Friday, January 20, 2012

Which Manning is better? Might as well ask which sport is better, the NBA or the WNBA?

I have heard nothing but praise for Eli Manning his entire career, and none more than the last few weeks. Recently people have been talking about whether or not Eli has become an elite QB in the NFL. He has won a Super Bowl. He has put up some big numbers. But has he ever been in the conversation of MVP? No. That is why I am telling you right now that Eli is NOT an elite QB yet.

We all know he won a Super Bowl, but so has Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer. Are they going to the HOF? No. Neither should Eli, at least not yet. Before people crown him, let us take a step back and look at the reality of his career.

First of all, his Super Bowl win was a fluke. Even he would admit it if he was hooked up to a lie detector. The Giants had no business winning that game, they would have won 1 of 10, and it just happened to be one of those days. He also has a good team around him his career, and despite the fact that people say he hasn't much for receivers around him, he has. Sure he never had Moss or Owens, but Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks have broken huge plays on their own this year that have made Eli's stats look all the better. The Giants were 5th in the NFL in YAC this year.

Now, one week after tearing up the second worst EVER defense of the Packers, people are ready to anoint him king. All we heard all week leading up to the game was if the Packers D would step up and play. Remember, they gave up 520 yards and 5 td's to Matt Stafford only two weeks earlier. Yes, 520 yards. Eli only threw for about 2/3 of that, but no one is saying Stafford is better than Peyton Manning, and no one will if he leads the Lions to a Super Bowl victory next year. For some reason people just like Eli Manning and his cry baby attitude we saw during the NFL draft.

Let's not forget that Peyton Manning, if he gets healthy, will break every record Favre currently has. He has not had the luxury of going against teams like the Packers whose D is terrible. Teams like Atlanta who snuck in because TB, Carolina, Washington and the entire NFC West other than SF was terrible. He went against the Ravens and Patriots - who were led by brilliant D's before Tom Brady changed the way NE plays. He had byes every year, meaning he didn't get a first round game against a lesser opponent, and his D has been bad every year other than the year they won a Super Bowl. Not to mention he has some extremely underachieving running backs that have come and gone throughout the years.

So he is my plea: Wait until tomorrow to crown Eli the best Manning. Wait until he has played for 10 years and has an MVP. Wait until he carries a team who can't stop rock from rolling uphill like some of the Colts' teams.

Tomorrow's game is going to prove one thing: Eli still has a long way to go.

Niners 27, Giants 21.