Sunday was not a very good day for me, for obvious reasons. Looking back on last week, I think I was just preparing myself for the worst and just waiting for it to hit me. And hit me, it sure did. Once the Patriots let Ahmad Bradshaw crouch into the end zone and putting the Giants ahead 21-17, I knew that it was over. Even with Tom Brady at the helm and 56 seconds left in the game to work with, I just knew it was over. During that final drive, I only looked up at the TV once, and that was to see Deion Branch drop a pass with nobody within ten yards of him. I sat there and couldn't believe that this was happening again. And it was happening in the same exact way! Even though there were a couple friends in the room with me, I didn't say a word to them. I didn't want to say anything, and it was probably best that I didn't open my mouth right then. If I would have said anything, it surely would have been R-rated and in poor taste. To be honest, if the Patriots had to lose that Super Bowl, I would have preferred to watch the Pats lose in any other way that you can think of, instead of what actually transpired.
Yes, even watching the Patriots get blown out 55-3 would have been more tolerable for me than watching the Giants offense systematically march down the field and, at least after the big Manningham catch, knowing they were going to score one way or the other. It's moments like this game that I wonder to myself why exactly I care so much. Why do I care about sports this much?!?
And I don't know that answer, to be honest. But I don't think you clicked here to hear me whine for three pages about how I just practically relived my personal greatest sports tragedy of the last decade, so let's move on, shall we?
And since everyone and their moms have a take (for the record, my mom says "yes!") on whether Eli Manning is a Hall-of-Famer or not, who am I to not get in on the fun. Sitting here today, I don't think that Eli Manning is a Hall-of-Famer. At least not yet. Yes, he just won his 2nd Super Bowl ring in dramatic fashion and now has more rings than his older, better brother Peyton. And yes, he bested Tom Brady for the second time in 5 years, which is impressive. But let's just hold on one minute.
Let's not forget who Eli Manning is and has been as a quarterback. In the Hall of Fame discussion, rings matter, and they matter a whole hell of a lot. The championships are what every single player in the NFL is chasing. But the statistics should still matter too. Too often, we're blinded by the rings and forget all about what the player has done statistically in his career.
Eli Manning has gone from a player that was considered a good, quality, top 10 quarterback during the season (and in year's past), to all of a sudden being considered a sure-fire Hall of Famer and what some are saying is now the best quarterback in the NFL? How that happens is puzzling to me, especially in such a short span of time.
Since Manning just won the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you're definitely not going to find many articles that don't say he's a Hall of Famer. But Kurt Warner talked about it on Tuesday to a Phoenix area radio station. Here's some of the quotes from Simon Samano's article quoting Warner:
And I don't know that answer, to be honest. But I don't think you clicked here to hear me whine for three pages about how I just practically relived my personal greatest sports tragedy of the last decade, so let's move on, shall we?
One of the great things about the Super Bowl is that it always will produce story lines, even after the game is over. Story lines that hang around for days, or weeks, or months, or even longer. Out of all the things that people are still talking about, the "Is Eli Manning a Hall-of-Famer" debate is going to be with us for a while. It's just the way these things work.
And since everyone and their moms have a take (for the record, my mom says "yes!") on whether Eli Manning is a Hall-of-Famer or not, who am I to not get in on the fun. Sitting here today, I don't think that Eli Manning is a Hall-of-Famer. At least not yet. Yes, he just won his 2nd Super Bowl ring in dramatic fashion and now has more rings than his older, better brother Peyton. And yes, he bested Tom Brady for the second time in 5 years, which is impressive. But let's just hold on one minute.
Let's not forget who Eli Manning is and has been as a quarterback. In the Hall of Fame discussion, rings matter, and they matter a whole hell of a lot. The championships are what every single player in the NFL is chasing. But the statistics should still matter too. Too often, we're blinded by the rings and forget all about what the player has done statistically in his career.
Eli Manning has gone from a player that was considered a good, quality, top 10 quarterback during the season (and in year's past), to all of a sudden being considered a sure-fire Hall of Famer and what some are saying is now the best quarterback in the NFL? How that happens is puzzling to me, especially in such a short span of time.
Since Manning just won the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you're definitely not going to find many articles that don't say he's a Hall of Famer. But Kurt Warner talked about it on Tuesday to a Phoenix area radio station. Here's some of the quotes from Simon Samano's article quoting Warner:
"I fully disagree with that," Warner, an NFL Network analyst and one-time Super Bowl champion, said Tuesday on Arizona Sports 620-AM in Phoenix. "You know, because I know we put a lot of weight on championships, and rightfully so. But championships are won as a team, and I’m fully convinced of that. You never see one guy -- a great player, great quarterback -- carry a team through the playoffs and into a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl that way. I’ve never seen it. You know, even in that game (Super Bowl XLVI), it’s 21-17. That’s the game. There wasn’t a quarterback just up and down the field carrying the team. Yeah, he made the plays down the stretch -- no question about it. He’s had two great playoff runs -- or his team has had two great playoff runs. But I also look at the rest of his career.
"I mean, he has an 82 quarterback rating throughout his career," Warner continues. "You know, he’s had five of his eight seasons where he has thrown 16 interceptions or more. His completion percentage on his career is 58 percent. To me, those aren’t Hall of Fame numbers..."
