Best: Eli would like to be remembered as a calm leader and a winner

ALBANY

Who is Eli Manning?

For a guy entering his seventh season in one of the most visible jobs in sports, and who along the way secured one of the most memorable championships in New York history, the answer is elusive.

As a man, the Giants quarterback appears to be quiet, personable and charitable, but beyond that . . . what? In comparison, Derek Jeter is an open book.

As a player, he generally is respected but not beloved, good but not great, reliable but not inspiring.

All of which in itself is odd, given a resume that includes a career-defining arctic evening at Lambeau Field on which he outplayed Brett Favre, followed two weeks later by one of the most famous pass completions in NFL history.

Joe Namath, Willis Reed, Phil Simms, Mark Messier, Jeter and others have been anointed New York sports heroes for life for similar deeds, yet Manning remains somehow apart.

Even his impressive history of durability and toughness doesn't seem to count much for him.

The reason presumably is some combination of his on-field ups and downs, his laconic personality and the fact that because he's only 29, his resume still is a work in progress. But still . . .

Does any of this bother Manning? If it did, he likely would not admit it, but it did not seem to when I posed my perception of his image to him after lunch Monday.

Manning, however, did tell me how he would like fans to see him.

"Hopefully, they think I'm a good team leader, a guy who you want in those tough situations," he said. "A guy you want him in the game when you're down in the fourth quarter and he's going to make the plays whether you're in the lead or you're behind and come through and get a win.

"Calm under pressure. That's how I'd like to be [regarded]."

Manning did not fully win over some football people until last season, when with an initially suspect receiver corps, he had career highs in touchdown passes (27), passing yardage (4,021) and passer rating (93.1).

Before that, his numbers were not overly impressive. But if he stays healthy, Manning will pass Charlie Conerly this season on the Giants' career passing yardage list and trail only Simms.

Was it really that long ago that the Giants rolled the dice to trade for him on draft day in 2004?

"It seems like a short time; it's really gone by fast," he said.

Manning never will be a fiery leader, but he said he has become more comfortable advising and at times admonishing younger players.

"You have to learn to get on some guys a little bit or mess with others and get them relaxed and loose," he said. "You get a sense of [what approach] helps them play their best."

Off the field, Manning quickly found a role model in New York for how to deal with the public. Jeter, naturally.

"Definitely, when I first got here, he was a guy you looked at," Manning said. "He says the right things. He doesn't say anything more than he has to. He's viewed by the media well. He answers questions. He is nice, but he's competitive. He wants to win. I still watch him."

Jeter's contract is up after this season, but regardless, his place in Yankees history is secure. Manning faces no contract uncertainty after signing a six-year, $97.5-million extension last year, but he said he still has work to do to be thought of the way he wants.

"I hope to leave a legacy and be remembered," he said. "Simms and [Frank] Gifford and all those guys will always be remembered. You just want to be thought of in that field, as a guy who won championships, a guy who competed and played on great teams.

"That's how you want to be remembered: 'Yeah, he played for the Giants and they had great teams.' I still hopefully have a lot more years to prove it and to get people saying that."