We debate whether or not Eli Manning belongs in Canton this soon.
The inductees into the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame will be announced on Thursday with one of the most contentious first-ballot nominees in recent history. This will be Eli Manning’s first chance to be enshrined, and the expectation is that he will likely get in.
Does Manning deserve this honor, or is this a case of him coasting on his name? Today we debate whether Eli is actually worthy of Canton.
Eli Manning belongs in the Hall of Fame — Mark Schofield
Sometimes in matters such as the one before this court, turning to precedent is instructive.
There is precedent to guide us today, that leads us to the conclusion that Eli Manning is a Hall of Fame player.
And it comes from another New York quarterback.
Joe Namath did not put up the kind of numbers you associate with the Hall of Fame, even when you factor in the era of the game that he played. Over 13 years in the game, his teams posted a 62-63-4 record. His career completion percentage barely cracked 50%, clocking in at 50.1%. He threw more interceptions (220) than touchdowns (173).
And yet, his bust is in Canton, likely to be joined by Eli Manning’s shortly.
The reason? An indelible image, seared into all of our minds, of Namath leaving the field after Super Bowl III, having led the New York Jets to a stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts. That win — one that Namath guaranteed — changed the NFL forever. It was the first Super Bowl title for an AFL team and a staggering upset given that the Jets were 19-point underdogs going into the game. Without that win, the NFL as we know it likely does not exist today, as the Jets proved that AFL teams could play with, and beat their NFL counterparts.
You cannot tell the story of the NFL without Namath.
The same could be said for Manning, whose career numbers are largely on par with Namath. Manning’s teams posted a career record of 117-117 over his 16-year career, and he posted a completion percentage of 60.3%, well above Namath’s mark. He also threw more touchdowns (366) than interceptions (244) and won a pair of Super Bowls.
Both times staring down Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Similar to how the story of the modern NFL cannot be told without Joe Namath, it can also not be told without Eli Manning. Slaying the dragon that was the Patriots twice in five years, both times as underdogs, and once in a victory that denied New England an unblemished 19-0 season, preventing the Patriots from topping the mark set by the 1972 Miami Dolphins for an undefeated season.
Precedent is instructive in this case.
And it guides us to the knowledge that in a few hours, Eli Manning will join Joe Namath in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Eli Manning does not belong in the Hall of Fame — James Dator
What are we even doing here? Let’s just be real: If Eli’s last name wasn’t “Manning,” then we wouldn’t be entertaining this discussion for a split second. Don’t get me wrong, I love Eli as a person. I think he’s a wonderful guy, and the Manningcast is more or less must-watch TV for football fans. But when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame if you need to bend over backward to justify someone’s inclusion, then they just don’t belong.
I can appreciate Mark’s narrative. I understand how momentous it was to beat peak Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl. The issue is that these were just blips on the radar. One win was defined by David Tyree’s helmet catch, and the other is barely memorable without looking up the box score. Eli was fine in both games, but he wasn’t the biggest factor in the win.
This isn’t the era of Joe Namath anymore. “The Guarantee” is a part of football history, baked into the DNA of the NFL. Eli’s “iconic” moments don’t touch this, and having the statistics of someone born during the Second World War doesn’t do much to sway me.
Not to mention the fact that during his own career Giants fans continually questioned whether he was the guy. Up-and-down play, coupled with mediocrity defined much of his career in New York, and there’s a very real case to be made that if the Giants never made the trade for Eli, keeping Philip Rivers instead, that they could have been a much better team as a result.
Eli Manning is in the Hall of very good. We can appreciate him beating the NFL’s evil empire twice without saying he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Nothing shows that he is, and that’s why he shouldn’t go into Canton on name alone.
Verdict, by JP Acosta
I’d like to thank both Counsel Schofield and Counsel Dator for their compelling arguments in the case of the younger Manning. I actually believe that there’s precedent for a guy that might not be as good as the title count next to his name getting into the Hall of Fame, and that’s Dallas Cowboys’ QB Troy Aikman. If you look at Aikman’s stats next to fellow Hall of Famer Jim Kelly and Manning, Manning has them beaten in longevity, passing yards and touchdowns. Now I’m usually not one to tear down one player to lift up another, but I think Manning’s longevity is going to get him there. In addition, as Counsel Schofield said, the Hall of Fame loves moments. The David Tyree catch was incredible, but it was Manning who broke out of that surefire sack to get the ball downfield. It was Manning who threw a dot to WR Mario Manningham for what might be the most underrated catch in Super Bowl history. Manning being the QB behind what might be two of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history is going to play really well with voters, so for that, I’m ruling in favor of Counsel Schofield. Eli Manning should be in the Hall of Fame.
