NFL Network reports that former Giants QB Phil "Simms told NFL Network on Wednesday the legacies of Giants coach Tom Coughlin and QB Eli Manning will land them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — if they win Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday."
But why? Jim Plunkett won two SBs and he didn't make the Hall. Tom Flores won two Super Bowls as a head coach and he didn't make the Hall. (Of course, my friends who are Raiders fans will claim that there's an anti-Oakland bias.) Joe Theisman and Craig Morton each made it to two SBs (albeit with only one win between them) and neither of them made it to the Hall.
Until this season, Eli's stats were pretty average for a starting QB. Damingly, he's thrown the most INTs of any QB in the years since he entered the league. He's got no MVP trophies and only 2 Pro Bowls.
Assuming they all stay healthy, Eli will be coming up for Hall consideraton in a period in which a lot of amazing QBs will be eligible. From Peyton and Brady at the older end of the spectrum to Rodgers and Roethlisberger at the younger, with guys like Drew Brees in the middle, there will be a lot of QBs with much gaudier stats (not to mention more charisma and zing) competing for Hall slots.
The only strong argument I see for Eli is that, assuming he gets his second win this weekend, he will be the only QB to have twice beaten Brady and Belichick--the greatest coach/QB combination of my time watching pro football--in the Super Bowl. (Yes, I'd put Brady/Belichick ahead of Montana/Walsh, but I can see why you might disagree.)
But I still think Eli will need to flesh out his resume with a third SB win or a few 5000 yards/MVP seasons to make it to the Hall.
