Kurt Warner: Eli Manning's record could hurt Hall of Fame chance
Giants quarterback Eli Manning speaks with the media after checking into training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Wednesday. Credit: James Escher
Eli Manning will eventually be considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but a quarterback already in Canton believes there will be a spirited discussion about whether Manning deserves to be in.
Manning, entering his 16th NFL season, is now just two games over .500 (116-114), and that number might impact his case for enshrinement, according to former Rams, Giants and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. Is it fair to consider a quarterback’s record?
“I think quarterbacks are leaders, first and foremost, so I think the bottom line is lifting the play of other people and playing better than what your roster says, always putting your team in position, so yeah, it’s fair,” said Warner, who was 67-49, winning a regular season MVP, a Super Bowl MVP and playing in three Super Bowls. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. “I don’t think (a won-loss record) can be everything. That’s not the end-all, be-all.”
Warner said Manning will have two things going for him.
“He’s got those two things,” Warner said Thursday, pointing to the huge Super Bowl banners hanging from the Giants’ indoor training facility. Manning was the MVP of Super Bowls XLII and XLVI, when the Giants beat the Patriots both times. “Then you’re going to kind of weigh the majority of his career, where did he sit and does he elevate that equation high enough to get that gold jacket.
“When he had to play big in big moments, he did that,” Warner said of Manning. “I’m a firm believer when you talk about Canton, there’s some kind of ratio out there. There’s regular season, there’s postseason. Where do you fit into that ratio? Some guys are better in the regular season, and some guys are better in the postseason.”
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
