I was extremely impressed with how Eli handled the victory last night. Not once did I hear the word "I" in describing any play, person or coach except when he said "I have been blessed to be a part of this group of players and coaches". Not only is he the best playing QB in the league right now, he's the humblest... Makes you want to root for him... How good Archie and Olivia must feel about their adult kids...
You cant spell Elite without ELI. Ive been saying it since last year. his stats do not accurately reflect what he brings to the table for the NYG. That OL is a disaster and the back 7 defensively is talented but doesnt always perform. He and that DL carries that team
Eli is funny, he clearly is close to his brother but does not want to make it seem like he's his brothers' puppy so to speak to the point he was on ESPN radio today and of course they asked him about Peyton he started to say "he's helped me a lot" then switched it to "oh, he's been great" because he wants to take some credit (and he should) but he also thinks his Bro helped out but doesn't want to gush about it.
Not intending to derail this thread, but I offered this question in a thread prior to the Super Bowl and now that the game is over... Who is the BETTER quarterback, Eli or Peyton? Don't get me wrong, both are GREAT quarterbacks. Peyton may have the stats, but Eli has the Championships.
Why? Both have been to the Super Bowl twice... Eli- 2 Super Bowl rings Peyton- One Seems to me one has a 100% winning record at the dance where the other doesn't
A little off topic but I do wonder if Phillip Rivers is sitting at home thinking it should be him in NY winning those rings. I'm not saying he would of got them if he went to NY but he strikes me as the kind of guy that would be consumed by the green eyed monster.
Currently its obviously Eli but if your asking based on thier overall body of work its premature to answer it. Eli still has a lot of football to go before you can compare him to his brother.
Having watched every game of Eli's pro career he has evolved in to a great QB after a shaky first two years. He still will never be in Peyton's class. At Peyton's peak, Peyton was the Colts. The evidence is in part in this year. Eli has never had that kind of pressure. The last few years they have had a dynamic front 4 to help ease the burden. Eli has always had Bradshaw and Jacobs and for a couple of years from 07-09 maybe the best run blocking OL in the NFL. Peyton's never really had a defense he could rely on or a run game that could carry him on an off day. Hell, Peyton's never been afforded the luxury of being able to have an off day and have his team still win. Ive watched Eli play terrible and the NYG still won. Even at the peak for Freeney and Mathis they were not as good or as deep as Strahan-Tuck-Osi or JPP-Tuck-Osi-Kiwanuka. Overall the NYG have given Eli a much better supporting cast in my opinion than the Colts ever gave Peyton. I would much rather have Ernie Accorsi (who did most of the leg work for the 2007-08 team) and Jerry Reese then Bill Polian (at least at this stage of his career, his Colts body of work is not great imo).
That is true Shula, but like Elway, Peyton got his Super Bowl towards the twilight of his career where Eli still has a lot of football still left in him due to him being the younger brother...AND already has 2 Super Bowl championships Just saying
I would not base my conclusion soley on SB rings but I understand your point. As of right now I would say over Peyton's career he has played more consistently and at a higher level then Eli. I would also say that Eli is continuing to grow as a QB and has the benefit of being raised by Archie (as did Peyton) and also has his big brothers ear. I would not be surprised to learn that Eli has avoided many pitfalls of being a QB by taking the advice of his brother on how to run a huddle, lead an organization, read defenses, handle the media pressure, etc..... My personal opinion is that Eli benefits from those things mentioned above, as well as being on a better team, and his overall career will reflect that. He will be an improved version of Peyton but if you could go back in time and replace Peyton with Eli on the Colts I think they would of had very similar careers numbers wise. JMO
IMO Eli is a great example of what I've been preaching is important in a QB. Eli throughout his career has shown an ability to make the play when things go wrong. That is what separates the elite QBs from the kind that can just put up stats. All the stat guys have been pointing at Eli and saying he's not elite and won't ever be based on INTs or some other statistical criteria. Those guys want to wait until after the QB has produced for years to then say, "okay, he's good now". That's not QB evaluation. You have to look at what he can do and project what he will become. That's why I find all those posts saying, "Flynn has only done it for two games" as idiotic. You might as well just say, "I can't evaluate a QB". I have been in favor of adding Flynn even before this season b/c when I watched him in the one game and in preseason, I saw an ability to make plays when things broke down. Yes, he also put up stats b/c he was good in a timing offense and had good players around him, but IMO that's the easy part. You have to look for the QBs that can do the hard part (like Eli) to find the guys that give you the best chance to win a SB.
Peyton will go down as arguably one of the greatest QBs of all time. Eli will not, he is a great QB, but not on the level as Peyton, Marino, Montana, Brady, etc.
Not so fast. He is already guaranteed to be a HOF QB with his 2 SB wins. He is 31. If he wins another he has to be in the discussion. Funny thing is I was listening to some sports radio show this morning, and one of the guys brought up the question about Brady being possibly overrated. They were debating on whether he is in Montana's class. Four years ago EVERYONE thought he was on par with Montana as one of the greatest. Now after losing 2 in a row, these questions come up. The best part is that the radio hosts were even saying that Brady cant win a SB by himself. Its not his fault that they lost the 2 SBs. You need a 53 man roster to win a SB, etc, etc, etc. So now Brady is getting the Marino defense? Marino fans have ALWAYS said that when arguing their point in discussion of the all time greatest QBs.
If his career ended today sure, but I don't see how you can know what Eli will accomplish over the remaining 7 years or so he may have left.
