With Daniel Jones excelling last Sunday in his debut as the New York Giants starting quarterback, it likely cements – if there was any doubt – that Eli Manning’s days a the organization’s starter have ended.

And they’ve mostly been proud days. Manning has never been the best QB in the league, but he’s probably gone back-and-forth between the second- and third-tier at times, excelling, of course, twice on postseason runs that ended up with New York upsetting New England to win two of its Lombardi trophies.

The question, then, becomes does Eli follow in brother Peyton’s footsteps and try to find another team to hook up with at the end of his career for one or two more runs at postseason glory? Or does he decide that 16 seasons is enough. And, if he chooses the latter, will we be hearing from him again in five or 10 years as he prepares for a speech in Canton?

He’s a little bit of a tough one to assess. Does he have the counting stats? Perhaps. If he retired now, he’d do so as the seventh-ranked QB all-time in passing yardage, though barring injury, Philip Rivers likely will pass him up this season.

That’s impressive, though perhaps slightly less so when you factor in the direction the league has gone during his time in it. I’m 44-years-old and, of the top 12 all-time passing yardage leaders, only one (Fran Tarkenton, number 12 all-time) played a majority of his career before I was consciously watching the game. So, to some degree, he owes his spot toward the top of this list to a pass-heavy era.

Passing touchdowns? Same situation. He’s eighth, with Aaron Rodgers breathing down his neck. But, again, only Tarkenton remains in the top 10 on this list for QBs who were before I started watching – a random time frame, for sure, but one chosen primarily due to that roughly coinciding with the time in which the league started building its rules around a more passing-friendly game. These lists are now populated less, in my opinions, by all-time greats and more by solid-to-really-good players who, in some cases, are more beneficiary of the era than all-timers.

So, his status is a bit up in the air with respect to counting stats. How about postseason honors? Well, the strongest argument on his behalf is the two big prizes. He led to Super Bowl championship winners and that is a major accomplishment, no doubt. But look no further than Jim Plunkett to see that being at the helm for two Super Bowl wins doesn’t guarantee your place in the Hall of Fame.

While I like Plunkett’s Oakland reclamation story, I think his omission from the Hall is just. He simply didn’t put up enough results even during those seasons, not to mention during the rest of his career, to get in. His case rests solely on the Super Bowl wins. Eli’s case is stronger than that. But is it strong enough?

Let’s start with Pro Bowls. This one shocked me a bit. Having been in the league 16 seasons during an era when Pro Bowl berths are handed out like candy, I thought he’d have racked up a bunch. But … four. Not bad, but certainly not standout.

What about first-team AP All Pro Awards. Hmm. None. This is a big red flag for me. One regularly talked about factor in determining someone’s Hall of Fame status is whether or not the player was, for any period of time, considered to be the best or among the best in the league at his position. This rather light 4/0 resume is light. No first-team AP awards isn’t necessarily a disqualifier. Troy Aikman didn’t have any and he got in. But he had six Pro Bowls and led three Super Bowl winning teams, so, even with lesser counting stats, he’s arguably got a better case than Eli.

Then you have some random stats and talking points that have come up. Despite two Super Bowl winning teams, his overall W/L record is a pedestrian 116-116. His postseason record is 8-4, but his postseason record outside the Super Bowl runs is 0-4.

And if coming up big in clutch moments outside the postseason counts for much, look at this gem NFL Research came up with last week. This isn’t a major factor in my eyes, but it is an interesting nugget.

So, what, if anything, does he have going for his Hall case beyond the two Super Bowl rings?

I heard someone on sports talk radio talking in the days following Eli’s benching that he deserved to get in based on how well he has handled being the face of the organization in the tough market of New York. I’ll grant him “solid guy” points for that, but … is handling a tough crowd and media presence with relative class really something voters are going to factor to whether or not a guy belongs in Canton? I have my doubts, but … maybe.

What else? Though the first impression he made spurning the Chargers when he was initially drafted there, he has generally conducted himself quite well, counting among his awards a 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year.

And … he is a Manning. Peyton, Eli and father Archie have become one of football’s first families. They seem like relatively likeable people and, in this day and age, maybe that should matter some. I suspect it will matter a fair amount.

Conclusion? I’ve set up a poll to see what the consensus is on Eli’s candidacy. Personally, I think his overall body of work falls short of what it SHOULD take to get into the Hall. I will respect the opinion of – but disagree with – the camp who will say he should be in solely on the two Super Bowls alone. But I will say this: He won’t be a first-ballot guy, but as much as I think he belongs in the Hall of Very Good, I think the intangible factors of his rings, his family, his solid good guy makeup and his presence in the league’s largest market will, ultimately, get him in, whether I believe he should be or not.

Is Eli Manning a Hall of Famer?

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