David Carr has now spent a full year getting reacquainted with Eli Manning, backing up the Giants quarterback in his second stint in New York.
On the eve of New York's wild-card game against the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday, the 10th-year pro, who spent 2008 and 2009 with the team, spoke about Manning's rise to a record-breaking season.
To name one of his many milestones, Manning's 4,933 yards were more than his brother ever threw for in a season. The closest Peyton came was last season, throwing for 4,700 yards.
"I don't think that matters to him, honestly," Carr, a former No. 1 pick overall, said. "I think that stuff, in really knowing the guy, I think that it just matters if we win or not. He's just as happy on the sideline if he's handing it off to Ahmad [Bradshaw] or Brandon [Jacobs] 30 times or if he's throwing for 500 yards. If you're standing one on one with him, you can't tell if he's done either one of those things. So that's probably one of his best attributes."
Fifteen of Manning's 29 touchdowns came in the fourth quarter this season, surpassing two Colts quarterbacks – Peyton, who did it in 2002, and Johnny Unitas in 1959.
Carr was asked if the burden of late-game comebacks ever becomes too much.
"I don't think so. I think everyone is like that. I think they want it on their shoulders," Carr said. "We're going to get the credit for it, we're going to get the blame when we lose, but I don't think that gets old for him at all. I think that's why he plays and he enjoys it."
"I think that's the point of a team," Manning said in a separate interview. "It's everybody doing their jobs, it's everybody leaning on each other and expecting the guy next to you to do their job. That's the way we feel. Our defense is playing outstanding lately. Hopefully they continue to do that. Offensively, the run game is coming around. We've run better in the last half of the season than we did at the beginning. The receivers are back healthy and doing a good job of getting open. When we play our best it's when all three phases of the game – offense, defense, special teams – they're all playing at a high level."
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