No one Giants would rather have under center than Eli

INDIANAPOLIS ­— In the determined, driven eyes of the Giants, there is only one quarterback for this job.

Only one quarterback to lead them to the finish line. To the Lombardi Trophy.

Only one quarterback to carry the hopes and dreams of his adopted city on his shoulders.

And it isn’t Tom Brady.

It is Eli Manning.

The Pride of the Giants.

VICTOR CRUZ SUPER BOWL DIARY

UPDATES FROM OUR GIANTS BLOG

COMPLETE GIANTS SUPER BOWL COVERAGE

Brady will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, three rings on his fingers and an emailing supermodel wife on his arm.

But he picked the wrong time and the wrong place and the wrong quarterback to fight for a Super Bowl championship.

Listen to rookie fullback Henry Hynoski answer whether there is any quarterback he would rather have in a big game than Eli Manning.

“No,” Hynoski said, “I would not. Eli’s been a phenomenal all year. It’s been a wonderful experience just being in the huddle with him. I feel very confident with him at all times.”

Is there a widespread feeling among the offense that you’ve got the better quarterback in this game?

“Yeah, we definitely know that Eli’s elite and he should be considered as one of the top, if not the top, quarterback,” Hynoski said. “Everybody believes that, and we’re behind the guy all the way. And he’s the glue that holds us all together as an offense, there’s no doubt about that.”

It’s comical when you think back to the some skeptics’ questions about his leadership.

“He’s just the perfect leader right now,” running back D.J. Ware said.

And how did he throw the ball in practice Wednesday?

“Looked like he hadn’t missed a day of practice,” Ware said.

Big Blue defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, formerly a coach with the Bills, defined the difference between Elite Eli and the Eli who had not yet taken the 2007 Giants to Super Bowl XLII.

“We were up in Buffalo and we were playing them,” Fewell said. “We were throwing pressure at him, we were throwing coverages at him, and I could see his face kind of be frustrated, he was shaking his head, and you think as a defensive coordinator you’re getting into the guy’s head. He’s frustrated, and you’re winning the battle. I don’t see that body language from him now. He’s very calculating now. He sees it, he understands it, and he knows it. There’s not a flinch, there’s not a panic.”

Michael Strahan predicted Giants 28, Pattiots 24.

“Eli, before, walked in a room, you wouldn’t know he walked in,” Strahan said. “Being around him a month ago, doing an interview for FOX, he walks in, and I said, ‘You’re the same guy, but you’re different.’ And the difference is his confidence. When he walks in a room, you notice him. He knows he’s good. It’s not like he’s hoping he’s good. Eli knows he’s good. He’ll never say that to you, but you sense it.”

Strahan was asked why Giants fans are lucky to have Manning as their quarterback in this game.

“Because I think his calm demeanor, he’s not affected, all the things that they used to criticize him for: ‘He seems aloof! He seems like he’s just thinking about something else! Look at the look on his face!’ ” Strahan said. “Those are the reasons why I’d be confident with him, because he doesn’t let anything get to him. He’s competitive, he’s exciting, but he knows how to hold his emotions in check and he knows how to stay focused until he wins the game.”

Manning invoked the word “finish” yesterday. More than any Giant, he knows how to finish the final game.

“It’s no more of that [feeling of] Eli Manning’s back to pass and you’re holding your breath,” Strahan said. “Now when he drops back, you expect something great to happen.”

A Japanese reporter posed an open-ended question yesterday:

“Fans over there know that you are the only quarterback to have beaten Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. Please describe your determination, the fire within, to beat Tom and win it all on Super Sunday.”

The Pride of the Giants replied: “It’s not about beating a specific person or beating a certain team. It’s about the opportunity to win a championship for your own organization, for the Giants, for the Mara family, for the Tisch family, for everything they’ve done to put us in this situation, their support. For all the coaches who have worked numerous hours in trying to get us ready to play games, an opportunity for them to get a ring. And all the players, whether some guys are in their first Super Bowl and played a long time, some guys are going for their second, but everybody’s worked extremely hard and put a lot of effort and determination and focus to get to this point. And we’re trying our best to win a Super Bowl for all those people and also our fans in New York who supported us through this whole time.”

Mann on fire.

steve.serby@nypost.com