Should Eli get in the Hall of Fame - A Truth Serum Debate

Hey everyone this is Joey. We're bringing you another debate this time it's is Eli a Hall of Famer. Make sure to sound off in the comments below!

 

Growing up, I idolized Peyton Manning. He was one of the brightest minds to ever step on the gridiron. He became my favorite player, and to this day, I haven’t seen another one like him. Unfortunately today I have to talk about his younger brother Eli. The kid who never quite could emerge from his legendary big brother's shadow. Now, I’ll give it to Eli. He had a hell of a run and achieved more than most ever could. 

He was drafted number one overall in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. That pick was traded right before the draft to the New York Giants. The San Diego Chargers, who Eli refused to play for, didn’t do too bad by grabbing Phillip Rivers. Eli would go on to spend his entire career with the GIants including a 210 game stretch that saw Eli start every contest, and a pair of Super Bowl runs.  His number was retired as soon as he walked away. Eli Manning on his best days was a good NFL quarterback. Not elite. Not even great. But good. 

He was good enough to become a 2x Super Bowl champion while winning the MVP in both games. He took down the most dominant dynasty in NFL history not once, but twice. I always believed Peyton should have had a few more Super Bowl rings, but Eli avenged his brothers losses against those great Patriots teams, and Tom Brady; one of which had not lost a game all season. 

Despite the love I have for him for taking out Brady and Belichick, I just can’t justify saying Eli Manning was a good enough quarterback to be in the Hall of Fame. 

Here are some more accolades. 

Bart Starr Award (2020)

Maxwell Award (2003)

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2003)

SEC Offensive Player of the Year (2003)

Second-team All-American (2003)

First-team All-SEC (2003)

But my personal favorite is the fact that he won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year, Which was fully deserved. 

Eli Manning played his entire career in the biggest media market in the NFL. New Fucking York! Eli took the blame when his team lost, and gave credit to his teammates and coaches when they won. He is the classiest of men. And I admire that. 

He went on to have a very long 16 year career, while staying healthy, which is a tough feat. But that doesn't make him a Hall of Famer.

Throughout his career, he was a "good" quarterback. But he was never ELITE. The Hall should be for elites only. Yes, he finished his career 7th in passing yards and 8th in touchdowns. He also owns many New York Giants records as well. On a year to year basis, however, was never one of the top guys in the NFL. 

Eli never led the NFL in any major passing statistics except for interceptions (3 times) and attempts per game (once). He was a very mediocre quarterback by the per year stats. Mediocre would also largely define his teams. He only made the playoffs 6 times in 16 seasons. In those 6 years he went winless in every playoff game outside of the 2 super bowl runs. 

Manning’s 8-4 playoff record may seem impressive, but it was really just 2 really good stretches for his team. During the 12 games of Eli Manning's playoff career he was also largely carried by his defense as his ppg production in those games was only 19.3. Comparatively the Cincinnati Bengals, who were the worst team in the league in 2019, averaged 17.4 ppg. 

Eli's best statistical years range between 2008 and 2015. That’s an eight year stretch. Arguably his best five years came right in the middle of his career, this would be the five seasons between 2011 and 2015. In those five seasons, he ranked 19th in passer rating and 20th in completion percentage. He was outside the top five in touchdowns, yet led the league in interceptions during this period of time. He made three of his four career Pro-Bowls during this 2011-15 stretch. 

He never was an MVP or even a finalist of the award. He missed this playoffs more than he made it. His numbers were mediocre, and while he was an iron man, he just was never a great quarterback. To me, that is not hall of fame worthy. You have to be a legend. You have to be an all timer. Eli Manning might have beaten Brady on the grandest stages of them all, but it simply isn’t enough to be placed into Canton. 

Fuck you Jordan, he isn't a Hall of Famer!

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Eli is the man. When he wakes up in the morning he eats rocks and shits lightning bolts. Eli Manning once domesticated a tiger for fun, and don’t get me started on what he did to Giselle’s wife. The man tossed up the David Tyree catch as well as the Odell Beckham Jr. Catch for crying out loud. Eli was MAGIC!

The Hall of Fame selection process definitely caters to an increasingly fickle public opinion; and that does make sense, to an extent, as the game continues to evolve. As we discuss why I believe Eli is a no brainer hall of fame candidate, I hope those that disagree finally understand why they are wrong #joeyfickle. 

