Kidsday interviews Giants' Eli Manning
Quick Summary
Kidsday reporters met Giants quarterback Eli Manning while he was in Manhattan recently.
Photo credit: Newsday Photo/Pat Mullooly | Giants quarterback Eli Manning with Kidsday reporters, from left, Vincent Giambertone, Lindsay Vosila and Glenn Hyams
Videos
We met Giants quarterback Eli
Manning while he was in Manhattan recently.
Are you an avid video game player and if so when you play Madden do you play yourself or with your brother?
I’m not a very big video game player. I played when I was younger and you know what happens . . . I try to take it probably too realistically, where I’m there playing cover to this play should work and when it doesn’t work I’m like, all right I’m getting frustrated . . . So I don’t play that much anymore.
You are now one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Yet for your first few years you struggled. How did you cope with the negative aspects of playing in New York?
I just knew I’ve watched other quarterbacks, I watched my brother come in. I knew it wasn’t going to be a situation where I come in and have great stats and great numbers and my first year really struggled, but next year I didn’t play great, but we still went 11 and 5 and won NFL , and I knew I could improve as a player, but I know in football there’s ups and downs. You have good games, you have bad games. It’s just trying to stay confident, believe in yourself and know that if you keep working hard things will get easier.
What are your expectations for this season?
Well I have high expectations every season. We got some new players this year. It’s my goal to try and improve as a player. Every season I go back and look at every pass that I made from last year and how I can improve as a quarterback and improve my team as an offense. So I think we have a great team right now, great players. It’s our goal just to get off to a fast start, try to get into the playoffs and then get hot in the playoffs.
What’s your advice to a high school athlete who’s trying to transition to a college program. Are there any tricks or secrets as to how someone can get noticed or recruited?
Work hard. In high school I got all my receivers out during the summer. I use to throw two or three times a week. Get out there doing one on one, lifting weights, doing everything I could do to become a better quarterback. I think there’s repetitions, timing with the receivers all those things help. If you’re making plays in high school and winning games and playing good football you’ll get recognized. You’ll have an opportunity to show your skills at the next level if that’s what you want to do.
What do you think the most pressured-filled position is in all of sports?
I think playing quarterback is one of them. Because the ball is going to be in your hands in every play you got. Whether it’s a running play or back play, you’re kind of responsible for getting the ball snapped and getting into a good play. It’s kind of one of those positions when you lose you probably you probably get — there’s too much blame on your shoulders, but when you win you might get too much credit also.
What do you think might be a key to another Super Bowl win?
It’s real simple. You just got to play great football. It’s about finishing the season. Last year we started off very playing well. We were playing very well. We just didn’t finish strong and that’s the key. When you get into the playoffs you want to be playing your best football. And a lot of circumstances come into matter about injuries and different things like going on, but it all comes down to who’s executing the best, who’s staying focus and who's going out there and making the most plays.
Do you read the stories about the Giants in the newspapers and listen to the discussions on sports radio?
I don’t read much about the Giants in the newspapers. I know what’s happening in the game. I know what’s happening in the locker room. I don’t need to read the paper to know what’s going on whether it’s good stuff or bad stuff. I kind of watch the film and listen to my coaches, talk to the players. Same on TV. I’ll watch keep up with sports. I keep up with the NFL and I’ll watch how other teams are doing. But when it comes to the Giants, I’ll sometimes I’ll change the channel until it’s off.
Do you think more pressure will be on you without Derek Ward in the game?
I think Derek was a tremendous help to us last year. He had a tremendous season. I think with Brandon Jacobs] back this year we have Ahmad Bradshaw who when we made our Super Bowl run he was kind of number 2 backup. He stepped it up a notch in his performance and he was ready to have a good season. So also have some young backs to see what they could do. But I think we’ll have a strong running game this year and that should help with some of our young receivers that are real fast and can get down field I think a little bit better. We should have better play action, be able to hit some more big plays in the passing game because of our running ability.
What is it like going into the season with inexperienced receivers?
Well we have some receivers who are experienced. Steve Smith - his third year with us, Dominic Hicks plays a lot for us. We do have some new guys. Mario Manningham and Sinorice Moss and some rookies that we draft. There are guys who’ve been around in this offense and they know what they’re doing. They don't have many game experience but they're very talented, they’re explosive, they make big plays and I think I’m excited about the potential that they have, and working hard and get on the same page and get the timing down I think we'll have an exciting offense this year.
After your Oreo commercial hit the airwaves did you get any movie offers from Hollywood or a lifetime supply of cookies?
I can get Oreo cookies anytime I want. My offense linemen really wanted some so I sent more Oreos than they can eat in their meeting room which they snack on a good bit. So they're happy about that. But no movie offers. I'm going to stick with my day job and kind of worry about football for now. Commercials are pretty easy, but I think movies is a little bit more time consuming.
Was there any point in your life that you wanted to do something else besides playing football?
You know it’s tough. When I was growing up there was never just a goal to play professional football. I like playing all sports. I played basketball, I played baseball. I was just a normal kid. I got into high school and I was going to become the starting quarterback and I wanted to work really hard at it because I wanted to be a good high school quarterback. I wanted to try and win a state championship. Kind of my junior, senior years starting getting some letters and recruited to college and I said I’d like to play this at the next level. Play in college and kind of the same thing once I got there I just wanted to be a good college player. It wasn't about getting into the NFL. I just wanted to win games and play well and see if we could win a SCC title. I never won a state championship in high school and never won national championship in college but still had the opportunity to play in the NFL and work hard to try and win the world championship and got that one done.
With warm, sunny weather, it's the perfect time to explore the best parks for kids.
comments