Super Bowl MVP apparently does not equal respect

by ETVal on Jul 16, 2008 7:00 AM EDT in News

Here we go again with the lack of respect for Eli Manning!

The Sporting News is out with its rankings of the top 25 quarterbacks in the NFL. Eli is ranked 12th, and looking at the list just makes me shake my head.

Without even looking, I'm sure you can guess that Tony Romo is ranked ahead of Eli. If you guessed that, you'd be right. Romo is No. 7 on this list.

Romo being ranked ahead of Eli doesn't bug me as much as you might think. I'm getting used to the supposed "experts" being fooled by Romo's numbers and his celebrity status, and forgetting the bottom line -- which is that Eli has gotten the job done when it counts and playboy Romo hasn't.

It's several of the other names ahead of Eli that really have me ticked off.

Brett Favre at No. 8. Sorry, but how can Favre even be on this list? Technically, he's not even in the league. Even if he was, or is, or will be again sometime soon, he's not the Favre of his glory days. Will he play like he did last season (66.5% completions, 28 TDs, 15 INTs) or like he did in 2005 and 2006, when he combined for 38 TDs and 47 INTs)? He shouldn't even be here at all.
Philip Rivers at No. 9. What, exactly, has Rivers proven? OK, he is a tough guy as evidenced by how he played hurt in the playoffs last season. OK, he can put up nice numbers playing in beautiful weather all season (better than 60% completions in each of his two seasons as a starter). But, what has he really accomplished? Nothing, as far as I can see.
Donovan McNabb at No. 10. A couple of years ago when a healthy McNabb was at his peak this wouldn't have been an argument. Now? You have to question McNabb's shoulder, his durability AND his ability to win. Don't forget, the last time the Eagles were good Jeff Garcia was quarterbacking and McNabb was feeling unloved.
David Garrard at No. 11. This is the one that really makes me want to scream, so I will. What the F--- are you people thinking? David Garrard? Better than Eli? Based on what? Yes, he had a nice quarterback rating of 102.2 last season and he only threw three interceptions while tossing 18 touchdown passes. But, he threw 204 fewer passes than Eli, so you can hardly say Jacksonville was relying on him to win games the way the Giants relied on Eli. The guy has been in the league 6 years, and he's had one good year. You're going to tell me you would rather have him leading your team than Eli? Please. That's nonsense.

I guess that, in a way, I should be happy with these rankings. After all, a year ago SI.com's Peter King had Eli 22nd -- behind such brilliant quarterbacks as Jake Delhomme, Chad Pennington, Jon Kitna, Michael Vick (yes, Michael Vick), Steve McNair, Matt Leinart and J.P. Losman.

I would have thought that Eli's monster playoff performance, earning Super Bowl MVP honors and outplaying Garcia, Romo, Favre and Tom Brady would have gained him more respect than to be 12th on this list.

Granted, Eli has not yet had a monster regular season. His career quarterback rating is 73.4, and he has never completed 60% of his passes in a single season. This may simply be the kind of quarterback he is. A talented, tough guy who looks brilliant at times and awful at others. He may never put up great overall numbers -- but we know he can get the job done when it matters most.

In a way, his career is heading down a path similar to that of Phil Simms, who is looking like a runaway winner in our voting for the quarterback spot on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team.

Simms was not a numbers guy. He only went to two Pro Bowls in his 14-year career, and only completed 60% of his passes once. But, Simms was a winner. You never felt the Giants were at a disadvantage with Simms under center, and you always felt he could win the big games.

It is becoming that way with Eli, and that is just fine with me. If it's not enough to please the "experts," who cares? If it's enough to win big games, and maybe get the Giants another Super Bowl title or two before he's done, that's enough for me.

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The upside to the disrespect the Giants are getting as a team

and as individual players is that they will not go into the season as complacent SB winners. They’ll have something to prove. That’s a good thing.
BTW, I truly beleive Eli will have a better career than Phil did. Here’s my brash prediction—he’ll be a first round HOFer.

by george cronin on Jul 16, 2008 9:22 AM EDT 0 recs

Wow!!

George, that’s going out on a limb w/Eli. I do believe, though, that the best of Eli is yet to come. I think what he did in the post-season and winning the Super Bowl MVP is something that will propel him to another level.

by ETVal on Jul 16, 2008 9:29 AM EDT up 0 recs

It's not like me.

i expect nothing but good things for the Giants for the next ten years or so with Eli at QB and Reese as GM. Now, if we can only keep Spags.

by george cronin on Jul 16, 2008 11:02 AM EDT up 0 recs

Let's hope so!

It’s funny that we think that his ceiling can get even higher – I mean a year ago, NO ONE would have believed you if you said, “Eli Manning, SBMVP” – so to say that we think he can do better than that is really quite amazing.

