Guys who try to diminish the value of championships :chuckle:
Took near miracles but we can look at it.
No miracles, just the Giants hitting their peak at the post-season.
That's just a neat circle. Marino's greatness, Moon's greatness, a host of great ones aren't defined by that. Peyton we hold to a different standard, which is funny to me.
Two more guys are among the greatest...... to never win a Superbowl. Just like Kelly, Cunnigham, McNabb, Fouts and Tarkenton. They're all great players, HoF material when you consider their careers as a whole but they never raised their team to championship team status. Peyton did it once, props for that but come on, with no ring you've only proved that you played on either mediocre to bad teams or you didn't have the clutch leadership gene to put your team over the top. 3 Superbowl games and one championship is only slightly less disappointing than 4 SB appearances and no championships.
One of the reasons I love Manning is the same reason I loved (if didn't root for) the greatest qb the NFL has produced, Joe Montana. The reason is that neither of them were particularly gifted physically. Both defined their greatness by work, mental ability and unrelenting tenacity. And I'm as sure that Peyton on those Niner teams would have worn the same rings (or one more, being more durable than Joe) as I am of anything.
4 rings to 1, TH. Winning 4 Super Bowl championships isn't like winning the lottery. Winning in the playoffs doesn't come down to flukes. People have found consistent success there, like Montana, Bradshaw and Brady. They have great regular season stats as well as championships. Yes there were on good teams, but like a Michael Jordan, they inspired those teams to be better than they should have probably been. You honestly can't say the chemistry between the niner players would have been the same if Manning were at the helm. Thinking you could just change out Montana with Manning diminishes Montana's achievements.
Eli has been both cool in high pressure situations and, frankly, lucky. He's also had a really good coach and, in his ring years, some really good defense.
Yes he had great teams and a couple lucky catches go his way but the Giants still won, I wouldn't diminish their achievements just because Eli is lazy in the regular season occasionally. People don't take him as serious as they should but there it is.
That's just irrational, but I won't talk you out of it. Time will bury your opinion and leave mine standing because mine is predicated on the numbers, on the facts and not the perception generated by a persistent narrative from any number of quarters with differing interests in seeing it established.
Numbers mean nothing if they culminate in constant losing. I grew up in Tennessee and I've been a fan of the Vols all my life basically. I watched Manning's career and rooted for him constantly. I always want the best for him but that doesn't change that fact that he doesn't get the job done when it counts the most and that affects a legacy. Montana, Bradshaw, Brady are all far ahead of him in legacy when it comes to QBs. Big Ben and Eli are ahead of him too. You can't diminish wins and championships to make stats seem more important when it comes to legacy.
