Kurt Warner has spoken: Eli Manning is not a lock for the Hall of Fame, despite many in the media suggesting the Giants' quarterback has punched his ticket following his second championship win in Super Bowl XLVI.
"I fully disagree with that," Warner, an NFL Network analyst and one-time Super Bowl champion, said Tuesday on Arizona Sports 620-AM in Phoenix. "You know, because I know we put a lot of weight on championships, and rightfully so. But championships are won as a team, and I'm fully convinced of that. You never see one guy -- a great player, great quarterback -- carry a team through the playoffs and into a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl that way. I've never seen it. You know, even in that game (Super Bowl XLVI), it's 21-17. That's the game. There wasn't a quarterback just up and down the field carrying the team. Yeah, he made the plays down the stretch -- no question about it. He's had two great playoff runs -- or his team has had two great playoff runs. But I also look at the rest of his career.
"I mean, he has an 82 quarterback rating throughout his career," Warner continues. "You know, he's had five of his eight seasons where he has thrown 16 interceptions or more. His completion percentage on his career is 58 percent. To me, those aren't Hall of Fame numbers, and by that, I mean every time you step on the field you're a game changer, you're a difference maker. And I don't believe Eli Manning has been that guy until this year. ...
"Now, if he plays the same way he played this year, the rest of his career, and you give him five more years, and then add the two championships, then I think we have reason to debate, and he's probably going to be in the Hall of Fame in that position."
Warner even went on to address the absurd notion from some experts that Eli has surpassed older brother Peyton as the greater Manning quarterback.
"I just can't fathom that in regards to what they've accomplished in their whole careers, the type of quarterbacks they've been their entire careers," Warner said. "I don't even think it's close between Peyton and Eli."
Let's think about this: There's one retired quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls who isn't in the Hall of Fame, and that's Jim Plunkett, who won two titles with the Raiders and was the MVP of Super Bowl XV. So, clearly, a second title from Eli isn't an automatic Hall pass to Canton.
Now ask yourself: What, in the eyes of voters, has kept Plunkett from the Hall despite two titles and a Super Bowl MVP? Answer: They must feel he lacks the overall career credentials that warrant his entry. Using Plunkett as our sample and considering what Warner just laid out for us, it's pretty clear that Eli still has work to do.
But what say you?
