Eli(te)?

Recently Eli Manning came under fire from various circles because he considered himself an elite quarterback.  Many of those taking fire at Eli were Giants fans.  In fact, during the Giants preseason home opener against the Bears on August 22nd, there was a sign scrawled on a bedsheet that read "Eli-te? Show us!"  As many of you know I am a Giants fan and I just don't understand the hatred some Giants fans show towards Eli.  So, as any history major would do I did some research.

Many Giants fans consider Phil Simms to be the greatest Giants QB in the modern era.  Also in this category are Y.A. Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, Charlie Conerly and even Kerry Collins.  Eli Manning has a better career (during their time with the Giants) completion percentage than any of those except Kerry Collins who beats Manning by .5%.  Manning has a higher completion percentage with the Giants than Hall of Famers Tittle, Tarkenton, and Conerly.  Manning ranks second all-time in passing yardage with 22,646.  Phil Simms leads all Giants QB's with an all-time mark of 33,462.  The major difference is Simms, who was my favorite Giant growing up, had from 1979 to 1993 to amass that yardage.  Eli has amassed his numbers since 2004 when he took over the reigns from Kurt Warner.  Manning ranks third all-time in touchdowns behind Simms (199) and  Conerly (173) with 156.  Simms needed 14 years and Conerly 13 years to amass those numbers.  Eli is on pace to break Simms' record in about 2 years.  So by the end of 2012, Eli's 8th year in the league, he will have set the all-time mark for touchdowns by a Giants QB.

Eli's detractors will point out that he throws too many interceptions.  Yes, Eli has thrown 113 INT's and is thrid all-time in that category as a Giant.  However, Eli has the same interception rate as Phil Simms, 3.4%.  That puts him ahead of Norm Snead, Charlie Conerly, Y.A. Tittle, and Fran Tarkenton to name a few.  What makes that even more remarkable is Eli is second all-time in completions for a Giants QB and should surpass Simms in another 2 years.  He is also second in career attempts so Eli has thrown a helluva lot more balls than some Hall of Famers and still has a lower interception percentage.

Eli's detractors will point out Eli doesn't win football games.  Well, Eli owns a 60-43 mark as a QB.  Only Phil Simms has more wins (95-64) than Eli.  However, Eli bests Phil in career QB rating, 80.2 to 78.5.  Quarterback rating is the only place Eli doesn't shine when compared with his Giants contemporaries.

Is Eli Manning an elite quarterback?  Well, maybe he is.  He is certainly the best quarterback the Giants have ever had and is on pace to set every single record for Giants QB's.  There have only been four seasons in which a Giants quarterback has thrown for over 4,000 yards.  Eli is the only one to do it twice.  Eli is also only the second Giants QB to ever throw for 30 TD's in a season.  Y.A. Tittle did it twice.  Of the top ten all-time single season touchdown leaders, Eli makes the list five times.  Tarkenton and Tittle make the list twice and Simms just once.  Oh, and his 62.9 completion percentage from last season ranks tops all-time for a Giants QB.

Say what you want about Eli Manning.  The facts are he is arguably the best quarterback the Giants have ever had.  A case can be made for Tittle but he only played a few years for the Giants.  Sure, a case can be made for Simms but the numbers show Manning is better.  Is he elite?  Well, Giants fans shouldn't be complaining about Eli to say the least.