I agree with what Warner is saying here. Sure, the number of rings a QB wins during his career is always going to matter. But it can't be the only thing that matters, can it? If it's practically the only thing that should matter, then Hall of Fame voting just got easier, at least for quarterbacks.
All the Hall of Fame voters would have to do is ask how many Super Bowls you won, and depending on what number the player said, he's either in the Hall or shut out completely. Simple as that. If you didn't win any rings, you're out and never going to make it in, too bad. If you won only one Super Bowl, you're on the maybe list. And then if you won 2 or more Super Bowls, you're automatically in! Well shoot then, welcome to the Hall of Fame, Eli!
Sounds like nonsense, right? That's because to judge a quarterback's Hall of Fame worthiness by on how many rings they won alone, is silly and doesn't make sense. The whole process is a little more complicated than that. And the voting process should reflect that.
Another sub-plot that is sort of hidden and wrapped up in the Eli / Hall of Fame debate is this. Some pundits and writers are coming out and saying now that Eli has two championships and Peyton only has one, that Eli is now better than his older brother. People, are you freaking kidding me? Sure, Eli has done some great things lately and there's no doubt in my mind that he's improved his game all around.
But if you ask me who I want on the field when my team absolutely must have a game-winning touchdown drive and you give me the choice of either Eli Manning or a healthy Peyton Manning, I'm taking Peyton 9 times out of 10. Sorry to say it, but a healthy Peyton Manning is still a better quarterback than Eli.
As I wrap this up, I would like to be able to throw some sort of complex analytics and formulas at you to make you agree with me that Eli Manning is not a Hall of Fame quarterback, but that is not my forte. Instead I visited Pro Football Reference and looked to see who they compared the current Eli Manning to. The list? For his entire career so far, Eli Manning has put up numbers comparable to: David Garrard, Jake Delhomme, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington, Stan Humphries, Tony Romo, Aaron Brooks, Daryle Lamonica, and Doug Williams.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know Pro Football Reference isn't the end-all, be-all verdict on whether Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer, nor should it be. But still, there is some truth to the fact that statistically, Eli compares to a lot of average quarterbacks.
So let's hold off until Eli Manning gets closer to the end of his career, and let's see where we're at with the whole Hall of Fame debate and Eli. I mean, what if he pulls a Brett Favre, and his career takes a nose dive? He probably wouldn't be such a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer then, right?
**This is a version of a column that I just wrote for the guys over at OregonSportsNews.com. I will be contributing on a weekly basis over there, so be sure and check it out from time to time.**
"I mean, he has an 82 quarterback rating throughout his career," Warner continues. "You know, he’s had five of his eight seasons where he has thrown 16 interceptions or more. His completion percentage on his career is 58 percent. To me, those aren’t Hall of Fame numbers..."
I agree with what Warner is saying here. Sure, the number of rings a QB wins during his career is always going to matter. But it can't be the only thing that matters, can it? If it's practically the only thing that should matter, then Hall of Fame voting just got easier, at least for quarterbacks. All the Hall of Fame voters would have to do is ask how many Super Bowls you won, and depending on what number the player said, he's either in the Hall or shut out completely. Simple as that. If you didn't win any rings, you're out and never going to make it in, too bad. If you won only one Super Bowl, you're on the maybe list. And then if you won 2 or more Super Bowls, you're automatically in! Well shoot then, welcome to the Hall of Fame, Eli!
Sounds like nonsense, right? That's because to judge a quarterback's Hall of Fame worthiness by on how many rings they won alone, is silly and doesn't make sense. The whole process is a little more complicated than that. And the voting process should reflect that.
Another sub-plot that is sort of hidden and wrapped up in the Eli / Hall of Fame debate is this. Some pundits and writers are coming out and saying now that Eli has two championships and Peyton only has one, that Eli is now better than his older brother. People, are you freaking kidding me? Sure, Eli has done some great things lately and there's no doubt in my mind that he's improved his game all around.
But if you ask me who I want on the field when my team absolutely must have a game-winning touchdown drive and you give me the choice of either Eli Manning or a healthy Peyton Manning, I'm taking Peyton 9 times out of 10. Sorry to say it, but a healthy Peyton Manning is still a better quarterback than Eli.
As I wrap this up, I would like to be able to throw some sort of complex analytics and formulas at you to make you agree with me that Eli Manning is not a Hall of Fame quarterback, but that is not my forte. Instead I visited Pro Football Reference and looked to see who they compared the current Eli Manning to. The list? For his entire career so far, Eli Manning has put up numbers comparable to: David Garrard, Jake Delhomme, Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington, Stan Humphries, Tony Romo, Aaron Brooks, Daryle Lamonica, and Doug Williams.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know Pro Football Reference isn't the end-all, be-all verdict on whether Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer, nor should it be. But still, there is some truth to the fact that statistically, Eli compares to a lot of average quarterbacks.
So let's hold off until Eli Manning gets closer to the end of his career, and let's see where we're at with the whole Hall of Fame debate and Eli. I mean, what if he pulls a Brett Favre, and his career takes a nose dive? He probably wouldn't be such a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer then, right?
**This is a version of a column that I just wrote for the guys over at OregonSportsNews.com. I will be contributing on a weekly basis over there, so be sure and check it out from time to time.**
