Former Saints quarterback Archie Manning was on ESPN tonight during the Saints-Titans Monday Night Football game, giving a sideline interview about his home town of New Orleans. Manning, of course, is the father of Giants quarterback Eli Manning and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, and after Archie was done talking to Suzy Kolber, Mike Tirico said this:
"Archie getting to watch both Peyton and Eli having good seasons. Eli's stats are very similar to Peyton Manning's."
I like Tirico, but that's ridiculous. Just look at the NFL's passing stats. Peyton is averaging 40 more yards a game than Eli, has a higher completion percentage, higher yards per pass average and higher passer rating. Eli has four interceptions, Peyton one. Their stats aren't close. Peyton is much better.
And that's fine -- over the course of his career, Peyton Manning's stats dwarf those of all of his contemporaries. It's not Eli's fault that he's always compared to his incomparable older brother. But it is Tirico's fault that he would make such a crazy statement. He should know better.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-24-2007 @ 11:16PM
George B Vieto said...
Maybe Mike Tirico was just kissing up to football's "royal family".
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9-24-2007 @ 11:59PM
RitaNeedsPlasticSurgery said...
Tirico's a radio host now, he's bound by contract to say stupid stuff like that.
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9-25-2007 @ 12:48AM
LB said...
"But it is Tirico's fault that he would make such a crazy statement. He should know better."
Well I guess he should be suspended from ESPN. lol They talk live for about 3 hours they are going to make mistakes. It is a live show.
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9-25-2007 @ 6:54AM
Say what! said...
while Tirico's slip on the Manning comparison is no big deal, it's getting increasingly more difficult to watch the buffoonery that's come to be known as MNF on ESPN.
I mnever thoguth I'd say this, but it brings back fonder memories of Howard ...
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9-25-2007 @ 8:31AM
SportsRumblings said...
He's not the only one. During the Redskins-Giants game either Joe Buck or Troy Aikman said Eli was playing as well as Peyton. I nearly crapped myself when I heard that.
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9-25-2007 @ 11:00AM
JG said...
A better comparison would be whether Eli is playing as well as Peyton at this stage of his career. I think the stats would be quite close. Also, a QB is only as good as his 0-line and supporting cast. If you put Peyton on the Giants he would not have the same stats.
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9-25-2007 @ 1:20PM
fanfor55years said...
For goodness sake, who cares? Eli is not yet (and may never be) in the same class as Peyton and Tom Brady. They are the standard for the modern NFL quarterback and are both sure Hall of Famers. But he's darn good and getting better, and if the commentators got a bit ahead of themselves it's strictly based on enthusiasm and a desire to build up a few more stars in the league. By the way, questioning Troy Aikman's assessment of quarterbacks is a little presumptuous, don't you think? Concussions or not, he's a great analyst and one of the best QBs to ever play. Anyway, it's nice to see debates about whether Eli is as good as his brother rather than the idiot-fests in the blogosphere that questioned whether he was even good enough to play in the NFL. You know who you are...where are all the admissions that you don't know squat about football?
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9-25-2007 @ 3:16PM
jrwone87 said...
they are sorta similiar... you forgot to add that Eli has 1 more touchdown than peyton along with the 3 more interceptions ( 2 of his 4 interceptions arent his fault b/c of tipped balls at the line and Plaxico slipping and falling) only a 15% difference in qb rating... and look at the teams the giants have faced compared to the colts Giants played Dallas, Green Bay, Washington all good defenses... Indy played New Orleans, Tennessee, and Houston Mediocre at best defenses
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9-25-2007 @ 5:50PM
john said...
Lets just leave it at...Archie was old school pretty good qb.....Peyton is a great qb....Eli can be a good qb.....and Tirico cannot be Mike and Mike and Mike in the morning.....he couldn't wash Greeny's jock.....no stats needed here!
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