Big Blue Huddle

I know this isn't a new topic here, but now that Eli is officially eligible and this subject is currently in the news and national discussion, I thought it would be worth taking a fresh poll to see where people stand.

Does Eli belong in the Hall of Fame?

Please remember, you are voting on what you think SHOULD happen, not what you think WILL happen.

I would love to hear all opinions. Thanks.

Resounding YES! Eli should be first ballot. Every other 2x Super Bowl MVP is in, except for Brady, who's not eligible yet, and Mahomes, who is still playing. Plus he's the only QB to beat Brady twice in the SB, and lead the Giants to spoiling the 19-0 season. Sure, you can argue the regular season numbers aren't great, but it's all about winning the big one and Eli was as clutch as they come.

I've gone back and forth between first ballot and "eventually" getting in. Heck, give it to him on the first ballot!

 He is the best QB on the list this year, whatever that means.

With all his work with youngsters, his QB camp, his presence on MNF, and everything else, he is well-liked all around, he gets in.

Quote from: LennG on Today at 07:43:17 PMHe is the best QB on the list this year, whatever that means.

With all his work with youngsters, his QB camp, his presence on MNF, and everything else, he is well-liked all around, he gets in.

He's also top 12 all-time in every major statical category, was an iron man with an impressive conservative game streak, 4x Pro Bowler, 2x Super Bowl MVP, and Walter Payton Man of the Year.  His accolades are far superior to most of his competition in this years HoF class.   He has two negatives: his W/L record and lack of All Pro. The former is not too big of a deal as the majority of the losses came in his last three years.  In his prime, he was a fantastic QB. The lack of All Pro nods will be harder to argue.  Given the weak class this year, I think he gets in. 

I expect him to get into the HOF whether on a first or subsequent ballot although it seems that the former has somehow been made into an even greater honor than the latter. In any case, I suppose it could depend on how much weight voters give to Eli's 2 Super Bowl MVP wins over the GOAT including over a once nearly undefeated Patriots team, as compared to his otherwise mediocre Regular season career. Que sera sera is okay with me.

Cheers!

Mike Francesa's case for why Eli should be in:

Starts at 18:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sXKGKrDCRQ

I would not vote for him to get in, but I know he eventually will.

I think he will get in eventually, but unlikely first ballot as much as I would like that. (I hope I am wrong)

We all know the defense was a huge part of the reason we won Superbowl 42, and a lot of Eli detractors will point to that as to why Eli isn't great.  The Giants defense was insane in 07!  What a thing to watch, especially as a fan of defense.  I love to see defense make plays a lot more than offense so I was just loving that whole season.  That was actually the season that I started watching football full time in my early 20s.  Anyway...

This is a team sport.  The defense did their job and put the Giants in position to win.  They gave Eli and the offense the chance to make the plays they needed to and win. And they took it.  Eli broke a sack and put the ball where it needed to be, including the where only Tyree could get it.  That pass to Burress for the TD was decisive and beautiful. The fact is, Eli lead his offense on a drive to win the biggest game there is.  He won when it mattered.  He took advantage of the opportunity, just like any great would.

In 11, I do not recall the defense being as good as 07, but I am probably wrong there.  They did hold the Pats to 17 points.  But again, as Eli was known for he leads his offense on a last minute game winning drive.  Sure, there were some dropped passes on the Pats next drive, but I attribute those things to the defense.  With enough constant pressure, and danger they cause mistakes.

Eli was cool, collected and unflinching.  Put him in the dirt and he gets up and keeps going.  He was Iron Man.  He won when it mattered.  He took the opportunities given and the Giants won two SBs because of it.  He was clutch.  There are better statistical QBs that can't say the same.  And if this is a team sport, he played his part better than a lot.  That is why I think he deserves to be in the HoF.

Well, since this is essentially a repeat of a prior thread 'Eli Manning eligible for the HoF' I'll just repeat essentially what I said there:

For me it goes beyond the 2 SB MVPs, it is the 2 last minute game winning drives.  Some discount the 2 MVPs and 2 SB wins because Jim Plunkett has 2 SB wins including an MVP, and didn't get in, but there's really little comparison.  In xv Plunkett had an excellent game but the game was a blow-out, not so much because he was so good but because Jaworski was so bad, with 3 INTs.  His other SB win was also a blowout, but it was because Marcus Allen ran for 191 yards and the opposing QB threw 2 INTs.  In Eli's 2 MVPs he really was the 'indispensible' man, which really wasn't the case with Plunkett.  The defense was great in both games, but without those 2 heroic game winning drives they'd have had nothing.

Much has also been made of the fact that Eli was basically a .500 regular season QB.  But if we look a little deeper, it is really due to a Tale of Two Teams.  Team 1, starting in his first full year as a starter until the year after the 2nd SB he never had a season below .500 and had a record of 77-51, a 60% winning rate.  In Team 2, which is the rest of his career, his record was 39-60, with only one winning season.  But I'd argue that that wasn't an Eli problem, it was a Giants' problem, as he was still putting up pretty decent numbers in the service of a bad, bad team.  One could argue that if he'd retired after 2012 there wouldn't have even been a question about it.

So, while I'm an admitted homer, I think there is a very solid case for him getting in on the first try.