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| No cheerleader this week, since the Packers haven't had them since the late 1980s. Instead, I torture you with the man who may be your quarterback on Sunday ... Jared Lorenzen. |
Eli is a sissy! He's afraid of the pass rush!
Eli will never be any good, he's too quiet and 'ole sourpuss Manning takes lousy pictures, too!
The Giants have the wrong Manning! Maybe Archie can still pass the ball straight, because Eli can't!
Eli is a bum! And Ernie Accorsi is an idiot! The Giants should have just drafted Ben Roethlisberger!
It seems like ever since Eli Manning got to New York it has been fashionable to rip him. Over the years I've done some of that myself. Everybody's got an Eli put-down, or a reason why he will just never measure up to the family name.
It seems, in fact, that the only thing more fun than picking on Eli the past couple of seasons has been making fun of his backup, the 285-pound Jared Lorenzen.
He's the man of many nicknames.
The Hefty Lefty; Battleship Lorenzen; J-Load; The Pillsbury Throwboy; The Portly Pine-Rider. There are probably a dozen other ones I can't think of right now.
Only, the funny thing is, nobody is laughing about the Giants quarterback situation right now. That's because with Eli's shoulder hurting Lorenzen ... might ... actually ... have ... to ... PLAY!
And that is no joke.
With one career completion and 278 fewer career passing yards than pounds, Lorenzen might suddenly be in the spotlight.
Can he handle it? Who knows? Do Giants fans want to find out? Maybe not.
Again, the funny thing is, coming off one of the best games of his career Sunday, Eli suddenly looks a lot better.
To illustrate, let's highlight a couple of comments from folks right here at Big Blue View.
From 'DieEaglesDie.'
From 'mwilli.'
I've heard calls all week for the Giants to try and find a better backup quarterback than Lorenzen. What about Byron Leftwich? Maybe Big Blue can pry Chris Simms away from Tampa Bay. Kerry Collins is available.
Maybe, just maybe, this scare with Manning has made Giants fans understand just how important Eli is to this team.
He is the franchise, and will be for the next 5-10 years. It isn't really going to matter who the backup quarterback is, Lorenzen or anyone else.
If this team is going to become a big-time Super Bowl contender Eli will have to take them there -- not Lorenzen or anyone else.
If Eli can't get it done, Big Blue is in for a long period of mediocrity.
Maybe this Sunday we begin to find out that 'ole sourpuss Manning is a lot tougher than many have given him credit for. Maybe this Sunday he goes out and faces the Packers at less than 100 percent, showing leadership by simply being there.
Maybe this Sunday turns into a really important one in finding out what the next few seasons hold for the Giants.
Or, maybe we just get to watch Lorenzen see if he can throw for enough yards to say his career passing yardage exceeds his weight.
We'll find out in a few days.