By SAM MAXWELL
Staff Writer
It has been widely accepted that Peyton Manning is better than his younger brother Eli at being a quarterback. Ever since Eli came into the league as the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers, (who then traded him to the New York Giants), it was common knowledge that he would be nothing compared to his older brother.
By the time Eli had come into the league in 2004, Peyton had already been voted MVP of the league once, been to four pro bowls, voted first team all conference twice, led the league in passing yards twice, led the league in touchdown passes once, and brought a woeful Indianapolis Colts team to the playoffs in four seasons.
His continued success, coupled with Eli’s early struggles, made Peyton the class of the family. Now that Peyton has been cleared to resume playing, it poses the question of which Manning would you want to have, right now?
In my opinion, it is not even a question- the answer is Eli. Peyton has been the class of not just the family, but also the NFL, for more than a decade. He will be a first ballot hall of famer, and anybody who does not think that is frankly just stupid. He made the Indianapolis Colts the franchise that they are, and this season we saw just how valuable he is based on the Colts 2-14 record.
With that being said, if Eli wins on Sunday, he will have one more superbowl victory that Peyton. I have always been skeptical of Eli. I did not think that he deserved all of the media attention he gets because if he did not have the last name of Manning, he would be more of a Philip Rivers- a good quarterback that we do not analyze after every game.
However, this season he has proved me wrong, and has shown me that he can be an elite quarterback in this league. This post-season, he beat Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and played just about the best game a quarterback can play in the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, in terrible conditions.
I think that Eli has a lot of Peyton in him, and he will only improve as he gets older. It was always thought that Peyton would go down in history as the better of the two brothers. But Eli has already made it to as many superbowls as Peyton, has a better playoff record than Peyton, and has younger weapons around him than Peyton (assuming Peyton stats in Indianapolis).
Peyton is coming off of neck surgery, and while he has been cleared to play, he is 35 years old. Even with the rules in the NFL favoring quarterback safety, he will not be able to play at a high level past 40.
If I am starting a NFL franchise, and I have to pick between the two brothers, I am picking Eli mainly because he is younger, and he is just coming into his own as an elite quarterback.
Think of it as a mountain- Eli is three quarters of the way up the ascent, while Peyton is sprinting down the other side. Eli is not too far behind where Peyton was at this stage of his career, and in the 4th quarter I would argue that Eli is a better quarterback.
I also think the most ironic part about all of this is if the Giants win the superbowl, both of Eli’s superbowl victories will have come against Tom Brady, Peyton’s biggest rival.
However, the bottom line is both brothers will one day be in the hall of fame, and no team would complain about having either of them.
