On the NFL: Eli Manning carves out a name for himself

It was around breakfast time in Miami on Feb. 5, 2007, when Peyton Manning was collecting his Cadillac as MVP of Super Bowl XLI.

A news conference had been arranged at the convention center, not far from where Manning's Colts had beaten the Bears about 10 hours earlier. As usual, Manning was entertaining, funny, even a tad punch-drunk from what appeared to have been a night of little to no sleep.

Toward the end of the news conference, a reporter from New York stood, grabbed a microphone and asked Manning if his little brother, Eli, also had what it took to ditch the dreaded can't-win-the-big-one tag.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Eli is a quarterback who will lead his team to a Super Bowl," older brother said. "Probably more than one."

It seemed like little more than the big-brotherly thing to say at the time. Eli, the Giants' slump-shouldered quarterback, was 0-2 in the postseason and the New York noose was tightening after back-to-back one-and-done playoff appearances.

The fifth anniversary of Peyton's Proclamation arrives next Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday. Needless to say, the tide has turned for the Giants, the Colts and Archie's offspring.

Little Eli has gone 7-1 in postseason games since the Peyton Proclamation. He has won a league-record five of them on the road and one at a neutral site when he matched big brother with a victory and an MVP in Super Bowl XLII.

Peyton no doubt will be there, watching from a suite inside Lucas Oil Stadium, the house he essentially built but appears destined to be evicted from before a $28 million bonus he is due March 8. The Colts are rebuilding from a 2-14 debacle caused by a third neck surgery that sidelined Peyton all season. The likely scenario includes Stanford's Andrew Luck joining the Colts as the No. 1 overall pick and Peyton finishing his career elsewhere, perhaps in New York with the Jets.

"That would be interesting," Eli told reporters this week. "[It] would be unique. It would be fun."

It also would make for one heck of a Super Bowl XLVIII in New York in 2014.

Some have suggested a victory by the Giants next Sunday would move Eli past Peyton as the best quarterback in the history of the family tree. Eli 2, Peyton 1. Simple as that, or so they say.

That theory would have some merit if this were tennis rather than the ultimate team sport. It also would have some merit if there were a person alive who thinks a 1-0 edge in Super Bowl victories makes Trent Dilfer or Mark Rypien a better quarterback than Dan Marino.

Eli's postseason success story began four years ago. He won three consecutive road games and then stopped the Patriots from going 19-0 by throwing a Super Bowl-record two go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown passes against Brady.

Earlier this season, the two met for the first time since that Super Bowl. Brady threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 1 minute, 36 seconds left. Then Eli threw the game-winner with 15 seconds left.

Eli's composure also has been tested in the Giants' past four games. Facing elimination in each contest, Eli has completed 64.1 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns, one interception and his three best passer ratings of the season.

After beating MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, Eli went to San Francisco to face a 49ers team that had a league-high 38 takeaways. Despite wet conditions and a swarming defense that sacked him six times, Eli directed yet another upset while committing zero turnovers in a whopping 58 throws.

Not bad for a guy who created a buzz last summer when he had the nerve to say "yes" when an ESPN reporter asked him if he considered himself to be in the same class as Brady.