New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been compared to many things over the course of his professional career — few of them in a positive way — but never before has he been likened to NBA superstar LeBron James.
That changed on Monday when his teammate, defensive tackle Damon Harrison, appeared on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”
Asked about Manning’s omission from the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2017 rankings, Harrison said it “made no sense” and compared it to the sort of disrespect LeBron receives when he doesn’t have an all-world performance.
“Eli, when you look at Eli, it’s kind of like when you look at LeBron,” Harrison said. “I’m not saying they’re the same, but look at Eli’s numbers. Any other quarterback would have those numbers it would be an amazing year, but, it being Eli, no one is respecting it much like we do LeBron. LeBron could average 30 [points], 15 rebounds and 12 assists and it’s like ‘he didn’t do enough.’ I don’t know what’s the deal.”
Manning does face an unusual amount of criticism regardless of how well he performs. And while his numbers dipped a bit from 2015 to 2016, he still completed 63 percent of his passes for 4,067 yards and 26 touchdowns.
At the end of the day, short of winning his third Super Bowl ring, Manning was awarded the league’s most prestigious individual honor when he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year along with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Both on and off the field, Manning is a winner and Harrison recognizes that. But like LeBron, nothing they do will ever be good enough to silence their many critics.
