Eli Manning got here up wanting Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame induction on Thursday night time, and as a matter of reality, he wasn’t notably shut.
Manning was not inside the highest 10 of voting for this yr’s class, which options simply 4 gamers: Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe.
The New York Giants legend has been a polarizing determine for the Corridor of Fame, even properly earlier than he retired. On the one hand, he was by no means an All-Professional or obtained an MVP vote. Then again, he is answerable for two of the best Tremendous Bowl drives of all time, and he ranks eleventh all time in passing yards and touchdowns.
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Giants quarterback Eli Manning warms up because the New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, September 8, 2013. (Ron Jenkins/Fort Price Star-Telegram/Tribune Information Service by way of Getty Photographs)
So, when the committee met, Corridor of Fame voter Gary Myers and one other New York-based voter made their case, and Myers stated the battles are sizzling.
“I have been on the committee for 15 years. Aside from the Terrell Owens dialog that we had for 3 years, this was probably the most contentious dialogue that I have been part of,” Myers stated Friday on ESPN New York’s “DiPietro and Rothenberg.”
“I knew there was going to be some anti-Eli sentiment . . . however I used to be actually shocked on the quantity of criticism and degrading his accomplishments that went on in that room.”
That criticism, Myers stated, was obvious hypocrisy from the opposite voters.
“What they stated, that the Giants protection received these two Tremendous Bowls, however Eli was answerable for solely having a .500 document. Voters needed it each methods. They did not need to give Eli credit score for beating the Patriots twice within the Tremendous Bowl and having these two-minute drives. They needed to place all of it on the protection. However then, they needed to say the explanation he was 117-117 was due to him, not as a result of it was a crew sport,” added Myers.
Eli Manning after being named MVP after Tremendous Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, February 5, 2012. (IMAGN)
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“My level was, you possibly can’t wait away the credit score for the Tremendous Bowls however put the blame of the document on him. . . . To make it seem to be the Giants go into these video games with a shutdown protection and that Eli was alongside for the experience, I believed was actually fallacious.”
Myers additionally pointed to the truth that Plaxico Burress, who caught the Tremendous Bowl XLII profitable landing, shot himself within the leg the next season whereas Massive Blue was threatening to go back-to-back with an 11-1 begin. They misplaced within the divisional spherical that yr. He additionally tried to argue that the entrance workplace selections later in Manning’s profession weren’t useful to the quarterback in any respect.
“His profession would’ve appeared much more in another way if he obtained extra assist from his teammates, and extra importantly, his entrance workplace,” Myers quipped.
Myers stated he in contrast Manning to Warren Moon and Dan Fouts, who went 102-101 and 86-84-1, respectively, with zero Tremendous Bowl appearances (Moon by no means even made a convention title sport) and worse counting stats than Manning, principally throughout the board, but had been inducted on the primary poll.
“His numbers are superior, and throw in he received two Tremendous Bowl MVPs . . . then what are we doing right here?”
Tremendous Bowl LIX might be streamed on Tubi. (Tubi)
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Will probably be more durable for Manning to get in subsequent season. The brand new guidelines state that solely 5 individuals will be elected per yr. Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten and different ex-stars are eligible subsequent yr, all whereas Manning must beat out finalists from this yr, together with Luke Keuchly and Adam Vinatieri.
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