Cowboys coach praises Giants' Manning

IRVING, Texas — Jason Garrett seems to genuinely respect New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. When asked about the two-time Super Bowl MVP during a Monday press conference, Garrett gave a pretty basic answer.

The Cowboys coach said Manning was an outstanding player and one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Garrett then pointed out Manning's two Super Bowl victories and ended by saying he's a smart player who can move around and make all of the throws.

The answer wasn't anything out of the ordinary and basically congruent with most of Garrett's responses about opposing players. But the former Cowboys and Giants backup quarterback recently opened up a little more about Manning in an interview with SI.com's Peter King.

While discussing quarterbacks, Garrett talked about a player's ability to survive adversity and bring his team back late in games. Both are attributes Garrett has witnessed Manning develop.

"People write all the time how great Eli is late, like he's never lost a game in the fourth quarter. That's inaccurate," Garrett said. "He has. He's made some bad mistakes late, with some bad interceptions at the wrong times. But it's the NFL. The NFL's hard. And Eli has come back to play well so many times in big games, which is one of the things I really admire about him.

"As much as the big plays — like the throw he made against the Patriots down the sideline late for [Mario] Manningham — what impresses me are the little plays. The consecutive passes he completed in the first half of the Super Bowl, just keeping [Tom Brady] off the field and moving the ball so efficiently. He plays the game so well from the shoulders up."


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