Manning Up

by Max Schwager on Feb 8, 2012 11:18 PM EST

Several times throughout this season, I evaluated Eli Manning's performance as a quarterback. This will be the final note for the year. I am tired of hearing the word elite. The guy is a Hall of Fame lock. Reggie Jackson is Mr. October and Eli Manning is, as Kenny Powers might put it, just a "man with a mind for victory and an arm like a fucking cannon". I can't say it better than that.

The first area of interest to me is Mr. Manning registered seven 4th quarter comebacks, along with eight game-winning drives. Six of these game-winning drives took place in the regular season, two in the postseason. Six of these took place on the road. His numbers?

(204 / 324) for 2,478 yards

Completion percentage: 63%

Yards per attempt: 7.65

Yards per game: 310

TD passes: 15

Interceptions: 2

In tight games, Eli came up big in every way. For those who use the argument that certain quarterbacks simply play well from the start of the game, I point to the interception count and completion percentage. This is not a case of Eli playing poorly in three quarters and bailing himself out in the fourth. Eight games is a pretty good sample size too.

He's tied for 15th all-time in fourth quarter comebacks with 21 in his career. Many people say this is a garbage stat. I don't. No matter what circumstances put a team in a bad spot late in the game, a fourth quarter comeback indicates that you got the job done knowing your team had one, maybe two chances left. It's also a timeless stat. The game changes with every era, but the significance of winning the game in the final seconds does not.

Eli Manning is now tied with Randall Cunningham and Kerry Collins, and he is ahead of Drew Brees, Terry Bradshaw, Ken Stabler, Bart Starr, Troy Aikman, Joe Namath, and Roger Staubach, to name a few.

Postseason play often defines a quarterback. This is a list of greats and how they played in the postseason.

Joe Montana (16-7) 45 TD / 21 INT / 251 YPG / 7.9 YPA

Tom Brady (16-6) 38 TD / 20 INT / 240 YPG / 6.7 YPA

John Elway (14-8) 27 TD / 21 INT / 226 YPG / 7.6 YPA

Peyton Manning (9-10) 29 TD / 19 INT / 284 YPG / 7.5 YPA

Dan Marino (8-10) 32 TD / 24 INT / 251 YPG / 6.6 YPA

Troy Aikman (11-5) 23 TD / 17 INT / 241 YPG / 7.7 YPA

Kurt Warner (9-4) 31 TD / 14 INT / 304 YPG / 8.6 YPA

It's a bit strange how similar the numbers are up and down the board. The only one who really jumps out statistically is Kurt Warner, with over 300 yards per game and 8 yards per attempt, along with more touchdown passes than Aikman, Elway, and Manning in much fewer games.

So, to put it in perspective:

Eli Manning (8-3) 17 TD / 8 INT / 229 YPG / 7.1 YPA

Three quarterbacks on the list have a TD/INT ratio greater than 2.0. They are:

Kurt Warner: 2.21

Joe Montana: 2.14

Eli Manning: 2.13

So, for Eli Manning, the body of work speaks for itself. The regular season numbers will catch up. Brady's didn't until the second half of his career. Eli is in the midst of building a legacy. And it's a great thing for us as fans to get to sit back and watch it unfold, especially given the dark ages between franchise quarterbacks (Simms retirement after the 1993 season sending us into a brutal period of nothingness at the position).

He's one hell of an interception machine, probably the greatest of all time.

FanPosts are written by community members. This is simply a way for community members to express opinions too long to be contained in a comment.

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Comments

You have done a great job here. But the problem is that it is not showing o9n the list of fan posts. i found it when i clicked on show all fan posts. You need Rec'd . i have a fan post regarding the PUP list rules etc and it will be buried too.

This is not the 2007 team.
2011 NYG will have their own legacy.

by BB1156 on Feb 9, 2012 2:23 AM EST reply actions

Hes our MANning

Eli Manning is The Boston Strangler
The 2011 New York Giants = The best 9-7 team of all time
ALL IN!!!!

by JasonPierrePwned on Feb 9, 2012 6:33 AM EST reply actions

"It's also a timeless stat."

It’s little comments like that that make your already great posts ‘Recable.’

Great comparitive stats. And I like how you pointed out that Eli’s regular season numbers are catching up, and then you provide Brady as a comparison in that respect. I have been saying this all along, that Eli has been slowly and steadily improving every year and just keeps getting better and better.

Ernie Accorsi to Wellington Mara upon drafting Eli Manning, "This kid id going to win you a championship, and he's going to win you more than one."
Ernie is the Man(ning)

by tommy d. on Feb 9, 2012 2:55 PM EST reply actions

Thanks

I try to consider different arguments. It seems people try to diminish the comebacks statistic because certain quarterbacks (Brees and Rodgers) don’t have a ton of them. It’s funny considering Brady’s Hall of Fame resume was based for years on big comeback victories (prior to 2007).

