Giants are glad Eli Manning’s at the controls

Far be it for an NFL owner to sully the reputation of his star quarterback.

It’s just that, in the opinion of Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, quarterback Eli Manning has the poise under pressure of another New York icon: Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, who three years ago successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people onboard.

OK, so Manning isn’t saving lives, and Tisch isn’t even remotely equating what he has done to the true heroics of Sullenberger. But, after meeting the pilot, he does believe the two have common traits.

“They have that same kind of attitude: kind of just another day at the office,” Tisch said. “There’s a calmness, a sense of confidence. I don’t think Eli really wants to be Sunday’s hero. That’s not who he is. That’s not his personality. It’s not Eli Manning. He’s laid back, relaxed, humble and extremely appreciative.

“When I met Sully, it was the same thing with him. It was like he just did what he had to do.”

Manning is coming off by far the best season of his career, setting a franchise record with 4,933 yards passing, and throwing an NFL-record 15 touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Third time a charm?

So far, Matty Ice has been frozen out. Is the thaw coming?

The Atlanta Falcons have had two playoff games with Matt Ryan at quarterback and lost them both. Now, Ryan gets his third chance in four seasons when the Falcons play at the Giants.

“We are learning from those experiences,” Atlanta Coach Mike Smith said. “We’re going to use those as growing experiences, and we’re looking forward to competing this week, and that’s just not Matt Ryan. That’s Mike Smith, every member of our team.”

Ryan has some distinguished company. Manning too didn’t taste victory until his third playoff game.

Dirty words

The Giants aren’t ones to bite their tongues.

Last week, running back Brandon Jacobs was ripping Dallas Cowboys fans, calling them loud and obnoxious. This week, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck blasted Atlanta’s offensive line, accusing the big men up front of cheap, dirty tactics.

“Yeah, we’ve seen it,” Tuck said. “We know they have that quote-unquote ‘reputation.’ Most people, you would call them dirtbags. But it is what it is. We got to make sure we do our job. And if we are doing our job well, then they will be upset and they will be trying to do things to get us off our game. We’ve got to take that as a compliment.”

Dirtbags? Should the Falcons take that as a compliment too?

“I’ve been called worse,” Falcons tackle Will Svitek said. “I’m going to have to find the Wikipedia definition of ‘dirtbag.’ Maybe look it up on urbandictionary.com. “I’ve joked that maybe we should print up T-shirts and brand it, maybe make some money with [the size of] the New York market.”

Stat watch

From ProFootball-Focus.com:

-- Atlanta’s Michael Turner leads the NFL in forced missed tackles with 67, 25 more than the nearest Giant, Ahmad Bradshaw.

--This game features two of the league’s best receivers after the catch. Falcons rookie Julio Jones is averaging 7.8 yards after the catch, and the Giants’ Victor Cruz is averaging 7.3.

--The Falcons’ John Abraham drops into coverage more than any 4-3 defensive end, 53 times this season.

Another view

Former NFL MVP Rich Gannon of CBS: “The thing that jumps out at me is how well Eli has played absent a strong running game and at times [with] a porous defense. This guy has taken his game to the next level, and the big thing is he cut down on the mistakes.”

By the numbers How teams compare statistically. All stats are per-game averages, except for turnover differential, which is for the season (league rank in parentheses):

FALCONS GIANTS
Points scored 25.1 (7) 24.6 (9)
Points allowed 21.9 (18) 25.0 (25)
Pass offense 262.0 (18) 295.9 (5)
Rush offense 114.6 (17) 89.2 (32)
Pass defense 236.6 (25) 255.1 (29)
Rush defense 97.0 (6) 121.2 (19)
Sacks 33 (19) 48 (3)
Penalties 5.8 (10) 5.9 (11)
Turnovers +8 (6) +7 (8)

Farmer’s pick

The Giants’ ability to rush the passer could be the difference in this one. Ryan can pick apart this New York secondary, but the question is, will he have the time to do it? Not if guys like Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora are on their game.

GIANTS 35, FALCONS 28