First thing is the very obvious- Eli Manning has two Super Bowl rings. He beat Tom "I'm the Best" Brady twice in Super Bowls. He won the MVP in both of those games. His two rings are more than the following Hall of Famers have- Jim Kelly, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Brett Favre, and Fran Tarkenton. Quite the list, and that is just based off of the Big Game.
Next, we can look at that Ripken-esque Iron Man streak that is coming to an end this week not because of injury, but because of managerial incompetence. Eli has started 210 straight games. The last time Eli Manning was not the starting QB for the Giants was in 2004. Only Favre has a longer streak for a QB (at an insane 297 straight games). Manning has been the rock on which the Giants built any kind of franchise success since he was drafted. He holds every single Giants passing record. He is the best QB the Giants have ever had, period.
Still not convinced? How about we look at some numbers?! Numbers never lie, so they say. Surely, holes can be poked in my argument about Eli, right? Wrong. All the numbers back up Eli Manning's claim to Canton. Let's start with touchdowns. Eli Manning is currently tied (with draft class buddy Phillip Rivers) for 7th on the all-time touchdown list with 334. That's right, 7th. And he will surely move above current #6 holder Fran Tarkenton, who has 342, by the end of his career. Need more perspective? He has 34 more than John Elway. He has 126 more touchdowns than Kurt Warner, who just got into the Hall of Fame.
What about completions, you say? Eli is 6th all time with 4,319. He is only behind Favre, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brady, and Marino. He is 910 ahead of Joe Montana, the man who mastered the completion-friendly West Coast offense. He is 1,421 ahead of Troy Aikman. He is 1,652 ahead of Steve Young, and 1,653 ahead of Kurt Warner. All of these men are already in the Hall of Fame. How could you keep out a player who has so thoroughly thrashed their numbers?
Yards! They could have all been short touchdown passes, right? Wrong again, my friend. Eli Manning is currently 7th in career passing yards. 1,300 more than Warren Moon, who is in the HoF. Over 10,000 more than Montana. Over 15,000 more than Jim Kelly. Around 18,000 more than Young, Aikman, and Warner. Are you ready to just accept that he is an all-time great QB?
Probably not, right? Because there is still passer rating. That fun amalgamation of numbers that is supposed to provide us with a look at a QB's efficiency and effectiveness on the field. Is Eli top 10 in that? Huh?
No, he isn't. He is tied for 39th.
But, before you start rejoicing that your last chance to keep a deserving man from enshrinement has worked, would you like a list of modern QB's with a lower passer rating that are already in the Hall of Fame? Aikman, Moon, Elway. I could provide a list of guys that didn't play after 1985, but I don't want to be that long-winded (seriously how the hell is Joe Namath in the Hall of Fame?). Oh, and just so we can debunk the value of the Passer Rating stat a bit, I can give you some names of guys that are ahead of Eli Manning on the Passer Rating list too, that will never get close to the Hall of Fame, like David Garrard, Jeff Garcia, Daunte Culpepper, Chad Pennington, and Matt Schaub. Hell, Tony Romo is #4 all time on this list, and he was oft-injured and has no rings.
Face it folks. It is all there, black and white, clear as crystal. The precedent of who is already in the Hall of Fame only strengthen's his claim more. Eli Manning will be in the Hall of Fame, probably sooner than you would like. He is more than deserving. He should probably go in on the first ballot, to be honest. And, with a career like he has had, he certainly deserves a better sendoff than the ones the New York Giants are giving him.
