I just don’t get it. Why are we acting like Eli Manning is an elite quarterback when we all know he’s not?
Giants fans, you’re going to be biased, I get that. It’s everyone else who just confuses me.
Eli Manning has two Super Bowl MVP's to his name after winning Super Bowl XLVI.
I don’t take anything away from the younger Manning. He had a great post-season and performed great on the grandest stage of them all. But does that mean he’s an elite quarterback?
Let’s take a second and actually define, “elite quarterback” shall we? To be an elite quarterback you are in a class above all others. Your team leans on you and you destroy any team that takes the field who aren’t in your class.
We’ve already inducted Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers into this elite class. They all fit that definition 90 percent of the time. Everybody has bad games, but they usually perform very well every game.
Eli Manning does not.
This wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion if Eli didn’t proclaim that he was elite before the 2011 season started. He opened his mouth and the majority of us laughed at him for it. Before this season, you wouldn’t dare to compare him to Brady or his big brother.
So in rolled September and it was time for Eli to back up his words. Did he do it against a bad Washington Redskin team in week one? Nope, completing only 18-for-32 and an interception. He then beat some bad teams in the Rams, Eagles and Cardinals.
Then in a trip to Seattle, Number 10 threw three interceptions. Say that out loud, “Eli threw three interceptions against the Seattle Seahawks”. Doesn’t sound too elite now does it?
That wasn’t the only bad game of the year. In their rematch against the Redskins, Eli would throw another three interceptions in a loss. This was in week 15 when the Giants knew they needed to win to keep their playoff chances alive.
Manning and the Giants were 7-7 at one point during their 2011-12 season.
The Giants went on to finish the season at 9-7 largely due to winning three of their final four games (beating the Cowboys twice).
When you look back at Eli’s regular season, there are just as many high points as there are low. Yes, give him credit for his fourth quarter comeback against the Patriots in week nine. But let’s be honest; shouldn’t you be able to drive down the field on that horrendous secondary anyways?
He had a great post-season and nobody will deny that. But how can we call him elite if we can’t count on him in the regular season? Remember, there was genuine doubt that the Giants would even make the playoffs let alone go on the run that they did.
Eli supporters will be quick to speak up and exclaim, “He’s good when it really counts!”
If that were true, he wouldn’t have thrown those three picks in week 15 against Washington. Not to mention, every game in the regular season counts, we just choose to focus on the later weeks.
If I had to rank the quarterbacks in the league, I’d take the elite four that I named earlier and probably Ben Roethlisberger before I considered Eli.
If you’re ok with your elite quarterback not performing in the regular season, then go ahead and crown Eli. But I’ll always remind you that he doesn’t show up for 16 games like Rodgers or Brees, he doesn’t constantly make it to the post-season like Brady and Peyton, and you can’t count on him on any given game like any of the four.
But when he starts doing that, I’ll crown him then. But today, he’s just not there.