Eli, Coughlin get a Hall pass now

Eli is going to the Hall of Fame. So is Tom Coughlin. And there’s one important person to thank.

Plus, Indy rocks, Brady and Belichick’s legacy, luck has something to do with it Giants fans, and that’s OK.

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We are all over the post-Super Bowl insanity, SCHEIN 9 style.

1. Ernie’s vision

As Tom Brady’s Hail Mary attempt was batted down and the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, one man popped into my mind as the Giants players raced across the field to celebrate another championship.

I hope Giants fans keep former general manager Ernie Accorsi front and center as they bask in the glow of another title.

It was Accorsi who saw greatness and brilliance in Eli Manning and gave up what many critics, including me, considered a king’s ransom when the Giants could’ve simply stayed with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft and picked Ben Roethlisberger, who would’ve been the selection. It was Accorsi who knew, not thought, but knew, that Manning had the perfect attitude and skill set to succeed and deliver multiple championships to New York.

Accorsi could’ve simply drafted Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers. But he wanted Manning. He told us on the SiriusXM Blitz on Monday that he was attracted to Eli’s knack on the collegiate level for competing and winning in the SEC when he clearly didn’t have the best talent around him. I asked Accorsi, also a baseball historian, if he saw similarities in Eli’s personality, clutch play and leadership in that of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. While Accorsi agreed, and noted Manning recently telling the news media that he modeled himself as a leader after Jeter, Accorsi actually compared him to another Yankee icon, manager Joe Torre. Accorsi said, “I think Torre could be the best in dealing with the media in New York, a place where every little thing is a controversy. Torre had the coolness about him. That’s exactly what Eli has. Some said early he didn’t have emotion. I like the fact that he doesn’t get rattled. I wanted a quarterback in New York who was cool.”

It’s that demeanor that works so perfectly in the media capital of the world. It’s that demeanor that helps Eli be so cool under fire. Can you imagine how Rivers or Roethlisberger would’ve handled New York?

After Wes Welker dropped the pivotal pass with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter and the Patriots missed a chance to drain the clock and likely win the Super Bowl, it was “Eli Time.” He went to work like he has so often this year, dominating in the fourth quarter. There was never a doubt that the Giants would put points on the board. That’s what makes Manning elite. Eli hit Mario Manningham down the sideline for 38 yards on a perfect pass and a beautiful catch. It set up the go-ahead touchdown. Accorsi told us, “It’s not just the fact that he did it. He did it again in the Super Bowl. There was plenty of time after the drop. I had confidence Eli was going to do it. New England had trouble covering the Giants receivers. I knew he was going to do it. He’s been doing it all season.”

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We asked Accorsi if he thought Manning was going to be this good when he drafted him, if he would have multiple rings and Super Bowl MVPs. Accorsi told us that he told Tony LaRussa in spring training this year, and even wrote it on a napkin and signed it, that he would win more Super Bowls than just the 2008 game against New England.

Accorsi said the area where Eli has really improved the most is his accuracy. Think about all of the picks Eli threw last year. I argued most of the interceptions in the first half of the 2010 season were on tipped balls and bad luck. He earned the picks last year in the second half. Accorsi is impressed how Manning has improved his mechanics and responded to coaching. You don’t see that deer-in-headlights look that plagued him early in his career. You didn’t see the back foot throws from a year ago. We all have been witnessing a brilliant assassin.

Accorsi explained, “Accuracy is the element that is the most difficult to improve. He had some issues early in his career and last year. Now, he is so accurate. He didn’t throw one pass in the Super Bowl that was close to being intercepted. He threads the needle on the touchdown to Victor Cruz.”

While Giants fans gather for yet another celebratory parade, they should know that they wouldn’t have this moment if it wasn’t for Ernie’s vision.

2. Hall of a quarterback

After the Giants win in San Francisco, I seized the moment in this space to write that I would rather have Eli Manning than Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter. I’d choose Eli over Peyton in the playoffs. What fascinated me was the response. Whether it was your comments at the bottom of the page, tweets or calls on our radio show, there were very few disagreements.

Peyton is on the Mt. Rushmore of quarterbacks. He is an all-time great, a top-five player, with a 141-67 record and sheer domination that goes beyond wins and losses. Peyton built the Colts. He masked deficiencies. Peyton Manning was the only reason why there was a Super Bowl in Indy and why they built Lucas Oil Stadium.

Eli is 8-3 in the playoffs. Peyton is 9-10. Eli won two Super Bowls with teams that weren’t favored, teams that had to fight to even make the playoffs. Look at the wins against Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre and then Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, twice.

