INDIANAPOLIS – Even now, when NFL Films’ footage makes it look so much worse than it felt back then, Archie Manning doesn’t complain about the terrible protection he had playing for the lowly New Orleans Saints in the 1970s and ’80s.

“My dad, you never hear him complaining or saying much about his offensive line at his time, (not even now). He played the game the right way. He enjoyed it,” New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning said.

So it’s not all that surprising that when Eli Manning’s teammates get to talking about him, the thing that impresses them most isn’t the arm that threw for 4,933 yards and 29 touchdowns this season, isn’t the command of the offense that helped turn a 7-7 team into a 12-7 one going to Super Bowl XLVI and it isn’t even his ability to remain “Easy” Eli Manning despite years of criticisms from the New York media.

Manning’s teammates love his ability to shake off a busted play and never point the finger at someone else.

“He doesn’t complain,” offensive lineman Chris Snee said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game when he’s done that. He just goes off the field, looks at his pictures. I’m sure he knows who hit him and what guy is responsible, but he’s not calling anyone out.”

Different kind of courage

Manning has completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 923 yards, eight touchdowns and one interceptions in these playoffs, and he’s been sacked a league-high eight times heading into today’s game against the New England Patriots (15-3).

He was sacked 28 times, 20th most in the league in the regular season. The Giants had 18 passing plays of 40 or more yards, more than any team in the NFL.

“When people talk about toughness, they talk about linebackers or a fullback,” Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “They don’t think of the quarterback. But it’s a totally different makeup. You’re not inflicting the blow. The willingness to stand in there and focus on your job, which is delivering the pass, and knowing that you’re going to get hit is a different kind of courage. And Eli definitely possesses it.”

There’s no greater example of Manning’s ability to buy time in the pocket than Super Bowl XLII, when he got out of the grasp of two New England defenders and competed a 32-yard pass to David Tyree, which set up the game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress in a 17-14 victory.

“We understand that we can’t give up anything cheap to (Manning) and he’s hard to rattle,” Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “You look back at (the NFC championship game), San Francisco hit him a lot, but it didn’t faze him. He kept getting up and kept fighting. A sign of a warrior.”

Manning, 31, shrugs off the notion a victory today would cement his legacy as an all-time great.

“As a player, I don’t think you think about your legacy,” he said. “You prepare to play games, to win games. We have an opportunity to win a championship. That is all I’m thinking about, what this will mean to the New York Giants organization and our fans. What it will mean for certain players, for a guy like Deon Grant who has played for 12 or 13 years and never won a championship. … You put your teammates and coaches above yourself and what it would mean to them.”

Focused leader

Manning has become a more focused leader since Super Bowl XLII, mentoring young receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

“He works very hard with the wide receivers, for example, to communicate to them,” head coach Tom Coughlin said.

“He has increased his leadership role from year to year and has taken great ownership of his team. That has coincided in the way in which he’s played this year in which he has literally carried us on his shoulders and taken us to so many fourth-quarter wins.”

Manning doesn’t like wasting time by placing blame. He just wants to find ways to win, even if it means conjuring up something dazzling and ill-advised.

“Sometimes we work on the awkward throws, when your feet can’t be set. You have to get the ball out. You don’t want to make a living of throwing those, but sometimes you have to do that,” he said. “Sometimes you have to break the pocket and scramble. Those are still opportunities to make plays, and to make big plays in the game.”

jcohn@jg.net