Listen closely, NFL fans. That's the sound of Eli Manning licking his chops, just waiting to have at the New England Patriots again.
And not solely because he wants to win another Super Bowl with the New York Giants, though that certainly accounts for the bulk of his appetite.
Eli's had considerable success against the Pats, older brother Peyton's biggest foil. In three career games against New England, Super Bowl XLII included, Manning has thrown eight touchdowns against just three interceptions along with 252 yards per game.
Back in November, during the Giants' most recent meeting with the Pats, Manning amassed 250 yards with two touchdowns and a pick in a 24-20 win for Big Blue in Foxboro. That game saw Manning perform at his late-game best, leading touchdown drives of 85 and 80 yards in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

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But as well as Manning played that day, he's only seen his performance improve since. In his last four games, Eli has racked up 11 touchdowns with just one interception while notching just over 317 yards per game through the air and completing better than 64 percent of his passes.
On the other end of the equation, New England's pass defense, among the worst in the NFL during the regular season, has picked things up since the playoffs began, albeit against subpar quarterbacks.
Holding Denver Broncos sensation Tim Tebow to 136 yards on 9-of-26 passing was all well and good, but any defensive mastermind worth his salt (i.e. Bill Belichick) should've been more than capable of scheming him into submission.
The greater concern for the Pats stems from the performance of Joe Flacco. A patently average passer against most defenses (80.9 QB rating in 2011), Flacco had little trouble flinging the ball around the field at Gillette Stadium.
When Vince Wilfork wasn't out to swallow him whole, that is.
Flacco finished the day with 306 yards, two touchdowns and one pick on 22-of-36 passing, though he could've easily edged closer to 350 or 400 yards with three or four touchdowns had Torrey Smith come up with another long bomb or Lee Evans hung onto what would've been the game-winning score in the closing seconds of the AFC Championship game.
Put Eli Manning in Flacco's shoes, and replace Smith and Evans with Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham, and you'd have precisely that.
As much as it pains me to say this... (Eagles ALL DAY!!!) It's going to be a  big day for Eli and an even bigger win for the Giants at Super Bowl XLVI.