Eli Manning is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback to play for the New York Giants. He made six playoff appearances, including two trips to the Super Bowl. He played his entire career in New York and despite constantly taking the blame for failures that weren’t his fault, he stuck around and smiled through it all.
A few days ago, Manning illustrated the smarts of one of his former receivers, Domenik Hixon, and explained how Hixon read a specific route.
Another former Giants wide receiver, Brandon Stokley, decided to poke a little fun over it.
Your receivers had to recognize all that? Man I’m glad I had Peyton😁 https://t.co/2XAhUV6pfD
— Brandon Stokley (@bstokley14) June 20, 2022
Stokley played 15 seasons in the NFL, but only five of them were with Peyton Manning. He bounced around to various teams throughout his career, including a couple of games with the Giants.
Did Stokley intend the tweet as a joke? A jab at Eli? Or did he intend it as a stab at Kevin Gilbride’s scheme, which was known to be complex?
Probably a lot more of the former. After all, Stokley was very vocal about the Giants and Manning in 2017 when then-head coach Ben McAdoo decided to bench him.
All you hear is how classy the NYG organization is and then they pull a move like this. Eli Manning helped win them two Super Bowls. It’s not like they’re playing for something this year. Let the man finish the season out and then do what you have to do. Show some respect
— Brandon Stokley (@bstokley14) November 29, 2017
Manning developed quite a bond with most of his teammates and certainly many of his receivers. They often talk glowingly about him but that doesn’t stop them from poking fun here and there — something Manning himself often does.