Legendary New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will be announcing his retirement in a press conference on Friday, which will surely generate rampant discussion about his Hall-of-Fame candidacy.
Are his two Super Bowl titles enough to get him in? Or is his career of inconsistency just too damning?
Well, when it comes to the Hall of Fame, you have to think of the bar that has been set, and it amazes me that those who denounce Manning as a Hall-of-Famer don't do this.
For example, Joe Namath is in the Hall of Fame on the strength of one Super Bowl title. The same Joe Namath threw 173 touchdowns and 220 interceptions in his career.
Are you going to sit there with a straight face and say that Manning shouldn't be in when Namath was inducted?
Or how about Denver Broncos legend John Elway? Yes, he won two Super Bowls, but they were at the very end of his career when he was a mere shell of his former self, and his former self wasn't even all that great, as Elway retired with a lifetime passer rating of 79.9 and an unimpressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 300 to 226.
Yet, no one debated Elway's Hall-of-Fame case.
So why are we debating Eli's?
The man is one of five players with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards, and the other four are either already in the Hall of Fame (Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, and Bart Starr) or will eventually get in once they retire (Tom Brady).
He also defeated Brady (the greatest quarterback to ever play the game) and the New England Patriots in both of his Super Bowl wins, including the 2007-08 campaign when the Patriots were 18-0 at the time.
He lays claim to two of the best throws ever, one being the throw to David Tyree in the first Super Bowl win and the unbelievable sideline throw to Mario Manningham in the latter victory.
Manning is also seventh all-time in passing yards, seventh in completions, and seventh in passing touchdowns.
Since becoming the Giants' starter in 2004, he was an ironman who never missed a start due to injury.
On top of all of that, Manning was a consummate professional who carried himself with the utmost class throughout his entire NFL career, and that stuff matters when it comes to the Hall of Fame.
Really, this should be an open and shut case.
It would be an absolute travesty if Manning does not get voted in due to all of the factors I mentioned above. That is one heck of a resume, and it is a resume that is unquestionably better than a number of quarterbacks who are already in the Hall.
There are a lot of negative narratives about Eli Manning, and most of them are either silly (like the “Eli face”) or not based in fact (like the Giants winning their Super Bowls due to their defenses, even though the 2011-12 Giants ranked 27th in the NFL in that category).
When it comes down to it, Manning has done more than enough to get into the Hall of Fame, and one day, I believe Manning will be immortalized in Canton.
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