Elisha Nelson Manning has officially been named a finalist for The Pro Football Hall Of Fame in his first year on the ballot. If you are surprised by this in any way, you only watched him play from 2014 on. Eli should not just be a finalist. He should not just get in. But he should be a unanimous First Ballot Hall Of Famer.
No, Eli was never the best QB in the NFL. No he wasn’t flashy. No he wasn’t the best Manning. No he wasn’t consistently a Pro-Bowler (Even though the same people who are holding that against him are the same ones saying the Pro-Bowl is stupid and shouldn’t be taken seriously). But what he was able to accomplish in his time with the New York Giants can only be described as a once in a lifetime career.
So what exactly did Eli do to deserve to make it into The Hall Of Fame on his first go around? Let me show you:
As you can see from the screenshot above, Eli Manning retired top 10 in every passing statistic All-Time. This also mentions his 210 consecutive starts and never missed a game due to injury. This is a fact that I do not think gets talked about nearly enough. The way the NFL has worked for the last 30-40 years is that when your starting QB gets hurt, you are dead in the water. Eli NEVER shot the Giants in the foot that way. Were his last few years a struggle? Yes. But are we going to hold back Rodgers for his Jets stint? Are we going to hold back Roethlisberger for his last few years? Are we going to hold back Peyton or Brady for their last seasons? Of course we aren’t. So why are we doing that with Eli by sighting his 500 career record? The Giants have been a National Embarrassment for 10 years – without Eli, that would be 20 years.
Eli also showed up when it mattered most. He still holds the single season post-season passing yards and completions records. He also retired with the most 4th quarter touchdown passes in a single season (2011 – still his record today). That season he also broke the single season passing yards record including playoffs – that has sense been broken multiple times by Brees, Brady and Mahomes. Eli has 2 Super Bowl wins and MVPs. “He was carried by his defense” Well .. He is also the only QB to win multiple Super Bowls with a defense ranked in the bottom half of The NFL .. Sooooooo Not sure about that.
There is a laundry list of players had the best years of their career with Eli. Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Martellus Bennett are a few names that are glaring in my head.
The fact of the matter is that it did not matter who he was throwing the ball to. It did not matter what his defense did. When Eli Manning stepped onto the field, The New York Giants had a chance to win the game. While Eli was playing and you and your buddies played the game “with 2 minutes left, down by 4. Who do you want at QB?” Eli was one of the first 5 names out of someones mouth every-time. Sucks that he played with Peyton, Brady and Rodgers. But he was right with them having that killer instinct in the 4th Quarter.
Now lets play a game:
Can you seriously tell me that 5 of these names deserves to be in Canton above Eli? Because then I think you do not know ball. Or are stupid. Or both.
Woodson, Vinatieri, Wayne, Gates, Jared Allen and Keuchly are the only ones that have an argument. Let me discredit people who aren’t Woodson, Vinatieri or Gates. 3 of the best players at each of their positions. I won’t argue against any of them over Eli.
Reggie Wayne:
Is he a Hall Of Famer? 100% yes. Anyone would be stupid not to think that. But over Eli? Eh. Reggie Wayne had Peyton Manning throwing him the ball and when Peyton wasn’t playing, his numbers dipped significantly. Reggie only had 2 truly great seasons in his 14 year career. Wayne also really did not score a lot of Touchdowns. He retired with 82 – that’s 6/year. Without Reggie Wayne, how much worse are those Colts teams? I would argue he really only added a couple of wins. Without Eli? Like I said before, The Giants would crumble.
Jared Allen:
I don’t even know if I can confidently say Jared Allen is a Hall Of Famer. He was an Ironman and he played for a very long time. Those are honestly his best qualities. I have always thought that Jared Allan was one of the most over rated players in the league because he played on shitty teams. In 2011 he had 22 sacks – which is an All-Time great season. but his next highest is 15.5. Again. VERY good, but when you have seasons with sub 10 and floating in the 11 sack range your entire career – I can not vote you in over Elisha Nelson Manning
Luke Kuechly:
Ok. So Kuechly was the best MLB when he played. Yes, he belongs in the Hall Of Fame. But only playing 8 years, missing a decent chunk of time with injuries and retiring at 28 HAS to keep him out of getting voted in over Eli. He simply can’t be a First Ballot Hall Of Famer because of that. That might just be me being an old man yelling at the clouds, but that is my opinion that I think the voters agree with.
And there it is. Elisha Nelson Manning will be a First Ballot Hall Of Famer assuming 5 or more get in this year.
A Fan With A Mic 