Rosenthal: Eli's 'toughness' makes him an elite QB 'Willingness to stand in there and focus' and thrive a quality few players have updated 11:34 p.m. Eli Manning took the shotgun snap late in in the NFL Championship, hoping for more fourth quarter magic. Sensing pressure from his right, Manning slid to the left. His primary read was covered. His secondary read was covered. Manning continued to drift and drift outside the pocket, but he knew his time was running out. The third read was covered. The fourth read was covered. Finally, he saw running back Ahmad Bradshaw leaking out of the backfield and heading down the sideline. Manning waited until the last possible instant, releasing the ball just before he was hit in the back by three 49ers defenders. Bradshaw caught the ball for a 30-yard gain. Eli Manning is not the quarterback you think he is. He's not Michael Vick, but he makes plays with his legs. He buys time. He's at his best under pressure - figuratively and literally. He completes passes most quarterbacks don't attempt. He welcomes contact. He always gets up. The transformation Early in his career, Manning was criticized for most everything: his impassive personality; his inconsistency; his inability to be Peyton Manning; his hair. The younger Manning became known for fearing the pass rush and turning away as he delivered the ball. He threw too high. He threw off his back foot too much and shrunk from pressure. The transformation of Eli Manning was evident against the 49ers. It wasn't Manning's prettiest performance, but he took a massive pounding (20 hits) and extended plays. Early in his career, Manning did a nice job brushing off verbal abuse. Now he shrugs off physical abuse. "When people talk about toughness, they talk about linebackers or a fullback -- they don't think of the quarterback," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said this week. The willingness to stand in there and focus on your job, which is delivering the pass, and knowing that you're going to get hit is a different kind of courage. And Eli definitely possesses it. Teammate running back Brandon Jacobs says Eli's "poise" is the biggest difference between now and when he last made the Super Bowl. Poise is another word for pocket presence. Giants quarterbacks coach Tim Sullivan put an emphasis in training camp this season on Manning's ability to make plays when his protection breaks down. "I don't know if I'll ever be considered a running quarterback," Manning said with a laugh Wednesday. But as a quarterback, you have to sometimes find ways to make plays. Not everything is going to work out perfectly, five-step hitch and throw the ball. Sometimes you have to side-step to extend the play, sometimes you have to run for a few yards, sometimes you have to scramble outside the pocket to make plays. ... You try to work on those awkward throws. Manning knew awkward early in his career, but it not successfully awkward. His brother Peyton Manning never excelled at creating plays. When I went back to watch the key Giants wins this season, I was floored by how many of New York's biggest plays were made after Manning's pocket collapsed. Manning's comfort in the Giants offense plays a huge part in this development. For Eli, football moves as slowly as words coming out of his mouth. "[Eli] has a mastery of the offense," Sullivan said. He takes it to another level. Really having so many years, being in the same system for eight years allows him to get to a, b, c, or d a lot quicker. He has a great mastery of where the protections are, where the strengths and weaknesses are. He has steadily evolved. The guy has worked at it," Gilbride said. Not just the basic plays; the nuances, the subtleties. It's not just the play. It's the pattern, how the protection is evolving, and who's going where. He has a great sense of things, of where he has to move. Yes, awkward, slow-footed, late-sliding Eli Manning can move pretty well. Really. Get down! Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw said that his teammates always get a laugh when Manning starts to scramble for yards. When they see Manning running on film, "Everybody is just like, 'Get down Eli!'" Bradshaw said shaking his head. He's had a lot of runs this year over 10 yards. We don't expect that as an offense. Manning won't ever look graceful on a dead sprint. Rushing yards aren't his thing. Still, he's consistently made defenders miss with subtle moves inside the pocket. The Patriots spoke this week about the need to get Manning on the ground. "He's making a lot more plays this postseason with his legs," Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo said. On those third down conversions and things like that, he's on fire. ... He's a dual-threat weapon right now, and he'll be a great challenge for us. Note that Mayo called Manning a "dual-threat weapon" without a hint of irony. It's like Mayo was talking about Ben Roethlisberger or Cam Newton. This year, he's done a great job sliding one way or another and keeping his eyes downfield. That's really where we've had a lot of our big plays this year, with him buying an extra second," Giants guard Chris Snee said. He's definitely done a much better job of that. That extra second allows the talented Giants wideouts more time to get open. Hakeem Nicks says he knows to stay alive on plays long than he used to. Slot receiver Victor Cruz and Manning seem to inherently know what the other is thinking. More than anyone, Manning looks to Bradshaw when under duress. During practice, Manning makes sure to keep Bradshaw mentally engaged. Even when Manning's read on a certain play calls for a wideout to get the ball, Manning dumps it down to Bradshaw to make sure he's ready in the game. "I'm the last line of defense," Bradshaw said. Sometimes I even get cut blocks, hit the ground, and stand up and he might flip it to me. He saves a lot of plays like that. I'm screaming his name trying to get the ball anyway I can. Those flips can sometimes be too dangerous for Gilbride's liking. Manning has thrown a couple balls left-handed this year, which Gilbride calls "crazy, foolish, and stupid." Manning mostly avoided the mind-numbing mistakes that marred his 2010 season. Gilbride said Eli was embarrassed after leading the league in interceptions last year. Manning threw 50 more passes this season with nine fewer interceptions. Manning has thrown 113 passes in the playoffs with eight touchdowns and only one pick. It's a nifty trick for the suddenly elusive quarterback. He cut down his mistakes without curbing his aggressiveness. How did he see that? I'm an unabashed Jay Cutler fan because he has a knack for making "wow" throws. When he's rolling, Cutler is the king of completing low-percentage throws. Eli Manning wears the crown this year. Manning forced me to press rewind and the slow motion buttons on my Tivo all season. I have to watch twice to make sure what happened. I'm not the only one. "Sometimes you think: How did he get that in there?" tight end Jake Ballard said of watching Manning on film. Manning makes for good television. I'm as surprised as anyone, but the tape doesn't lie. If he had a different name on his jersey, announcers would call him a "gunslinger." Or say things like "THIS guy has no conscience pulling the trigger." That's just Eli trusting his receiver to make a big play. I hope people keep questioning his, uh, eliteness," Ballard said. Because he'll keep playing better and better. "It comes down to a fraction of a section, a decision that [Eli] makes," Sullivan told me. He's the one he knows. While has made some of those tight throws, he's also been very smart about when to throw it away. Manning uncovered an innate ability to know when to let it fly, when to take a sack, and when to throw it away. It's no coincidence he's taken more sacks this year, while his interceptions are down. Manning's offensive line is in a "transitional process" to put it nicely. They "suck pretty bad" to put it in words Tom Brady can understand. That's what makes this Giants run even more remarkable. Football success usually starts up front, but Eli ignores the mess in front of him while continuing to look downfield. Unstoppable Eli Manning's old commercial for Citizen watches always used to crack me up. Unstoppable . . . Eli Manning is," the ad said. It looks prescient in retrospect. Manning shined when it mattered most throughout 2011, easily his best NFL season. He set a record with 15 fourth quarter touchdowns. He led the league in third-down yardage and yards-per-attempt. Manning completed five straight third-and-longs against Atlanta. He's at his best under the most pressure. I think pressure is something you feel when you're unprepared. I've been very prepared for each game," Manning said. Perhaps Manning remains a streaky quarterback. It's more likely that he reached the sweet spot of his career where experience and talent meet. "Ideally, everything would be on perfect timing, guys are open, offensive line is blocking perfectly and that's when life's good," Manning said Wednesday. Sometimes you have to work a little harder. I disagree with Manning here. Life is good when Eli's offensive line is struggling, when his timing is a little off, and when a defender is closing in. That's when Eli does his best work.