Can we stop with this already? We're not even 72 hours removed from him hoisting the Lombardi Trophy (again). Can we just embrace what we just saw and let it soak in? We've become such a rapid-reaction society with the whole digital media and nonstop, around-the-clock sports coverage that this has gotten out of hand.
I've tolerated the Eli HOF talk over the last few days, but I haven't been totally comfortable with it. At the beginning of the season, many Giants fans were ready to throw this guy to the dogs. His 2010 season was pretty ugly. He threw 25 interceptions, granted many of them were not on him. There were a painful amount of drops and tips by his own receivers (no, seriously, there were a lot).
Don't get me wrong, I love Eli Manning. I've always supported him and he's handled himself extraordinarily well in the toughest media market on the planet.
At the start of this past season, a reporter asked him if he was in Tom Brady's class and an "elite" quarterback. I didn't believe he was at the time, but he said he was. He was put in a no-win situation, so what do you expect him to do? I'd rather him say he was than to say he wasn't a good quarterback. He went out and backed up his words with the best season of his career and threw for nearly 5,000 yards and was flawless in the postseason in route to a second Super Bowl MVP.
I posed the question to a few of my Pittsburgh buddies last night about Ben Roethlisberger. I don't remember the whole world immediately saying he was a HOF QB after his second Super Bowl win, but according to them, it was there. One said: "nobody is a HOF'er midcareer. that's like watching half a movie & saying it's picture of the year." I couldn't have said it better myself. I mean, Eli's just turned 31 last month....he's got at least five or six years ahead of him.
In a story released today, Kurt Warner, a HOF in my book, said Eli isn't a HOF'er....yet. He said he needs a few more years like 2011 to be considered, which I can't argue with.
But why is this even a discussion right now? Can we all sit here and enjoy what we just saw? Why is winning a Super Bowl not enough right now? It's a monumental accomplishment that every Giants fan should be embracing and making the most of. Can Eli be a HOF'er? Sure, and I think Sunday's win helps build a very strong foundation. I just think we're all doing ourselves a disservice to the Super Bowl win to already start talking about Canton.
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