The New England Patriots won't be facing Eli Manning when they take on the New York Giants on Thursday night but that didn't stop Bill Belichick from complimenting him. While speaking to the media on Monday, Belichick said that he has ‘a ton of respect‘ for Manning.
Belichick: "I have a ton of respect for Eli. He's a great person. Very professional. Team-oriented… He's done a tremendous job and certainly had a lot of success against us.
But I'm focused on coaching our team."
— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) October 7, 2019
The compliment shouldn't come as a surprise considering Manning is one of the only reasons why New England doesn't have eight Super Bowl banners at Gillette Stadium. The veteran quarterback defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl twice in the 2007 and 2011 seasons.
Furthermore, Manning actually ended the Patriots' hopes of achieving a 19-0 record in 2007. Manning spoiled their plans by throwing for 255 yards and two scores—including a 13-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress to give the Giants a lead with 35 seconds remaining.
Then, Belichick and Brady had their chance to redeem themselves against Manning and the Giants in 2011. But for the second time, Manning led a game-winning drive to defeat the greatest dynasty in NFL history.
As a matter of fact, Manning is the only quarterback that has taken down the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl. Therefore, there is an inevitable level of respect that Belichick will always have for the longtime signal-caller.
Now, fast forward to 2019 and things are a bit different than they were nearly a decade ago. Manning has handed the reins to the offense to rookie Daniel Jones for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, Brady is still going strong at 42-years-old as the Patriots are 5-0 this season. Nevertheless, Belichick will likely get a chance to converse with Manning after the game on Thursday.
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