Eli Manning fell short of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday night, and in fact, he wasn’t particularly close to making the cut. Manning did not rank among the top 10 in voting for this year’s class, which includes only four players: Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Antonio Gates, and Sterling Sharpe.
The New York Giants icon has been a divisive figure in Hall of Fame discussions, even before his retirement. On one hand, he never achieved All-Pro status or received an MVP vote. On the other hand, he orchestrated two of the most memorable Super Bowl drives in history and ranks 11th all-time in both passing yards and touchdowns.
During the committee’s deliberations, Hall of Fame voter Gary Myers, along with another voter from New York, presented their arguments. Myers noted that the discussions were particularly heated. “I’ve been on the committee for 15 years. Other than the Terrell Owens debate that lasted three years, this was the most contentious discussion I’ve participated in,” Myers stated on ESPN New York’s “DiPietro and Rothenberg.” He acknowledged the presence of anti-Eli sentiment but was taken aback by the level of criticism aimed at his achievements.
Myers pointed out what he perceived as hypocrisy among the voters. “They argued that the Giants’ defense was responsible for those two Super Bowl victories, yet blamed Eli for his .500 record. Voters wanted to have it both ways. They refused to credit Eli for defeating the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl and executing those crucial two-minute drives, instead attributing it all to the defense. Yet, they also claimed his 117-117 record was solely his fault, ignoring the team aspect of the game,” he explained.
He emphasized that it was unfair to dismiss Eli’s contributions to the Super Bowl wins while holding him accountable for the team’s overall record. Myers also referenced the incident involving Plaxico Burress, who caught the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII but faced legal troubles the following season, which impacted the team’s performance. He argued that the front office’s decisions later in Manning’s career did not support him adequately.
“Myers compared Manning’s career to that of Warren Moon and Dan Fouts, who had records of 102-101 and 86-84-1, respectively, without any Super Bowl appearances, and generally inferior statistics compared to Manning. Both were inducted on the first ballot. ‘His numbers are superior, and he won two Super Bowl MVPs. So what are we doing here?’
