DeAngelo Hall: Eli Manning is a Hall of Fame player and super smart
DeAngelo Hall insists he did not mean any disrespect earlier this week when he said the Washington Redskins gave Eli Manning and the New York Giants a win last Sunday. When discussing New York’s game-winning 77-yard touchdown, Hall basically said anyone could have made the throw and that it was nothing more than a blown coverage. Several Giants players ripped him for the comments, and the Redskins corner backed off on Thursday.
“I think anybody who’s smart enough to watch football can sit there and see we blew that coverage,” Hall explained according to D.C. Sports Bog. “With that being said, the question I was asked was ‘Is Eli just the smartest guy?, some question the reporter asked me about that particular play. And I was like, nah, you didn’t have to be too smart to see a guy run down the middle and just throw it up.
“I’m not saying Eli’s not smart. You know, the dude’s super smart. He won two Super Bowls. I got drafted with Eli. I was able to get to know him and his family through that whole process. I respect his game a whole lot. I respect that football team, Coach Coughlin, all those guys a lot and what they’ve been able to accomplish up there in New York.”
As much as we like to rip on Hall for saying things like this and allegedly hitting opponents in the face, the explanation sounds pretty sincere. In his defense, it was very much a blown coverage by Washington. Anytime you let an opposing team’s best receiver run free down the seam with under two minutes to play, you’ve made an epic mistake. In that sense, the play was not all that difficult for the Giants to execute.
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