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RIDING HIGH

OCTOBER 8, 2008

They paid little attention to the critics who roasted them, so now Eli Manning and Antonio Pierce will give scant notice to those who've made them the toast of the town.

The Giants are riding high right now. With a 4-0 start, they are one of just two undefeated teams in the NFL (along with 5-0 Tennessee) and own the NFC's only unblemished record. Football writers and columnists in newspapers, magazines and numerous websites have anointed them as the league's best team, a ceremonial title that's impossible to validate so early in the season.

Manning is now hailed as one of the NFL's very best quarterbacks, the key performer for the NFL's top-ranked offense, while Pierce is the centerpiece - literally and emotionally - of the No. 3 defense.

But it was just about a year ago that many of the same observers now praising Manning were criticizing him, to the point where they suggested the Giants had erred in trading for him on draft day in 2004. And just 55 weeks ago, the Giants had allowed a league-high 80 points in the first two games of the 2007 season. The defense, and the then 0-2 team, was being lambasted.

Since then, of course, the Giants have won 18 of 22 games, including Super Bowl XLII. The critics who wanted no part of the bandwagon a year ago are now trying to jump on. But Manning and Pierce are reacting to the praise just as they did the disapproval - they're ignoring it. - READ