NFL Top 10 Series: Quarterbacks - #6

Welcome one and all to the much talked about and much anticipated (maybe not so much) debut of the NFL Top 10 Series. We’ve gone through the motions since the middle of the month of April with honorable mentions posts, which if you’re reading this post right now you have probably read through most if not all of them. So once again, thank you for the page views. It is appreciated. We are four down in this countdown and with six to go it’s time to focus in on another quarterback from the 2004 NFL Draft QB class. There’s very little to say about the player that is next, but we’re going to try and do that here. And off we go.

Quarterback #6 – Eli Manning, New York Giants

Eli Manning may never be better than his brother. That's okay though. Trust me.

So Eli Manning “proved” that he was an elite quarterback last season, after he had said before the season that he was in the same class as Tom Brady. Some joked -- actually, a lot of people joked, thinking that Manning was incapable of being anywhere near the 3-time Super Bowl winner, and 2-time league Most Valuable Player Award winner. As we approach the 2012 season, there are two things that stand out to me from those statements:

1. Eli Manning didn’t prove, at least to me, anything. He always was a very good quarterback that came under fire from all directions for so many unfair reasons it wasn’t even funny. You would think the guy has stunk for his entire career, but if you look at the raw numbers, he’s been very, very good, and deserving of this ranking for the longest time.

2. He hasn’t hit Tom Brady’s class yet. He does not belong in the same class as Brady. The two are complete opposites. Sure, Manning has outdueled Brady in now two Super Bowls, but that doesn’t make Eli the better quarterback. Don’t even start talking about how Eli might be better than Peyton (which I have heard several times this offseason) because that is absolutely, positively ludicrous.

Anyways, enough of the prefacing. Let’s talk about the man whose first name is sandwiched between the word “elite.”

(If I had a nickel for every time I heard that this past season, I wouldn’t need to be going to college anymore).

Since his arrival to New York, with controversial circumstances of course thanks to his father Archie, in 2004, Eli has been very, very good at what he does. He battled through some competition with Kurt Warner, but earned the starting job in 2005 and has not looked back. He’s posted more than 20 touchdowns each season, with his best being in 2010 when he threw for 31 touchdowns and slightly over 4,000 yards. Last year he threw for 4,933 yards, just missing the 5,000 yard mark, and threw for 29 touchdowns with only 16 interceptions, a dropoff from the 25 interceptions he threw for in 2010. His 8.4 YPA was the largest of his career thus far, as were his YPG of 308.3. He acme just 0.2 away from posting his best QB Rating, finishing with 92.9. Manning has also posted a ridiculous 25 game-winning drives and 21 fourth-quarter comebacks during his career. That of course includes his incredible 2011, where he had eight of them, including two in the playoffs, most notably in the Super Bowl.

Last season, Eli was an absolute beast under pressure. No quarterback faced more pressure than Manning last year and at the same time, no quarterback eluded as much pressure as he did. He came under fire an absurd 244 times (the next closest was 208) and only turned 28 of those dropbacks into sacks, allowing for a miniscule 11.5 sack %. Eli’s TD:INT ratio was not so spectacular though, because despite the fact that he threw seven touchdowns while facing pressure, he also threw seven interceptions. His completion percentage was fifth best in the league among those who were pressured, completing 114 of 210 attempts for a 54.3%. His QB rating under pressure was a remarkable 81.2 when he was facing disruption, so he really kept himself calm despite the fact that his offensive line turned into proverbial turnstiles.

Keeping all that in perspective, he amounted the highest grade under pressure according to Pro Football Focus with a 9.8.

The fact of the matter is, Eli Manning is and has been a very good quarterback. Last year did not surprise me as much as it did others. Sure, I didn’t expect him to do much of the things that he did, but the fact that he performed at a high level didn’t. He’s always had this in him, and he just needed to put it all together. Now I don’t think he’s better than his brother Peyton, nor do I think he will ever eclipse him no matter how many Super Bowl rings he may wear on his fingers. Peyton is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, postseason struggles or not, and this coming season he may add to those accolades.

But that’s okay. Really. Eli doesn’t need to be better than his brother or be compared to his brother. It’s going to continually happen, but it isn’t necessary. He just needs to be who he is. He needs to be Eli Manning, quarterback of the New York Giants, and continue performing at an increasingly high level with plenty of years in his career to come, and perhaps when it's all set and done, a shrine in Canton, Ohio is on its way.