Former Giants receiver Amani Toomer raised some eyebrows recently when he said Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is a better player than Toomer’s old teammate Eli Manning. Manning, however, has laughed off the comments and taken a shot back at Toomer.
Manning said on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton show that he joked with Toomer by telling him that Ike Hilliard, who played wide receiver alongside Toomer during Manning’s rookie season, was better than Toomer.
“You’ve got to laugh about it,” Manning said, via the Star Ledger. “I saw Toomer not too long ago. I just walked up to him and said, ‘You know what, I thought Ike Hilliard [was] a better Giants receiver than you were. Willie Ponder was probably a better receiver than you were.’ . . . You’ve got to laugh about it instead of getting upset. There’s no point. Amani’s been a good pal of mine and still is, so you’ve got to laugh about it.”
Manning is good at laughing off criticism, which he took a lot of last year when he labeled himself one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. Asked today if he’s now an elite quarterback, Manning answered, “Working to try to become one.”
Toomer might not think so, but most people think Manning already is one.