“I’ve always watched him. He does everything you’re looking for as a quarterback,’’ Brady said. “I’ve seen it firsthand what he can do in the fourth quarter of these games.
“He’s done a great job bringing his team back. He’s a great leader. You always hear that coming out of New York. The guys really have a lot of respect for him and so do I.’’
Brady was impressed with Manning’s performance in the NFC Championship game against San Francisco. Manning was sacked six times and hit at least a dozen times, but he completed enough passes and threw for two touchdowns as New York won in overtime.
“He was getting drilled and just stood in there and kept making the throws, trusting his protection, and came through when they needed him,’’ Brady said. “He’s certainly a great leader for that team and plays at an extremely high level. You don’t get to this game without playing at a high level.
“He seems to always do it down the stretch. I have a ton of respect for him. He’s a great competitor. He’s a great quarterback for that team.’’
Bill Belichick noted the end-of-season run that Manning has enjoyed, as the Giants have won five straight elimination games, dating to the 15th game of the regular season.
“Eli has done a good job not turning the ball over, hitting big plays, converting on third down,’’ said Belichick. “Their third-down conversion numbers are significantly up from the regular season, playing against better teams, better defenses.
“He’s doing a great job. He’s an outstanding quarterback. He can hurt you with his legs - not that he’s looking to run for 100 yards or anything - but converting on third down, scrambling out of the pocket, keeping plays alive. We’ve seen that before. He does a good job.
“He has a lot of skill and he uses all his weapons, spreads the ball around, and makes you defend everybody. And he wins - that’s really what a quarterback’s job is, is to manage the game so his team can win. That’s what he’s done.’’
A promising end
