Is it Time to Stop Calling Eli Elite?
We all know the old saying, you can’t spell elite without Eli, but is Eli Manning actually an elite quarterback? Was he ever really an elite quarterback? We’re talking about a likely first ballot hall of fame quarterback due to his cumulative numbers, clutch play, and two super bowl rings, but is Eli truly one of the best of this generation? Let’s take a look at how Eli stacks up against other truly elite quarterbacks over the course of his career.
With another 3 interception performance on Thursday night against the Eagles, Eli now has 16 interceptions this season. This marks the 7th time in his career he has had at least 16 interceptions in a single season, and he now has 215 career interceptions in 200 career games. He also now has 101 turnovers in the last 5 seasons, which leads the NFL. Can a quarterback truly be elite and lead the NFL in turnovers over a 5 year span? Maybe that's the primary reason the Giants haven't made the playoffs since 2011.
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
How do other elite quarterbacks stack up when it comes to turnovers? In Aaron Rodgers 9 years as a starting quarterback, he has thrown 71 interceptions, only having more than 8 in a single season twice in his career. Eli by comparison has never had less than 10 in a full season, and was only under 14 once. Eli has also matched Rodgers 71 interceptions over the past 9 season with 71 interceptions of his own over the last 4 seasons and 151 over his last 9 seasons.
Tom Brady, arguably the best quarterback of all time, has never had more than 14 interceptions in a single season. In 35 more games over the course of his career, he has thrown 63 less interceptions than Eli. Looking at the same time frame as the Eli vs Rodgers comparison, Tom Brady has thrown 66 interceptions over the past 9 years. Now, 9 years ago was when Brady missed the entire season with a torn ACL, so taking his previous full season before that, he has thrown 74 interceptions over his last 9 full seasons. Brady and Rodgers are both elite, and are very comparable in turnovers, while Eli turns the ball over more than twice as often as both.
Okay, you must be thinking, yes we know Brady and Rodgers are the two best and are obviously better than Eli, but if you want to call yourself elite you have to compare to the elite, don’t you? Eli has only made the playoffs 5 times in his 12 seasons in the league. Rodgers has made the playoffs every season since missing in his first as a starter, and Tom Brady has only missed once as well, in his 2nd year as a starter. If comparing to Rodgers and Brady is unfair, let’s take a look at how Eli stacks up against his fellow 2004 draft quarterbacks Big Ben and Phillip Rivers, long considered two of the best in the game as well.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Eli was put into a starting role midway through his first season and has been the model of durability since then. Ben has had some injury issues during his career often missing two or three games in a season, and Rivers did not start until year three. This gives Eli and edge in games played over each.
Eli has played 200 games, has 320 touchdowns, 215 interceptions, 79 fumbles, 48,038 yards, a 59.7 completion percentage, and 83.7 QB rating
Big Ben has played 184 games, has 298 touchdowns, 158 interceptions, 58 fumbles, 46,535 yards, a 64.1 completion percentage, and 94.0 QB rating
Rivers has played 174 games, has 310 touchdowns, 153 interceptions, 62 fumbles, 45,242 yards, a 64.6 completion percentage, and 95.0 QB rating
By these standard quarterback measures, Ben and Rivers rank better across the board than Eli. They both throw touchdowns at a higher rate, turn if over at a much lower rate, complete a much higher percentage of their passes, and have a higher QB rating because of that. Ben also has the two super bowl rings to match Eli in that category. Rivers has never had much playoff success, which will always result in him being considered the 3rd best of the three, even though his play has been on par with Ben and better than Eli over the course of their careers.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
When it is all said and done, Eli will be in the hall of fame. He has two super bowl rings and that is ultimately what quarterbacks are judged by for better or worse. He beat Tom Brady twice in the super bowl which will be his ticket to Canton, whether his regular season numbers say he should be there or not. Over the course of his career, his numbers obviously say he does not belong in the same conversation as the truly elite quarterbacks in Rodgers and Brady, and he does not even compare favorably to his own draft class who are two of the next best after Rodgers and Brady. Eli is a turnover machine who has put up impressive counting stats in yards and touchdowns largely because of his durability and longevity, which in and of themselves are two very good qualities in a quarterback. Is he elite? Only if you completely discount regular season play, in which case Joe Flacco must be elite as well.
What do you think? Is Eli Elite? Can you make the argument that Eli is elite without considering Joe Flacco elite? If you can, comment and let us know! Stay tuned for more current sports stories. Don't forget to follow us on social media. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram @beyondthemetrics, and Twitter @byondthemetrics.
