On its face, it might feel like a “no shit” pop in of argument.
He has 2 super bowl MVPs from wins against the best dynasty in football history and decent bulk stats.
That alone, at least to me, means that he isgoingto make it.
Lets break down if heshould, though.
To me, I think it’s crucial that you look at a few factors:
1.
How they stacked up vs the other players at their position in their respective era.
So let’s look at those games.
As of today, they are were thesecond highest scoring offense in NFL historywith36.8 points a game.
How much did they score on the Giants?Fourteen.
Brady, who had been sacked 21 times all year, was sacked 5 times.
They were averaging 116 rushing yards a game and ended with 45.
Eli escaping that sack was incredible but the catch by Tyree was nothing short of a miracle.
So, looking at this game, do I view it as Eli’s doing?
They are the ones that slayed the dragon.
Once again, the Patriots were amonsteron offense.
They had 5 pro-bowlers and 3 All-pros just on that side of the ball.
They scored34.8 points per gamemaking them the 6th highest scoring offense in NFL history.
How many points do they score on the Giants?Seventeen.
The Giants defenseagainput up one of the most clutch defensive performances in NFL history.
As far as other achievements go, there isn’t much.
No regular season NFL records of note.
Never lead the league in anything but interceptions (which he did three times).
He’s outside the top-10 in passing yards and TDs.
Just not a ton there relative to a HOF conversation.
Eli is just a weird case.
He was consistently solid, always available and had two really good runs into historic super bowls.
However, was he ever a top-20 player in the NFL?
Was he ever a top-10 offensive player in the NFL?
Was he ever, in any year, really considered a top-5 QB in the NFL?
Again, Eli isgoingto make it.
And, at the end of the day, he quarterbacked the team that slayed the dragon.
That’s something basically every non-patriots fan can get behind.
I went into writing this blog willing to sway myself in either direction.
But does him being in the hall diminish the honor?
Not really, so why do I care.