To me, it’s just one of those things. You might never be able to accurately measure “clutch”, but comebacks will most often come down to your quarterback having to throw the ball to win the game in the final minutes, so it’s one of the fairest ways I can think of to compare quarterbacks of different eras.

by Max Schwager on Feb 10, 2012 2:34 PM EST up reply actions

Those are good points

But I have to agree somewhat with the guys who talk about a QB dominating the whole game. That counts for alot.

It really is an interesting examination. As of right now, there ain’t nobody better when their back is against the wall at the end of a game. And that counts for alot more, IMO.

Imagine the fear of opponents and their fans, when Eli gets the ball late in the fourth quarter of a close game. I’m glad we are on the right side of that equation.

Ernie Accorsi to Wellington Mara upon drafting Eli Manning, "This kid id going to win you a championship, and he's going to win you more than one."
Ernie is the Man(ning)

by tommy d. on Feb 10, 2012 6:23 PM EST up reply actions

I agree with you

I am not trying to say that a QB should who plays poorly for 3.5 quarters should get a pass. Just that with Eli’s case, it seems people try to use that argument against him, but the numbers are there regardless. In those games, he’s averaging over 300 yards a game and he’s thrown just 2 interceptions over eight games in which he’s had a comeback victory.

He’s had one or two off games, sure, but even the best have bad games. Will be interesting to see whether the media can finally refrain from calling him “the Eli of old” the first time he tosses a couple of picks.

by Max Schwager on Feb 10, 2012 11:17 PM EST up reply actions

I'm with you too.

I hate it when people use that as an argument against him. As in, where was the excellence for three quarters. It’s just bias. People who don’t watch the games, or very little of the games, and don’t like Eli, or focus on the negative, or focus on the early part of his career when he was VERY inconsistent, or they focus on his INT’s. Which, IMO, is the only negative in his game.

I think it is fair to say that among the greats playing QB today, Eli throws INT’s on the high end of a comparitve scale vs. the other greats. And throwing 25 last year just stands out so much and people who already have a negative view of Eli focus in with laser-like precision on that stat. This is all elemental, as I’m sure you are aware, but it is the off season so we can beat this stuff into the ground all we want. :-)

And I think without question the media will have the INT’s in the back of their mind, and if say, by week 7 he has like 8 picks or so, then some might start to speculate on it. But I am convinced the new narrative for Eli is firmly established. That he is among the best playing in the game and that he is unsurpassed in clutch fourth quarter play.

The league, and fans of our rivals, are now deathly afraid to see the ball in ELi’s hands late in a tight game. Cause we know the likely outcome.

Ernie Accorsi to Wellington Mara upon drafting Eli Manning, "This kid id going to win you a championship, and he's going to win you more than one."
Ernie is the Man(ning)

by tommy d. on Feb 11, 2012 9:16 AM EST up reply actions

Kenny Powers Quote

Insta Rec

Now I have to read it

Eli is our King!

by trueblue63 on Feb 9, 2012 3:46 PM EST reply actions

Let's Go Giants.

This is not the 2007 team.
2011 NYG will have their own legacy.

by BB1156 on Feb 11, 2012 12:14 AM EST reply actions

Where dey going?. :-)

Ernie Accorsi to Wellington Mara upon drafting Eli Manning, "This kid id going to win you a championship, and he's going to win you more than one."
Ernie is the Man(ning)

by tommy d. on Feb 11, 2012 10:36 AM EST up reply actions

They are going to Back2Back superbowl.

This is not the 2007 team.
2011 NYG will have their own legacy.

by BB1156 on Feb 11, 2012 11:44 AM EST up reply actions

I like your sig

Nets Mets Giants All day Every day.
Beware the Lopez
NY Giants Tribute

by netsareboss on Feb 11, 2012 10:50 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks. i did that sometime ago.

This is not the 2007 team.
2011 NYG will have their own legacy.

by BB1156 on Feb 11, 2012 11:44 AM EST up reply actions

yeah i remember

i stil like how you kept it, even tho every1 is like 2007 deja vuuuuuu

Nets Mets Giants All day Every day.
Beware the Lopez
NY Giants Tribute

by netsareboss on Feb 11, 2012 6:14 PM EST up reply actions

Yes. WHat will they say next year? It is a deja vu of 2011? lol. i will say no that is 2010 team.

This is not the 2007 team.
2011 NYG will have their own legacy.

by BB1156 on Feb 11, 2012 9:41 PM EST up reply actions

Eli's first four seasons skew the stats

Over the last four his stats are significantly better. QBR over the last four about 90. About 4000 yds per season. 61% comp, NEt Yds/ attempt about 7.0

I don’t care what they call that, you toss in the comebacks and the playoff work, my title for that is WINNER, and winner trumps elite every day.

Eli is our King!

by trueblue63 on Feb 11, 2012 4:52 PM EST reply actions