Eli Manning is back as he continues to explore the world of college football in a brand new season of Eli’s Places on ESPN+. After this brother Peyton took us through the NFL and several other athletes – like Abby Wambach, Vince Carter, David Ortiz, Ronda Rousey and others – took us through their respective sports, it’s time to dive back into some football.
The fourth episode, titled “In the Trenches,” takes Eli around the country to meet with a couple of the best linemen to ever play the game. Whether it’s on offense or defense, football fans know most of the action happens in the trenches and Eli explores that here.
The episode opens with Eli meeting two of his former Giants teammates, Chris Snee and Sean O’Hara, in a restaurant. The two of them complain to Eli that he has never done an episode focusing on offensive linemen and Eli reluctantly agrees to do so.
Eli’s first stop is an IHOP in Ohio, where he meets with Ohio State legend Orlando Pace to talk about the pancake block. I know, it’s a bit on the nose. For those who are unfamiliar, a pancake block is when an offensive lineman puts a defensive player on his back. The two sit down to talk about pancake blocks while eating a stack of actual pancakes. Pace talks about how his Heisman Trophy campaign is what made the pancake an official stat for offensive linemen. In his senior year, he collected 80 of them.
After seeing some more of Pace’s incredible highlights, the two head outside of the restaurant to put their pancake skill to the test. A couple of unsuspecting Michigan fans agree to some free pancakes before getting leveled by Pace and Eli.
Tying to provide equal coverage on both offense and defense, Eli then meets with former Syracuse defensive lineman Dwight Freeney. The legendary lineman explain that his signature spin move was first created on the basketball court as he was learning how to create space for himself on the court. After breaking down some of the elements of his move, Eli asks the big question: which non-football player has the best spin move. Freeney’s answer if of course the Tasmanian Devil.
Eli, always looking to be hands on, then tries out the spin move for himself. Freeney walks him through how he made the move so effective, but to put it to the test, they turn a classic basketball game of H-O-R-S-E into S-P-I-N, where each player has to spin before their shot. Freeney, as expected, wins easily.
This may not be the most exciting episode of Eli’s Places to a lot of fans, but it is certainly a necessary one. Eli has met with countless quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and other skill position players, but not many linemen have been featured in the show. It’s about time the spotlight has been shone on some of the best players at these positions on both sides of the ball.
You can watch Eli’s Places on ESPN+ now. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $6.99 a month and can cancel at any time.