The NFL Hall of Fame has come under fire recently for the exclusion of the greatest
coach in pro football history. Bill Belichick has all the credentials to get in, but can an Eli
Manning Hall of Fame case be made, since the quarterback has failed to get into
Canton for the second straight year? It really depends on how voters choose to look at
Manning’s numbers.
Eli Manning Hall Of Fame Numbers
At first glance, and from a high level, Manning appears to have the credentials to be
enshrined. He is 11th all-time in passing yards (57,023) and 11th in passing touchdowns
(366). He has more of both and a better completion percentage (60.3%) than John
Elway, Warren Moon, and Johnny Unitas, who are all in the Hall of Fame. What has to
be considered first and foremost is the number of games he’s played (236) versus the
other quarterbacks.
When looking at what each player averaged over a 17-game season, there is still a
pretty good case to be made for Peyton Manning’s younger brother. His numbers
averaged out over 17 games (completion percentage won’t change for anyone) are
4,108 yards and 26 touchdowns to 18 interceptions.
This again places him favorably ahead of the other three signal callers. Moon averaged
4,031 yards and 24 touchdowns to 19 interceptions. Elway averaged 3,740 yards and
22 touchdowns to 16 interceptions. Finally, Unitas averaged 3,242 yards and 23
touchdowns to 20 interceptions. Unitas probably needs to be excluded, given that he
played in an era when quarterbacks were first starting to air it out.
It’s also a bit disingenuous to include two quarterbacks who thrived in the 80’s to a
quarterback who played in the 2000’s. The passing games and quarterback protections
are significantly different between the two eras. In fact, Moon had to begin his career in
the Canadian Football League, due to widespread racist thinking about quarterbacks in
the NFL, so a chink of his pro football career wasn’t in the NFL.
To compare their greatness versus their peers, look at the accolades that Elway and
Moon had. Elway led the league in passing yards once, was a league MVP, and three
time AP All-Pro. Moon led the league in passing yards twice and touchdowns once.
Manning never led the league in yards or touchdowns, never won a league MVP, and
never made an AP All-Pro team. He led the league in interceptions thrown three times.
Should Eli Manning Be In The Hall Of Fame
The short answer is no. Manning is not an all-time great quarterback, despite the career
totals. He is an all-time good quarterback, and while keeping Belichick out on his first
ballot makes the Hall of Fame a bit of a laughing stock, it’s still taken seriously enough
not to let players in who were just good.
He did win two Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVP awards, and nobody is trying to
take those achievements from him. He also sported a career record of .500 as a starter,
which doesn’t help his case. There’s a chance he could get in based on name recognition or because of the two rings, but he doesn’t belong there. Admitting Manning into the Hall of Fame would open the floodgates for every average-at-best player in history to plead their case as well.
