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Eli Manning is overrated



I honestly do not understand what all the talk is about. Yes, Eli Manning helped led the Giants to an impressive 10 consecutive road game wins (including the defeat of the then undefeated New England Patriots). However, Eli's performance in the Super Bowl hardily warranted the Super Bowl MVP. He completed 19 of 34 passes for 255 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int., and a QB rating of 87.3. Let's compare Eli with Tom Brady's two Super Bowl MVP:

2003: Tom Brady was 32 of 48, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 Int, and a QB rating of 100.5

2001: Tom Brady was 16 of 27, 145 yards, 1 TD, 0 Int, and QB rating of 86.2 (it's fair to note in 2001 this was Tom Brady's first year as starter in the NFL - he was drafted in 2000).

So what? Big deal you might be saying that Tom Brady arguably the best QB in the league or in NFL history had better MVP numbers than Eli. Before you jump onto the Eli bandwagon and rave how great a QB he is please look at the stats:

In 2007, Eli threw 20 intercepts to 23 TDs tied in the league for highest with Jon Kita and Carson Palmer. In the regular season he was ranked 25th in passer rating between Vince Young and terrible Kyle Boller (Yes, I'm a die hard Raven's fan). He completed 56.1% of his passes, which is 4.2% lower than Trent Green (60.3%) who only played 5 games in 2007.

I will tip my hat to Eli on the last five games of the year he had an expressive streak: ten touchdowns against two interceptions and averaged a QB rating of over 100. This however does not warrant the level of Eli hype the media, the dirty Giant fans, and the bandwagon fans have boasted after the Super Bowl.

I give credit to the Giant's defense for winning the Super Bowl and not Eli's "MVP" performance. The Patriots were held to a total of 274 offensive yards and 14 points. This was a team during the regular season averaged 411.2 offensive yards (1st in the NFL), 295 pass yards a game (1st in the NFL), and 36.8 points a game (1st in the NFL). Giant's D sacked Brady 5 times. The D was successful at containing Moss (5 catches , 62 yards , 1 TD) and Maroney (rushed for 36 yards).

Too much of the Super Bowl coverage was on Eli Manning; due to the fact that he is Payton's younger brother. I'm predicting that Eli will follow in the foot steps of those QBs, such as Trent Dilfer (12/25- 153 yards- 1 TD- in Super Bowl XXXV), Ben Roethlisberger (9/21- 123 yards- 3 INTs- in Super Bowl XL), Brad Johnson, and Kurt Warner, who won the Super Bowl due to their outstanding defense, and then almost immediately returned to mediocre players.

Lil Dunn's 2008 NFL prediction: Don't be surprised to see Eli throw between 14-18 interceptions with a QB rating no higher than 78.5. Do not draft Eli in your fantasy football on grounds of his stellar performance on the last 5 games. Or on the hope that he's finally figured out the how to read defenses after 3 straight seasons of having a QB rating no higher than 77 and failing to throw less than 17 interceptions.

I predict Eli & Co will fail to make the play-offs due to the tough NFL East Division and the resurgence of a healthy Eagles and Skins team.

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