For such a heady quarterback, Eli Manning's thought process was stunning

Neil Best

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, then returned in 1985. His SportsWatch column debuted on Sept.

If you thought it was uncharacteristic of Eli Manning to make game-turning mental mistakes on not one, not two, but three consecutive plays Sunday night, you should have seen him at his locker afterward.

As he put on his suit in preparation for facing journalists, Easy E looked as angry as he ever gets, at one point cursing under his breath and then shaking his head for a good 15 seconds.

It turned out the Giants quarterback mostly was mad at himself, for reasons that initially seemed straightforward, then got even worse on the day after a punch-to-the-gut, season-opening, 27-26…