I truly think that what we’ve seen thus far from Eli Manning is what we’re going to get out of him. I think he ultimately cuts down on his turnovers, but his stats will be relatively static – you know, perpetually hovering sub 60% efficiency, average at the end of the year of ~ 20 TD’s and (hopefully) 12-15 INT’s, 3,300+ yds, etc. Middle of the road stats, but I think a guy that ultimately is capable of rallying teammates and capable of some big comebacks.

Know what? As I write about it, it gotme to thinking. Eli’s stats a few years in are remarkably similar to another beloved QB, John Elway (and I’m not the first one to make this comparison either, Ernie Acorsi is):

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ElwaJo00.htm

Obviously Eli has a long way to go to approach Elway’s legacy…..but I think we call can agree that he’s off to a nice start.

by Cody K on Jul 16, 2008 11:34 AM EDT up 0 recs

Good point

While I’m tired of team’s “we get no respect” angle, it should be a good thing for the Giants. Pierce will make sure everyone in the locker room knows they are getting disrespected and hopefully they’ll keep that edge.

by potroast on Jul 16, 2008 11:53 AM EDT up 0 recs

Rivers ahead of Eli and more...

let me preface this by saying it’s not all about numbers, but it also isn’t all about postseason success. Eli’s so-so regular season has to be weighed the same amount as his playoff performance. that being said…

about Rivers – what is it about this guy that people love so much? he had a great season in ‘06 and followed it up by losing immediately in the playoffs. last year, he was just average. you can’t even really count the win over the Colts because it was Billy Volek who engineered the game-winning drive. i’d certainly rank Rivers in the top 15 and his numbers are very similar to Eli’s. But, Eli’s 2007 postseason performance should break the tie between their similar career stats.

about Garrard – he had a very good season (the 18-3 TD/INT ratrio is nice), but he’s only been a full-time starter for a season and a half. that’s a pretty small sample size. also, he was terrible against Pittsburgh in the playoffs (9-21, 140 yds, 2 INT). one good regular season doesn’t put him ahead of Eli.

Favre is retired and shouldn’t be on the list. also, Carson Palmer 3rd? it comes to a point where they’re going to have to stop basing this rankings on potential, and start looking at results. i mean, this is a guy that had a 26-20 TD/INT ratio last season. yes he has a big arm, and is really talented, but he’s never won a big game…ever.

other disagreements: Brees ahead of Big Ben, Aaron Rodgers ahead of Jason Campbell

and i don’t care that Romo is ahead of Eli. everybody knew that was going to be the case. Romo can have the numbers, I’ll take the championship ring.

at least he ranked Vince Young 23rd.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jul 16, 2008 9:37 AM EDT 0 recs

Wow. I'm almost speechless...

1) McNabb over Eli? Are you friggin’ kidding me? If McNabb could actually play a whole season then maybe, just maybe it would be more obvious to them he needs to retire.

2) Garrad? This one I just can’t understand…I mean, the only word that comes to mind is FLUKE

3) Rivers? What a crock. Yeah, Yeah, he played hurt…but SBaker is absolutely right. Great season in ‘06, ok in ‘07 (after the 1st 4 games, that is). I live in Charger country and I do not understand all the love for him. It makes my skin crawwwl!

April in CA

by peytonsthebest on Jul 25, 2008 5:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

Secretly

I think the media would like to rank Eli much lower, but they begrudgingly have to promote him a bit because of that postseason run. We all know Eli is occasionally capable of playing like the 12th best QB in the league. Just check the tape from that Minnesota game. Yeah, it happens, sometimes for uncomfortably long stretches. Unfortunately for Tampa, Dallas, Green Bay, and Boston, he’s also capable of playing much better than that. Not all the QBs on this list can play better than their ranking, particularly on the biggest stage. We might get a little lathered up when Romo is rated ahead of our guy, but we have to admit that Romo plays at a pretty high level on a fairly consistent basis. Can he, Garrard, and Rivers elevate their game, particularly when their team needs it the most? To date, the answer to that question is a resounding no.

by rzor on Jul 16, 2008 10:50 AM EDT 0 recs

i have no problem

I rewatched the Super Bowl, Eli had like 3 near INTs that last drive. Given his midseason funk, I see no problem with being bearish on him. Romo played at a fairly high level most of the season. Eli played 4 games above average. Granted they were huge games. Look what we said about Romo last year, let’s see him get it done for a whole season first.

by queler on Jul 16, 2008 11:14 AM EDT 0 recs

I see where you're coming from, q, but I gotta believe. Eli's got a great line

in front of him, and great depth in receovers and RBs. He has the skills to really shine in ‘08 and down the line. If he doesn’t, I’ll eat crow.

by george cronin on Jul 16, 2008 11:51 AM EDT up 0 recs

hey

I’m with you. I just know, I’ve also said that every year since his first. Just because of accuracy I don’t think he’ll be as good as Peyton, he’s never been accurate even in college, he probably never will be. But he’s steadily improving every year, just like Peyton did. I’d just like to see him work on his conditioning, he seems to start a turn after 8 games or so every year, like he hasn’t gotten used to the longer NFL season. But I too am expecting big things.

by queler on Jul 16, 2008 1:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

preposterous!!

