Vince Wilfork gives Eli some Giant props

INDIANAPOLIS - Even the Patriots have appreciated Eli Manning’s play this season. And one of the Pats - big defensive tackle Vince Wilfork - has been so impressed by the Giants QB that he ranked Manning right alongside New England’s own QB star, Tom Brady.

“He’s probably one of the better quarterbacks in the league right now,” Wilfork said of Manning. “A lot of people might not agree, but I’m gonna tell you right now, you can put him with the Bradys and the Rivers, Brees, all these guys. You can throw his name in the mix right now because of what he’s done.”

That, of course, is exactly what Manning tried to do in the preseason, when he said he considered himself Brady’s equal. Wilfork added that he admired Manning’s performance two weeks ago, when the quarterback led the Giants past the 49ers for the NFC title.

The 316-yard, two-TD outing was hardly Manning’s finest statistical outing, but he did it against a physical defense that sacked him six times and hit him another 12 times.

“He just kept getting up,” said Wilfork. “It just goes to show you the type of warrior he is. He’s a tough guy, man. To have a quarterback who takes the pounding and gets up and dusts himself off and leads his team to victory, you have to tip your hat off to him.

“You can just see the heart of a champion that he has.”


(nydailynews.com)