Hall of Fame voter says Eli Manning discussion was one of 'most contentious' ever among committee

Eli Manning came up abbreviated of Pro Football Hall of Fame induction connected Thursday night, and arsenic a substance of fact, helium wasn't peculiarly close.

Manning was not wrong the apical 10 of voting for this year's class, which features just 4 players: Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe.

The New York Giants fable has been a polarizing fig for the Hall of Fame, adjacent good earlier helium retired. On the 1 hand, helium was ne'er an All-Pro oregon got an MVP vote. On the different hand, he's liable for 2 of the top Super Bowl drives of each time, and helium ranks 11th each clip successful passing yards and touchdowns.

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So, erstwhile the committee met, Hall of Fame elector Gary Myers and different New York-based elector made their case, and Myers said the battles are hot.

"I've been connected the committee for 15 years. Other than the Terrell Owens speech that we had for 3 years, this was the astir contentious treatment that I've been a portion of," Myers said Friday connected ESPN New York's "DiPietro and Rothenberg." 

"I knew determination was going to beryllium immoderate anti-Eli sentiment . . . but I was truly amazed astatine the magnitude of disapproval and degrading his accomplishments that went connected successful that room."

That criticism, Myers said, was evident hypocrisy from the different voters.

"What they said, that the Giants defense won those 2 Super Bowls, but Eli was liable for lone having a .500 record. Voters wanted it some ways. They didn't privation to springiness Eli recognition for beating the Patriots doubly successful the Super Bowl and having those two-minute drives. They wanted to enactment it each connected the defense. But then, they wanted to accidental the crushed helium was 117-117 was due to the fact that of him, not due to the fact that it was a squad game," added Myers. 

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"My constituent was, you can't hold distant the recognition for the Super Bowls but enactment the blasted of the grounds connected him. . . . To marque it look similar the Giants spell into those games with a shutdown defence and that Eli was on for the ride, I thought was truly wrong."

Myers besides pointed to the information that Plaxico Burress, who caught the Super Bowl XLII winning touchdown, changeable himself successful the limb the pursuing play portion Big Blue was threatening to spell back-to-back with an 11-1 start. They mislaid successful the divisional circular that year. He besides tried to reason that the beforehand bureau decisions aboriginal successful Manning's vocation were not beneficial to the backmost astatine all.

"His vocation would've looked a batch much otherwise if helium got much enactment from his teammates, and much importantly, his beforehand office," Myers quipped.

Myers said helium compared Manning to Warren Moon and Dan Fouts, who went 102-101 and 86-84-1, respectively, with zero Super Bowl appearances (Moon ne'er adjacent made a league rubric game) and worse counting stats than Manning, mostly crossed the board, yet were inducted connected the archetypal ballot.

"His numbers are superior, and propulsion successful helium won 2 Super Bowl MVPs . . . past what are we doing here?"

It volition beryllium tougher for Manning to get successful adjacent season. The caller rules authorities that lone 5 radical tin beryllium elected per year. Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten and different ex-stars are eligible adjacent year, each portion Manning volition person to bushed retired finalists from this year, including Luke Keuchly and Adam Vinatieri.

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