On April 24, 2004, the landscape of the NFL changed completely. Because of this famous draft, entire franchises changed their foundation. With the first pick, the San Diego Chargers selected Ole Miss product and younger brother of Peyton, Eli Manning. With the fourth pick in the draft, the New York Giants selected NC State product Phillip Rivers. Apparently disillusioned with the pick, Eli Manning was traded just minutes after being drafted. Giants GM Ernie Accorsi traded Rivers to the Chargers for Manning, as well as three picks (in which the Chargers drafted Kicker Nate Kaeding, Linebacker Shawne Merriman, and the other was traded to TB for Offensive Lineman Roman Oben). Ten years later, the glaring question still remains… Which team got the better end of the deal?

In terms of pure statistics, Manning’s completion percentage is lower, his passer rating is lower and he has thrown many more interceptions than Rivers. Rivers has been much more consistent throughout his career and had a significantly better season than Manning in 2013. But, we are not just judging statistics. As the great Vince Lombardi said, “winning is everything.”

Rivers is a good, maybe great, quarterback. Is it his fault that the Chargers have been nothing special the past few seasons? Probably not. However, his teams are 4-5 in the playoffs and that his passer rating dips from 95.6 to 79.2 in those nine games. In the playoffs, Manning has a record of 8-3, numerous fourth-quarter comebacks, the all-time record for most passing yards in a single postseason (1219 yards in 2011), a passer rating of 89, and, most notably, 2 Super Bowl MVP’s.

This is what separates Manning from Rivers. Manning’s knack for clutch plays allows him to thrive in big games, while Rivers crumbles under pressure. Rivers does have the edge numbers-wise during the regular season, but he does not have the postseason prowess or the championships that Manning has. It seems like Manning rises during the playoffs and Rivers sinks. Although the Chargers received other important pieces in the deal with the draft picks they acquired, it did not lead to rings. In a league where winning is everything, there is one stat that matters: since 2004 when these quarterbacks were drafted, the Giants have two Super Bowl victories, and the Chargers have none. Therefore, the Giants got the better end of the deal.

The post Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers: A Decade Later first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

The NFL Draft is coming along with its annual hope and anticipation that it brings for every team and their fan base. But I don’t talk about any team as far as I am concerned I talk about THE team, The New York Giants. It was ten years ago where I was there to witness the New York Giants draft the best quarterback in team history, Eli Manning.

Now recently it has been reported that Eli is having surgery on his ankle and it goes to show that maybe one day he could be injured or maybe he won’t be the lifetime QB for the Giants. Should the Giants look for his eventual replacement or at least a plan B if the NFL’s active iron man does not continue the streak? Is Curits Painter the person you are confident in? (lol. Sorry I had to laugh at that one) Do you think they can develop Ryan Nassib? Or is that person not on the roster yet?

I ask you to not worry about what has not happened yet. We have no reason to believe that Eli will not be starting week 1 and every game next season. That assumption should be a big part of his legacy, which is what I want to explore/ celebrate because it is going on ten years of Eli, consistently showing up.

Eli Manning still to this day is as polarizing as he was back then when he was refusing to go to San Diego and seemed to just want to be a New York Giant from the start. He was not scared of the spotlight of New York and the scrutiny that he knows he would have to face. Eli has a quiet confidence, being a leader with his actions showing his teammates to not get too high or low with moments/mistakes on the field because focus and a full game’s effort is needed for a win, just follow him there.

Eli is the New York Giants all-time leader in all the passing stats that matter along with the major stat being Most Super bowl MVPs by a Giant. Along with the being the NFL’s active iron man at 162 starts and counting.

As great as all these accomplishments are, still Eli is not respected in the league like he should be (granted it is hard to make this argument after last year, it was just a bad year overall for the whole team). Eli was drafted with a solid QB class when 4 were taken in the first round (Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, J. P. Losman) and 3 are still in the league with Pro Bowl appearances while 2 have multiple Super Bowl wins (Eli, Ben) and Eli is the only one that has a Super Bowl MVP actually 2.

Even with this obvious evidence, what QB is better when you watch shows on any sports network such as ESPN it seems like the consensus is that Rivers and Roethlisberger are head and shoulders better. Now I admit with Big Ben there should be a comparison that is close but Eli has not had the off field baggage that Ben has had and lets be honest Ben was horrible in his first Super Bowl win.