I think anyone who argues that Eli is in, naturally must start with the Super Bowls over Brady but I’ll get to that later. I want to look at Eli’s career from a statistical perspective. In the table below I have placed Eli and 9 current hall of fame quarterbacks side by side to compare their career statistical output. Note the leader in each category is listed in green and the lowest in red. 

Completions	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
4895	57023	366	244	84.1
2667	33124	232	107	96.8
4123	51475	300	226	79.9
2898	32942	165	141	81.6
1885	27663	173	220	65.5
1926	25092	192	172	77.1
2666	32344	208	128	93.7
3901	27989	212	210	70.9
3409	40551	273	139	92.3
3988	49325	291	233	80.9

A few notes:

1. There are large variances in the top and bottom performers in each category. This can partly be influenced by the different time frames each player played in. 
2. The top player on the list had the best statistics on this list objectively. 
3. Player 5 is the worst player statistically on this list objectively. 
4. Only 2 players on this list had over 300 TDs, 5 had over 200. 
5. Those same 2 players are also the only ones with over 50,000 yards.

Now let's pull back the curtain and show who these numbers belong to. Any surprises? 

	Completions	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
Eli Manning	4895	57023	366	244	84.1
Steve Young	2667	33124	232	107	96.8
John Elway	4123	51475	300	226	79.9
Troy Aikman	2898	32942	165	141	81.6
Joe Namath	1885	27663	173	220	65.5
Bob Griese	1926	25092	192	172	77.1
Kurt Warner	2666	32344	208	128	93.7
Terry Bradshaw	3901	27989	212	210	70.9
Joe Montana	3409	40551	273	139	92.3
Warren Moon	3988	49325	291	233	80.9

When I look at the names and the numbers and seperate all of those feelings I have for the game one thing is clear to me. Eli belongs. 

You may argue that because Eli played in the era he does he doesn’t belong. But what quarterback gets in when compared to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. Phillip Rivers has an equally compelling case that we will discuss another day.

You may also argue that some guys on this list don’t belong. If that’s the case, okay. But do all of these guys not belong? Can you truly tell me John Elway doesn’t belong? What about Joe Montana? Terry Bradshaw? Kurt Warner? Because I will fight you on every single one of them. Eli Manning has even better career statistics than each one of them.

Eli Manning currently sits at 7th on the all time passing yards list. All of the non active quarterbacks on that list are in the hall of fame. 2 of the other 3 are Tom Brady and Drew Brees. He is also 6th in completions and 7th all time in passing touchdowns behind the same group of players. 

The only other logical thing you can point to is his 244 career interceptions. While that is indeed high, it is still less than hall of famers Brett Favre, George Blanda, Fran Tarkenton, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, and Y.A. M.F. Tittle! I’ll say it in bold this time. Eli belongs. There isn’t another quarterback with his statistical output that is eligible and not enshrined. We didn’t even talk about the Super Bowls. 

Here are the quarterbacks who have won at least 2 Super Bowl MVP awards. Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Eli Manning. The first 3 are in. The last 2 should be in on the first ballot. 

If Eli doesn’t get in on stats he gets in on those 2 Super Bowl runs. If you say the Super Bowls don’t matter then take a very hard look at the careers of Bradshaw, Montana, and Aikman. Of course they matter. Add in the fact that Eli beat the greatest head coach and quarterback in NFL history in both of those Super Bowls. Add in that those teams included guys like Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Teddy Bruschi, and Rodney Harrison and some guy named Tom Brady. What Eli was able to do in the postseason is elite. The quarterback is the leader of the team and Eli led his team to more Super Bowls than Drew Brees, Steve Young, Warren Moon, Dan Marino, Brett Favre and others. You can’t tell the story of the NFL without Eli. 

I understand Joey made some really good points about Eli. But I also believe you have to look at every angle in the body of work. Eli Manning is a Hall of Fame quarterback when you look at things objectively. If you keep Eli out, then please ask guys like Troy Aikman and Joe Namath to leave. John Elway and Eli Manning are almost identical statiscally, so he needs to go to right? No. Absolutely not. If those guys belong so does Peyton’s little brother. Let’s appreciate these careers we got to watch as a kid and let them be properly immortalized in Canton where they belong. I can’t wait to see Eli’s bust right next to Peyton's one day.