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It wasn't so very long ago that Eli Manning was one of the five most valuable players in the NFL. No, seriously. It was just a month ago that SportsNation ranked the younger Manning No. 5 in its MVP Watch. And now? Well, he's presumably still better than Jason Campbell.

Manning's fall from grace has coincided with an overall resurgence for the NFC East. When Manning hit his MVP peak, the Giants were the only NFC East team SportsNation ranked in its top 10. A month later, the Giants are out of the top 10, but the Eagles and Cowboys square off this weekend as top-10 teams. So is Manning just riding through some bumps in the NFL's toughest division, or is this evidence of something else?

Matt (Philly)

Eli has thrown 82 INTs in 81 games ... his career passer rating is under 80. Let's get real about him. If his name wasn't Manning, he would have no support in the NFL.

Chris Mortensen

Yeah, yeah. Heard that before. Did you know that under Dan Reeves, John Elway's stats were just one-plus on the TD and Ints? And no matter how you want to cut it, Giants Stadium is the toughest venue in the NFL for a quarterback because of the wind factor.

Matt (Philly)

That's a cop out... Eli tossed 2 more interceptions at home than on the road, so you can't really throw wind at Giants stadium into the equation.

Chris Mortensen

I was speaking more on the career perspective. And the fact is, he did win a Super Bowl. I also saw receivers dropping balls in some of those losses and running game so-so. And I do wonder, having suffered from plantar fascia injury myself, if it's affected him enough to throw him off. But he hasn't played well in most of these losses. Full transcript