Edge: Eli

Phillip Rivers was technically drafted by the Giants but was immediately traded to the Chargers for Eli (Giants also gave up the draft picks that ended up being Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding) and I would still take that trade all day since it meant 2 Super Bowl wins and counting for the Giants. Now this comparison is the one that frustrates me because I do not understand how Rivers always seems to get the edge over Eli when critics are talking even though there is nothing that backs that stance up other than some stats but stats can be manipulated. So I will try to state my argument.

They say Rivers is more accurate from stats I have seen its like 63 percent to Eli’s 58. Is that a huge difference and lets be honest how many of Rivers throws were to Tomilson, Sproles, and Gates over the years. If most of his throws were to those guys how long was he actually throwing the ball down the field? Eli takes chances we know that so his percentage will be lower and he passes mainly go to WRs that are down the field. I will use this poker analogy you can’t win what you don’t put in the middle.

Eli pushes everything into the middle sometimes it pays off 2 Super bowls and sometimes it doesn’t but he is trying. Rivers 0 Super bowl appearances and how many times were the Chargers the favorites to comes out of the AFC or at least in the top 3 since Rivers has been there. When the Giants won the Super bowls were they even favored to win the NFC East?

Edge: Eli (I don’t care what the stats say I am using the eye test)

This argument just gets me mad so I cut it short but any Rivers fans you are welcome to find me and debate me on twitter.

The point of this article is this, we as New York Giants Fans are lucky, Eli is our QB. Whether he is frustrating you by throwing an INT or he orchestrating another 4^th quarter comeback, you know he will be playing and trying his best to win the game. That is all we can ask from him because I can careless about his stats there is only one thing that matters, who is getting the W.

Are there better QB’s in the league, of course there is, I can’t really argue that point. But Eli wanted to be a QB for the New York Giants from the start and hopefully all the way to the end. In that time span I know what I get from Eli (risk taker, winner, and will always show up), and I know what I won’t get (off field issues, me first player, and taking off plays).

This season seems to be shaping up for Eli to show the critics why he was the 1 overall pick ten years ago and that day ten years ago will be celebrated by me because I am not looking forward to the day that Eli stops showing up.

The post Elite and Reliable first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

12 months ago, Eli Manning was one of the most disliked quarterbacks in the NFL. Nobody disliked him more than his own Big Blue fans. It’s well known across all sports that New York is one of the hardest places to play. No player is under more media scrutiny and more fan pressure than a New York athlete. But 12 months ago, Eli had already won a Super Bowl against the undefeated New England Patriots and Giants fans still wouldn’t give the guy a break.

3 years earlier, Eli Manning played the greatest game of his life. A year after watching his beloved brother win his first Super Bowl with the Colts, poor Eli was up against the undefeated Patriots. Everyone thought this would be a blood bath. People were planning on a repeat of Super Bowl XXXV, where the Giants were shellacked by the Baltimore Ravens 34-7.
Eli looked like Phil Simms during that post-season. He was accurate, decisive, explosive. In that Super Bowl, Eli went 19 for 34 and threw 2 touchdowns and a pick. All of a sudden, there’s a lot of #10 jerseys walking around New York. A lot of Giants fans were saying things like “I didn’t think he had it in him” or “he sold his soul for that Super Bowl ring”. Everyone seemed content to pat Eli on the back and tussle his hair. Way to go kid.

But why wasn’t he basking in the glory his brother had enjoyed the previous year? Why was the conversation still all about Peyton, Tom and Drew? Eli Manning had just won a Super Bowl, so why was he still hocking watches like the guys on 42nd street while the Holy Trinity were out there on Gatorade commercials or selling underwear or luxury cars?
Eli is a mouth-breather. He has vacant eyes. He always looks lost, dumfounded and confused. He’s got the personality of a wet rag. But he’s got two rings. When he threw a fuss about being drafted by the Chargers and got himself traded to the Giants, I know a ton of Giants fans that were unhappy about that. “If it weren’t for his brother, or if it weren’t for his dad…” “Who does he think he is?” A year after he won his first Super Bowl, it was a fluke of genius – that for the post season he played completely out of character for himself. Two years after he won his first Super Bowl, it’s “he’ll never be like that again.” Three years later, when he was getting all of his passes deflected for interceptions, “he’s a bum!”

Now? “Oh, Eli Manning! He’s the best playoff quarterback of the last 5 years!” I love asking Giants fans about Eli Manning nowadays. You can almost see the crow feathers. Whenever I ask a Giants fan about Eli, there’s always a smirk, like they’re thinking about all of those disparaging things that have been said about poor old Eli over the years. Eli’s only real problem is his inconsistency. He shines in the post season, but his irregular play through 16 games can prevent him from getting there, where can he can silence his naysayers. Even if they’re the ones wearing his jersey.

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