New York Giants: Eli Manning Will Be in the Hall of Fame
By Ryan Disdier
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is one of the most controversial players in the NFL. While people may have mixed feelings about Manning, he’s going to end his professional career enshrined in Canton.
Eli Manning is a controversial figure, but that was apparent from the inception of his NFL career. He famously – or infamously, depending on whom you ask – displayed immense apathy about playing for the San Diego Chargers after they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick.
To deal with Manning’s seal of disapproval, the Chargers shipped the rights to Manning to the New York Giants, as the two teams essentially swapped quarterbacks, with New York dealing the rights Philip Rivers to San Diego.
More from New York Giants
- New York Giants deliberately disrespecting Saquon Barkley at this point
- 2023 NFL Season: Saquon Barkley signs silly deal with Giants
- New York Giants make big move with star RB disgruntled
- NFL: Which Giant deserved a contract extension – Barkley or Jones?
- 5 NFL teams that will definitely disappoint fans in 2023
Manning took over midway through his first year after sitting behind Kurt Warner. The youngest Manning wasn’t spectacular, but it was clear he had the talent to become a great quarterback. He led New York to three straight postseason appearances in the next four years, earning a Pro Bowl berth in 2008.
He also led the Giants on an improbably run in 2007 that was capped with a Super Bowl victory over the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
From 2009-10, Manning was up-and-down, leading the NFL in interceptions in ’10. He was much, much better in 2011, making late-game heroics a ritual.
Related Story: The 30 greatest Giants of all-time
Manning ended up leading the Giants to another Super Bowl victory over the Patriots, netting a second Super Bowl MVP Award in the process.
Since New York’s most recent Lombardi Trophy, the Giants haven’t made the postseason. Manning had a terrible year in 2013, leading the NFL in interceptions. But under the tutelage of Ben McAdoo, Manning has been wonderful. He’s been like a fine wine as of late, enjoying somewhat of a late-career renaissance.
Despite his recent positive play, Manning can’t play forever. He’s on the back-nine of his career, as the once baby-faced rookie is now a baby-faced 35 year old. Since Manning’s career is beginning to dwindle down, it’s about time to wonder whether Manning will ever be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Many are split on the issue, as Manning’s career is immensely perplexing to evaluate properly. I don’t blame people who say Manning doesn’t deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. His touchdown-to-interception ratio would suggest he’ll never be enshrined, but Manning’s career becomes clearer to dissect once you begin looking places other than his INT total.
For starters, it’s clear Manning will finish his career very high up on most of the major (positive) statistical categories. As it stands right now, Manning is already 11th all-time (44,191) in career passing yards, as well as eighth (294) in career touchdown passes.
Judging by the way Manning’s been playing in McAdoo’s west-coast style of offense, it’s safe to assume he’ll have another 4,000-yard season in 2016. If Manning finishes 2016 with 4,000 yards flat, and decides to call it a career, he would finish eighth all-time in passing yards.
Manning, the NFL’s current “Iron Man,” could realistically play at a relatively high level for another three-or-so years. Unfortunately for Manning, Tom Brady (5th all-time for passing yards) and Drew Brees (4th) are also playing at high levels, so surpassing them may be difficult, barring some career years.
So assuming Brees and Brady keep racking up yards, Manning will likely finish his career fifth all-time for passing yards, moving ahead of John Elway. He needs 7,285 yards to do so, which will likely take Manning two years to accomplish.
In terms of touchdowns, Manning’s current mark of 294 puts him in a position to finish sixth all-time, ahead of Fran Tarkenton and behind Dan Marino (420). In the two years with McAdoo calling the offense, Manning has averaged 32.5 touchdowns per year.
All Manning needs to do to move into sixth all-time is toss 49 touchdown passes during the remainder of his career. Manning could theoretically do that in two seasons, as that total would equate to at least 24 touchdowns one year, and at least 25 in another.
Manning also has bad stats, though, as he has led or tied for the NFL lead in interceptions three times (2007, 2010 and 2013). I’m not going to completely absolve some of the dreadful, awful passes by Manning. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find another quarterback in NFL history who has had worse luck with tipped passes and receivers not being able to catch.
As a side note, someone was actually helpful enough to make a video of all of Manning’s 25 interceptions from 2010. Six of them were clear drops by receivers, and two of them were because Hakeem Nicks either ran the wrong route, or didn’t finish a route. That drops that total from 25 to 17, which is much better to stomach.
