Lane Johnson doesn't play for the New York Giants, but as a Philadelphia Eagle, he does play against them twice a year.
His analysis of the New York QB situation?
Leave Eli Manning alone.
"The guy has two Super Bowl rings and the guy is treated like Charlie Brown as far as is he productive every year," Johnson said at Tuesday's Eagles meeting with media, via NJ.com. "The guy has two Super Bowl rings and I've never seen somebody so disrespected than Eli Manning."
The "is Manning an elite quarterback?" debate has raged on for nearly the entirety of Manning's 14-year reign as signal-caller in New York. His numbers never overwhelm -- a career 59.8 completion percentage and a 339 touchdowns-to-228 interceptions ratio -- but the argument always comes back to, "but he won two Super Bowls."
For Johnson, statistics don't mean much. To the Eagles right tackle, who will have a chance to win his own Super Bowl this weekend, it's all about rings.
"You have to do what Peyton does," Johnson said of the critique that irks him in the Manning debate. "You won two Super Bowls, but what have you done lately? You go watch the talk shows and what they are saying about him during the season."
Johnson will be happy to learn that Pat Shurmur, at least publicly, agrees with his sentiments. The new Giants coach hinted to media at his introductory press conference last week that Manning will be his starter in 2018.
So rest easy, Lane. Lucy won't be pulling Giants footballs away from Charlie Brown in New York for at least the start of Shurmur's tenure.