Answer: Eli Manning Belongs In The Hall Of Fame And It Shouldn't Even Be A Debate At This Point

So KenJac posed this question this morning since we find out tonight who is in the Hall of Fame class. One of the finalists? Our beloved Eli Manning. A two-time Super Bowl MVP. An ironman who played arguably the toughest position in all of sports. A man who belongs to be in the Hall of Fame. 

KenJac isn't the first nor the last person to pose the question. In fact there are plenty of people out there who scream at the top of their lungs if he had a different last name it wouldn't be a debate. Slight problem: no matter what his last name is, he'd still have those 2 Super Bowl MVP's and everything that came along with his career. Here's my problem with KenJac's argument though.

He completely undersold what Eli did in the playoffs and in the run to the two Super Bowls. The game he had against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game is still one of the greatest games I've seen a quarterback play. Not because of stats, but because Eli got his shit kicked in every single play and still delivered. 

Threw it 58 times because they didn't have another option that game and won. Game before that? 330 and 3 touchdowns. Game after that, one of the single greatest throws in Super Bowl history: 

Great catch, absolutely. But that throw is perfect. Look, if it wasn't a loaded Hall of Fame class with these new rules about voting, it would be even less of a debate this morning: 

Back to that 2011 run real quick - Eli still holds the NFL record for most passing yards in a single postseason. He had the most completions and pass attempts during that run too. That run alone could make him a Hall of Famer. I know the argument is 1) the defense carried them! Yeah, the defense was good but do we also get rid of losses when people yell he was 117-117 when Eli showed up? No. 2) He was never the best QB in the league. Fine, sure. That's not a Hall of Fame requirement or there'd be no one in. 

The fact is he has two Super Bowl MVPs, the history and longevity. No one - even us who love Eli more than anything - would argue he was the top QB in the league or should have been MVP. But Hall of Fame is different. He's for sure that. You don't do what he did in 2007 and 2011 and not make it. He lived up to the hype of being the No. 1 pick (thanks, Chargers/Archie) and won. 

Gold jacket.