While people harp in Manning’s interception total, his career INT number is behind current Hall of Famers such as George Blanda, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Brett Favre and Elway, as well as future Hall of Famers like Brees and his older brother Peyton.
Eli has been cutting down on interceptions as of late, totaling 28 (14 both years) under McAdoo the past two season. Not including 2010 and 2013, Manning isn’t overly egregious throwing to the other team, averaging 13.8 interceptions from 2008-15.
Unfortunately, Manning’s interceptions are just a nature of the way he’s willing to give his receivers a chance to win in one-on-one situations.
Manning has also never missed a single start, which is a tremendous feat when considering some of the hits he’s absorbed over the years. He’s a paragon of durability, which has helped him reach to level of success he has.
Referring to statistics is one thing, but there are other factors that will ultimately lead to Manning being enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Manning does a great job getting the absolute best out of receivers. Steve Smith, Victor Cruz, Domenik Hixon, Kevin Boss, Jake Ballard and the aforementioned Nicks all have Manning to thank for the heights of their career. Manning was even able to get close to 450 yards of production out of Preston Parker.
He’s a tremendous leader, though he’s not a guy who you’ll see pumping up the team with riveting speeches. He leads by example, and it works for the mild-mannered Manning. That demeanor has made him the perfect quarterback for the bright lights that axiomatically come with playing in the “Big Apple.”
In terms of football IQ, there are few quarterbacks in the league who can read a defense and make adjustments like Manning can. Manning is cerebral when at the line of scrimmage, regularly making fixes to the offense so that it has an advantage over the defense.
But perhaps the most obvious factor is Manning’s big-game trait, as he has an innate ability to rise to the occasion in big games. Stats are great, but wins are what really matter in terms of evaluating a quarterback.
In Manning’s case, he usually wins when it counts. Manning is currently ninth all-time for most career fourth-quarter comebacks with 27, 14 of which occurred in 2007 and 2011.
Manning’s cool, reserved nature helps him maintain his wits when the game is on the line, and he’s one of the best quarterbacks at winning in the clutch.
While 2007 was good, but Manning was exceptionally sublime in 2011.
He was the main catalyst for keeping the Giants alive when hope seemed to be sparse. Without his herculean late-game drives, the Giants would’ve been dead to rights.
In 2011, Manning played matched up against league MVP Aaron Rodgers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Here’s Rodgers’ final three games (including the playoff game against the Giants) compared to Manning’s final three games leading up to, and including, the playoff tilt:
- Rodgers: 59.2 completion percentage, 782 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception
- Manning: 69.4 completion percentage, 923 yards, nine touchdowns, one interception
Manning’s final four games of ’11 also bested Tom Brady‘s, as Brady threw for three fewer yards, one less touchdown and four more interceptions.
That whole late-season stretch alone should serve as Manning’s Hall of Fame resume. His performance against the San Francisco 49ers exemplified toughness, as there were some brutal, vicious hits Manning took. But in typical Eli Manning fashion, he picked himself up, brushed the dirt off his shoulder, fixed his chin strap and continued throwing.
Finally, Manning’s two Super Bowl MVPs, and two Super Bowl game-winning drives, are going to help him immensely.
The only other players to win multiple Super Bowl MVP Awards were all quarterbacks, as Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Tom Brady are the only four other players to accomplish what Manning has. It’s also worth mentioning Starr, Bradshaw and Montana are all in the Hall of Fame, and Brady is a first-ballot lock.
The unflappable Manning has seen it all in his tenure as a starting NFL quarterback. He’s the best quarterback in the storied history of the New York Giants, and he still has time to add a lot to his resume.
When it’s all said and done, I firmly expect Manning to end his career with a bust in the Hall of Fame. If he can stay healthy and continue to improve his stats, little is stopping him from reaching the highest echelon of football greatness. When you combine the fact that he’ll likely end his career in the top-six for passing yards and touchdowns with his postseason success, it’s hard to argue against Manning being a future Hall of Famer.
must read: New York Giants: 5 Storylines to Follow in 2016
With that being said, I don’t think Manning will be a first-ballot inductee. He’s going to have to wait to get in. One more deep playoff run would likely help his case, so we’ll see what happens in the coming years. But make no mistake about it, Eli Manning will end up in the Hall of Fame. It’s just a matter of time.
All statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.