On the Shoulders of Giants: How Eli Manning Cemented his Legacy as the Best Manning

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By Carlos Cruz:
Peyton Manning is the best regular season quarterback in the history of the NFL. He has received numerous accolades that serve as a confirmation of this statement. Examination of Peyton Manning’s resume includes three MVP awards, 11 Pro Bowl appearances, five first team all-pro selections (cue Booker T), and a classic sketch on Saturday Night Live. Numbers that are certainly impressive on the surface, but unfortunately the NFL season is broken up into two unique components: regular season and postseason.

To say that Peyton Manning underperforms in the playoffs would be the equivalent of saying LeBron James might have some fourth quarter woes. In fact, the existence of both players proves that the history books need to be revised. Both players are imbued with Harry Houdini’s DNA (who was childless) due to their absolutely amazing ability to disappear when it matters. However, the purpose of this blog is not to completely rip the elder Manning (I could do that for about 5,000 words) but rather to focus on the accomplishments of the younger Manning.  So, what in the world has Eli Manning done in his career to be considered the best Manning? Well, that’s the 100 dollar question (coincidentally the average graduate school budget).

Does Eli Manning Belong in the Hall of Fame?

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[Ed: This is the first guest post on Do What You Do Sports. We are always interested in posting new content, so if there's anything you'd like to contribute, just drop us a line.]


by Aaron Poole:

First off, let me say that having a discussion about whether or not Eli Manning belongs in the Hall of Fame halfway through his career is absurd. It takes a lifetime of achievement to get into the Hall of Fame. With that being said, I’ll lay out why I think it’s inept to believe Eli isn’t a Hall of Fame quarterback at this point in his career.

The biggest reason why he is currently a potential Hall of Fame QB is obvious: he has won two Super Bowls against one of the most successful teams of the past decade (more of a testament to the Giants’ defense than Eli, though). Regardless of his shortcomings, winning two Super Bowls is no easy feat. 

However, two Super Bowl wins aren’t a guarantee for the Hall of Fame. Jim Plunkett has two wins but is not in the Hall of Fame. Kurt Warner and Brett Favre only have one Super Bowl win with two and one losses, respectively, and someone would get hit in the head for suggesting they won’t be in the Hall of Fame one day. Hell, Fran Tarkenton is a Hall of Famer with three Super Bowl losses, and Jim Kelly with four Super Bowl losses. Obviously, Super Bowl wins and appearances alone are only a part of the puzzle for a Hall of Fame nomination.

2012 National Signing Day

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by Scott Polacek:

Most of the time our society would probably frown upon a day that is basically dedicated to full grown adults fawning over and watching each and every move of a group of 17 to 18 year old kids. Most of the time our society would probably frown upon the idea of a day that is predicated on representatives of institutes of higher learning traveling around the nation in private jets with the sole purpose of begging high school students to follow them back to campus and play sports for their school.

Of course, national signing day is not most of the time. Not even close.

Every February, national signing day rolls around and, just like clockwork, the rabid fan bases of America’s powerhouse college football programs make it through another day of work by dreaming about their schools’ future stars taking the field and bringing ol’ State U back to glory. This year is no different.

There are a number of intriguing story lines surrounding national signing day 2012 but, as always, it all boils down to the overall class rankings (disclaimer: nobody takes the recruiting rankings at ESPN seriously – except, of course, the worldwide leader itself - so neither will I). As of signing day afternoon, the top ten classes according to Scout.com are as follows: