Trade of Manning Is a Real Capper

NEW YORK â€”  His Mississippi teammates nicknamed sleepy-eyed quarterback Eli Manning “Easy E,” so it was only fitting that Manning’s approach to the NFL draft Saturday was as easy as ABC.

Anyone But the Chargers.

Things didn’t exactly work out that way, not at first. Turning a deaf ear to Manning’s request that they not take him, the San Diego Chargers used the No. 1 pick to select him -- setting in motion about an hour of awkwardness and uncertainty before they traded him to the New York Giants for North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers, plus the Giants’ spots in the third round this year and the first and fifth rounds next year.

The first three rounds of the draft took place Saturday, and the final four will be held today.

So disappointed was Manning that the Chargers picked him, he unsmilingly declined to put on a San Diego cap as he stood on stage for the traditional snapshots, and only reluctantly held the blue No. 1 jersey to his chest. He had debated whether to walk to the podium at all when his name was called, finally deciding to do it so as not to embarrass the league and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

When Manning learned backstage that he had been dealt to New York -- “I just want to see if it’s true or not,” he said, excitedly craning his neck to search for a TV -- his mother, Olivia, nearly handed off the scrunched Charger jersey she was holding.

“No,” she said, reconsidering, “maybe I’ll give it to charity.”

There was precious little charity reserved for the Mannings at Madison Square Garden, where fans drenched them in boos throughout the morning and chanted things that would make a mother blush.

“I’ve heard it all before,” said Manning, whose brother, Peyton, was also selected No. 1. “I’ve played in some rough stadiums before so I just laughed it off.”

Before he found out he was headed for the Giants -- who now are in position to release longtime starter Kerry Collins -- Manning confirmed that he was prepared to sit out of football for a season and re-enter the draft in 2005 if the Chargers pushed the issue.

“He’s proud to be the first pick ... but it’s disappointing that we had the conversation with the Chargers and asked them not to make the selection, so it’s kind of a mixed bag,” his agent, Tom Condon, said before the trade was announced.

The Manning situation was reminiscent of one 21 years earlier, when Stanford quarterback John Elway told the Colts not to draft him, then threatened not to report to Baltimore when they did. They eventually traded him to Denver, where he played his way into the Hall of Fame.

Many people viewed Manning’s glum intransigence as a sad testament to the state of the spoiled athlete -- especially petty when juxtaposed with the sacrifice made by Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who walked away from a lucrative contract extension to join the Army Rangers, then was killed Thursday in an ambush in Afghanistan. Manning seemed to understand that when asked if Tillman was on his mind as he walked to the podium.

“Obviously when something like that happens, the things that are going on today in the draft, all of this seems very unimportant,” he said. “It does not seem that this is important, and obviously Pat Tillman and his family this whole week are in my prayers and my family’s prayers.”

The San Diego complications arose within the last two weeks, when the Chargers -- perhaps sensing Manning didn’t want to join them -- asked to meet with his father, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning. Charger President Dean Spanos flew to Mississippi and spent the day with the elder Manning, who later traveled to San Diego to meet with Coach Marty Schottenheimer and General Manager A.J. Smith.

After a discussion involving their family and some close friends, the Mannings came to the group decision that San Diego wasn’t a good place for Eli to begin his career. Condon passed that along to Smith, who later confirmed it to an ESPN reporter -- and, voila, a scandal was born.

The Mannings felt betrayed by Smith’s decision to go public with the information, but Condon -- who still has to deal with the Chargers -- said he didn’t feel that way. He suggested they might have had legitimate business reasons for doing so, and pointed out they were handsomely compensated by the Giants.

“It’s one of those things that’s good for San Diego, good for Eli, a win all around,” he said.

More than one scout considered Rivers an even better prospect than Manning. At North Carolina State, Rivers became the second-leading passer in NCAA history with 13,484 yards in his career, shattering the school and Atlantic Coast Conference records. But there’s even better news for the Chargers.

Rivers isn’t ashamed to put on their cap.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

All in the Family

Since the first NFL draft in 1936, 1,602 players have been selected in the first round. Six times, the son of a former first-rounder has been picked in the first round, and 11 pairs of brothers have been first-round picks.

FATHER AND SON

*--* Name Pos. Year Overall Team Ed Budde T 1963 No. 8 Dallas Texans Brad Budde G 1980 No. 11 Kansas City Billy Cannon RB 1960 No. 1 L.A. Rams Billy Cannon Jr. LB 1984 No. 25 Dallas Steve De Long T 1965 No. 6 Chicago Keith De Long LB 1989 No. 28 San Francisco Dub Jones RB 1946 No. 2 Chicago Cardinals Bert Jones QB 1973 No. 2 Baltimore Colts Archie Manning QB 1971 No. 2 New Orleans Peyton Manning QB 1998 No. 1 Indianapolis Archie Manning QB 1971 No. 2 New Orleans Eli Manning QB 2004 No. 1 San Diego BROTHERS Name Pos. Year Overall Team Pete Brock C 1976 No. 12 New England Stan Brock T 1980 No. 12 New England Ross Browner DT 1978 No. 8 Cincinnati Joey Browner DB 1983 No. 19 Minnesota Peyton Manning QB 1998 No. 1 Indianapolis Eli Manning QB 2004 No. 1 San Diego Clay Matthews LB 1978 No. 12 Cleveland Bruce Matthews T 1983 No. 9 Houston Oilers Stockar McDougle T 2000 No. 20 Detroit Jerome McDougle DE 2003 No. 15 Philadelphia Merlin Olsen DT 1962 No. 3 L.A. Rams Phil Olsen DT 1970 No. 4 New England Don Rogers DB 1984 No. 18 Cleveland Reggie Rogers DE 1987 No. 7 Detroit Jim Seymour WR 1969 No. 10 L.A. Rams Paul Seymour T 1973 No. 7 Buffalo Bubba Smith T 1967 No. 1 Indianapolis Tody Smith DE 1971 No. 25 Dallas Gene Upshaw G-T 1967 No. 17 Oakland Marvin Upshaw DE 1968 No. 21 Cleveland Steve Van Buren RB 1944 No. 5 Philadelphia Ebert Van Buren RB 1951 No. 7 Philadelphia

*--*