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Manning has a better resume than Joe Namath. Eli is the best quarterback in New York sports history.

Eli’s been in the league eight years. Accorsi is biased, but he believes Manning is a Hall of Famer. I totally agree. And the beauty for the Giants is he will continue to add to his legacy.

3. Hall of a Coach

Tom Coughlin goes from fired to Canton. What a story. What a ride. Remember the Week 15 debacle against the Redskins, when New York trailed Rex Grossman and the Skins by 20 in the fourth quarter? Remember the Giants getting booed out of their own stadium? Coughlin brought his team together and they won six straight elimination games en route to winning the Super Bowl. This team plays hard for Tom Coughlin. His players respect him. And they responded when they told him on Saturday night before the Super Bowl that they loved him.

Stack his resume against Bill Parcells when the Tuna coached the Giants. Coughlin is the best coach in Giants history.

I thought this year was his best coaching job. Who thought the Giants had playoff talent in the NFC this season? Not me. He kept the team together through a four-game losing streak, through defeats to Chuckles Whitehurst, Vince Young and Rex Grossman twice! He had to deal with major preseason injuries, like Jon Goff and Terrell Thomas, plus the Osi drama and the mouths of Antrel Rolle and Brandon Jacobs. He challenged Justin Tuck before the Jets game in Week 16, getting him to understand the difference between being hurt and injured. Did you see the major impact Tuck had in the Super Bowl and throughout the entire playoffs? That’s Coughlin. That’s coaching.

See you in Canton.

4. Creating your own luck

Fans get angry when they hear the “L” word. I get that. But Welker’s drop was the biggest play in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl champion Giants took advantage with their elite quarterback. That’s what winners do. That’s what the Patriots did for years. That’s what the Yankees (good frame of reference for Giants fans) did under Joe Torre.

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The Giants got lucky with the Victor Cruz call in Arizona. And then took advantage.

I would argue that the Welker drop and Tony Romo missing Miles Austin on 3rd-and-5 in Dallas were two of the biggest plays for the Giants this year. Don’t apologize. The Giants and Eli Manning made the opposition pay.

5. Amateur hour

Mrs. Tom Brady was right. Her husband can’t throw and catch. Wes Welker makes that grab 11 out of 10 times. He had to make that catch.

6. Can’t make it up

I think there’s a huge overreaction to the legacy of both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. In the salary cap era, they’ve been to five Super Bowls, going 3-2. Both losses came down to the wire. Their lofty place in NFL history is secure.

7. My guys

John Mara: It would’ve been popular to fire Tom Coughlin. The steady Giants owner never wavered.

Jerry Reese: Where’s Boss? Asleep on Steve Smith? Can the Giants draft a linebacker? How about bringing back Plax? Reese is the one laughing now. And give Reese credit for drafting star end Jason Pierre-Paul and wide receiver Hakeem Nicks in the first round. That was far from conventional wisdom and far from being safe. They both became stars.

Hakeem Nicks: Perhaps lost in all of the Victor Cruz hoopla, Nicks is still Eli Manning’s number 1 receiver with great hands and the great ability for yards after the catch.

Chase Blackburn: As I wrote last Tuesday, Blackburn, who was out of football for the first three months of the year, dreamed of holding his sons as confetti fell after a Super Bowl win. His two kids were born after the Giants’ 2008 Super Bowl win. I had the chills watching him hold one of his boys postgame on SNY during an interview. Blackburn had the huge pick of Brady, out-grappling Rob Gronkowski for the football.

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Steve Weatherford: The Giants punter had an exceptional Super Bowl. Not bad for a guy who was jettisoned and bad mouthed by the Jets on the way out this summer

8. My goats

Wes Welker: You have to make that catch.

Aaron Hernandez: He had a great Super Bowl, but he had a drop on the final drive.

Deion Branch: He also had a drop on the final drive.

Tom Brady: It wasn’t his best performance. The intentional grounding call in the end zone was the right one. That’s on the quarterback.

Hall of Fame voters: How is Bill Parcells not in the Hall of Fame? He turned around the Giants and Patriots and rescued the Jets from shame, not to mention what he did in Dallas! And before you ask who I would take out, the answer is everyone else. Parcells should’ve been the first one in!

9. 3 nuggets of wisdom

-Super Bowl week in Indy was perfect. I can’t wait for the Super Bowl to get back to Indianapolis.

-Peyton Manning is never playing for the Colts again.

-Does Rex Ryan still think the Jets own New York?