Amani Toomer got his name back in the news earlier this month by saying the NFC East's top quarterback was Tony Romo ... not his former New York Giants teammate, Eli Manning.
Considering the events of the past five seasons, it was pretty well understood that Toomer was woefully off-base, even if he did acknowledge Manning was the better crunch-time player.
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On Monday, Manning made it clear Toomer's comments didn't bother him, although he threw in a little dig of his own.
"I saw Toomer not too long ago at the ESPY Awards, and I went up to him and I said, 'Hey, I think Willie Ponder and Ike Hilliard were better receivers than you were for the Giants,'Â " Manning told the New York Post. "Just kind of laughed and joked about it. I don't get upset about those things.
"Amani's been a good pal of mine. I don't think he was trying to be mean to me in any way or try to hurt my feelings," Manning went on. "That's just the way things are now, with so many different talk radio shows and so many different things talking about football year-round, there's only so much you can say."
At this point, being underappreciated has become one of Manning's defining characteristics. It's endearing, really. There are quarterbacks who put up better numbers, and they even might look better doing it. But if you're in the results business -- and that's what the NFL is all about, isn't it? -- Manning is your guy.
