13-3 in 2013 and nearly reached the Super Bowl in Dirk Koetter’s offense.
The Falcons, featuring an outside-zone rushing attack, ran 35 times against Philadelphia and threw 34 passes.
“His ability to run the scheme that they use, whether it be bringing the tight end back across behind the line of scrimmage or running the excellent fake to one side and naked — or what we call nude — coming out the other side,” Coughlin said. “He’s done an outstanding job of that and the receivers have handled that very well.”
With a rushing attack, Ryan was able to find wide receiver Julio Jones nine times for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
“The crossers are difficult to defend, there is no doubt,” Coughlin said. “But we’ve seen that pretty much all preseason and hopefully, we’ll be able to recognize and have a little something to say about the success of that play. It’s a tough scheme.”
Manning, who has a 5-2 record against the Falcons and 3-1 with Ryan at the helm, is ready for a high-scoring affair.
“You know their offense is going to be high-powered and able to put up some points,” Manning said. “We know that as an offense we have to be prepared. I thought their defense looked great the other night as well. They were running around fast, making plays and interceptions.”
Manning, with his Super Bowl rings and all, doesn’t seem to care too much about his status. His career has unfurled in New York under great scrutiny.
“I think early on I might have been a little bit more concerned with what the media was doing or I read the papers more about who was saying what,” Manning said. “I think over the years, I have learned that less is better.”
He didn’t ready very many tabloids this past week.
“After a tough game or maybe more importantly after a great game, (I have) to stay away from it,” Manning said. “You listen to your coaches. You watch the film yourself and make your own opinions, your own decisions on how you play or what you did, what you did right and what you did wrong. That’s good enough.
“Those are the things that matter. That other stuff is not going to help out. It’s not going to help out in any way.”
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