This list will drive me crazy.

I couldn’t agree with you more, ETVal; how is the SUPER BOWL MVP rated lower than guys who have proven nothing in the League? 7 feels about right; I definitely would have rated Eli higher than Romo. Regular season stats are nice and all – and no one can deny Romo’s prowess in putting huge #’s on the board. But when the game (hell, the season!) is on the line? We’ve seen what Romo is capable of (shrinkage) vs. what Eli is capable of (SBMVP).

The others just anger me:

McNabb? Really? The guy that’s likely going to be backing up Kolb or traded this year? The same guy that frequently throws the ball right at the toes of his WR’s?

Garrard? Are you kidding me? So he had one nice season where he threw the ball efficiently and didn’t make a ton of mistakes…good for him. I will give him judos for a road playoff win in Pitts., but COME ON! What else has he done?

This all just angers me.

by Cody K on Jul 16, 2008 11:19 AM EDT 0 recs

yeah

You see how badly the Eagles do without McNabb, but you forget those feet passes are so frequent, amongst my friends, “Ugh he mcnabbed it” is uttered every time a QB throws a ball at someone’s feet.

What I find hysterical, also on the Eagles this year is Jason Avant. A Michigan blog invented the term “Tacopants” for Chad Henne’s errant passes over receiver’s heads. “Tacopants is Jason Avant’s eleven-foot tall imaginary friend. Chad Henne spent much of 2005 hitting him between the numbers, which are unfortunately eight feet off the ground and made of dreams” No matter where Mcnabb throws will be Mcnabbed or Tacopants. The one time Mcnabb hit a guy in the hands (other then his favorite receiver Ronde Barber) , Todd Pinkston short-armed it like a girl in a frilly dress to knocking the Eagles out of the playoffs.

man i hate the eagles

by queler on Jul 16, 2008 1:13 PM EDT 0 recs

Don't see any problems...

Garrard is overrated because of one season, but Eli is underrated even though he only had a good 3 game stretch ?

I don't see where the problem is. Eli was good during the playoffs, but without that DL, he would have watched Tom lifting the Lombardi trophy.

He’s still a very inconsistent quaterback, and his previous playoffs appearances(Washington and Philadelphia comes to mind) were nothing to get excited about. On a personnel standpoint, the guys ranked ahead of him are better, that’s it. Games(And especially superbowls), are not won by QBs only. They are won by an entire team.

In the best teams in the NFL, Giants are top5, if not top3. But it’s not because they are top5 that Eli has to be. 12 is still a good spot for someone who’s QB rating always ranks in the 20s

by bubqr on Jul 17, 2008 3:04 AM EDT 0 recs

so Garrard

should jump ahead of a Super Bowl MVP winning QB that outplayed Tony Romo, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady en route to a Championship season because he had pretty good regular season numbers in his lone full season as a starter?

i’m not saying that Eli is a top-five QB, but it’s hard to argue there are 10 better QBs. you can talk about regular season QB rating if you want, but Eli has more playoff wins then a lot of the people in front of him combined.

i think rzor summed it up best above:

We all know Eli is occasionally capable of playing like the 12th best QB in the league

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jul 17, 2008 6:53 AM EDT up 0 recs

Hasn't Eli

taken the Giants to the Playoffs every year since he’s been there?

April in CA

by peytonsthebest on Jul 29, 2008 12:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

Well

That’s why he’s so hard to rank. Can play like a top5 QB one day, and like a bottom 5 the next. He has as many awful games as great ones. Inconsistency is not a good thing for QBs.

by bubqr on Jul 17, 2008 11:52 AM EDT 0 recs

I can remember you saying

back in November after Romo beat up on Eli and the Giants that Romo was clearly the better qb so now that he wins one SB, that changes everything??

Thats BS and you know it, its like saying Trent Dilfer is better than Marino and Fouts because he go the job done when it counted…hogwash.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 18, 2008 2:40 PM EDT 0 recs

Terry, Terry, Terry

No one is arguing where Eli is ranked in relation to Romo. No matter how we feel about it, that’s the ranking we have come to expect. We are arguing that guys like Garrard don’t belong in front of Eli after what he did last season. It’s not Eli vs. Tony here.

by ETVal on Jul 18, 2008 2:59 PM EDT up 0 recs

I just didn't understand your comment

that the experts are being fooled by Romo’s numbers, which is implying he’s not as good as his numbers indicate, which you should know isn’t true at all.

Romo has yet to be play poorly in the playoffs and yet is ripped because his team loses because of a fluke play and a red hot team that ended up beating the undefeated Pats.

That is unfair as unfair gets.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 22, 2008 9:48 AM EDT up 0 recs