Today we tackle the question that has been asked since the beginning of time; Is Eli Manning an elite quarterback? Maybe not since the beginning of time, but this question has been lingering ever since Eli won his first Super Bowl, against the heavily favored Brady-Belichick Patriots that went 16-0 and were at the peak of their dynasty. Today I present the argument, that while Eli Manning may have been elite at one point in his career, his career was going down the drain until a certain Odell Beckham Jr. showed up and saved the day. We start off by looking at the number of passing touchdowns Eli Manning has thrown over his 13 years in the NFL. I'm disregarding his first year in the NFL because he did not start the whole season and he was still becoming accustomed to the NFL life. From 2005 to 2008, he stayed in the low twenties and then started to improve until he hit his peak in 2010 with 31 touchdowns. The next two years began a slow decline that rapidly accelerated in 2013 where he threw 18 touchdowns and 27 picks. Rough. A 7-9 record got them the 12th pick where they selected Odell Beckham Jr. the prolific wide receiver from the Louisiana State University. The next year, Eli Manning threw for 30 touchdowns which Giants fans could have only hoped for after a horrible season for Manning. In a performance that earned Offensive Rookie of the Year, Odell Beckham Jr. caught 91 balls 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in only 12 games, a ridiculous average of 108.8 yards per game. To put this in perspective, if he had played 16 games and kept up his pace he would have caught 1,740 yards, putting him 7th all time for receiving yards in a season, as a rookie. Those 12 touchdowns are the difference between Eli's 18 touchdowns and 30 the next year. Eli did even better the next year with Beckham putting up more yards and one more touchdown. In 2016, Manning did see a decline but I feel like that's more age creeping on him than Odell playing poorly. Now to my favorite statistic, quarterback passer rating (QBR). Invalidating his rookie year, Eli Manning hit his career low in 2013 the year before Beckham Jr. joined the team. The QBR generally follows the same trend as the touchdowns, staying even, bumping up at 2010, dropping hard in 2013 and bouncing back harder with the presence of Odell Beckham Jr. Eli had a career high in QBR in 2015 where Beckham Jr. played in 15 games, missing one game from a suspension. Eli Manning's passing yardage stats probably reflect the dominance of Odell Beckham Jr. the least, possibly because of the increase of pass attempts Manning took. In 2013, he threw the ball 557 times compared to 479 times in 2008. Still, a noticeably difference of about 600 yards showed from 2013 to 2014 and stayed in that region in 2015. In conclusion, Eli Manning better have Odell's back every time someone questions his maturity or temper tantrums. He better be there every time a reporter asks him if he thinks Odell Beckham lacks maturity and vehemently defend him at every jab someone send his way. I'm not trying to sound like a Beckham bandwagon fan, but it's impossible to not notice the way Eli Manning's numbers have drastically shot up following the appearance of Mr. Odell Beckham Jr.
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The Falcons' draft class from a year ago was one of the integral parts of their Super Bowl defense. Rookies like Deion Jones, Keanu Neal, Austin Hooper, and Jalen Collins were impact players every week in Dan Quinn's defense and Kyle Shanahan's offense. The Buccaneers drafted Vernon Hargreaves, who played adequately, Noah Spence, a sloid second round pick, and Roberto Aguayo who managed to turn around a kicking slump early in the season. New Orleans' first pick Sheldon Rankins spent most of the season injured but their second round pick with Michael Thomas was a definite steal and may have been in contention for Offensive Rookie of the Year if not for the heroics of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Vernon Butler was a disappointing first round pick for Carolina but their second pick in James Bradberry helped sure up the secondary with the departure of Josh Norman. Which brings us to the NFC South's 2017 NFL draft grades. NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons earned a B- because while they did address their need for a defensive end with Takkarist McKinley, they avoided addressing guard or defensive tackle. They trade away a lot of their picks one of the reasons they only have six picks. They did take Harlow in the third round and they may plug him into guard. They did have the chance to take Dion Dawkins out of Temple but traded down with Buffalo. I didn't really see a reason for their last two picks, a running back where they already have Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman in the backfield and a tight end when they have Austin Hooper coming off of his first year. I think they did a good job making sure that pass rush was a priority and taking some pressure off of Vic Beasley Jr. by adding another talented high motor pass rusher in Takkarist McKinley. Overall, they dfeinitely could have addressed some positions of need a lot better but it wasn't a bad draft.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned themselves an A- because while they did not address their defensive line the way I think they should have they quite possibly got the best value for their position in almost every position. There was no way O.J. Howard was supposed to slip that far. They got a tremendous safety with Justin Evans in the middle of the second round. Godwin is a very talented receiver. McNichols adds a new dimension to a running attack with a troubled Doug Martin and Charles Sims. I think a defensive end would have been a nice addition but they went for value and not need and I think ti worked out for them.
The New Orleans Saints earned an A- because of finding excellent value especially in the third round but did not achieve an A or an A+ because they could not address wide receiver. Their first pick was a perfect situation where the best player available also happened to be their biggest position of need. They were trying to get Reuben Foster with the 32nd pick but the 49ers swooped in and took him before they could. That pick could have dramatically changed the Saints defense for sure. Instead they take a solid tackle as Zach Strief isn't getting any younger. Williams, Kamara, and Anzalone are all hits and play a role in the Saints season. I'm not sure what they plan to do with Kamara with Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson already in the backfield. I suspect that they will wait until they see enough of Kamara and then trade Ingram. After the trade of Brandin Cooks to the Patriots, they need another No. 3 receiver, already having Willie Snead IV and the talented second year player Michael Thomas. Overall, their middle round picks is what I think really solidifies this draft class.
The Panthers earned an A- for building around Cam Newton and giving him more weapons. While I love McCaffrey, I wonder if that eight pick could have been on a defensive line that has an aging Charles Johnson and traded Kony Ealy for barely anything. They did take Hall and Armah to improve that defensive line and hopefully they can prove to be impact makers. With their first two picks they took two similar players in that they are both very versatile and are offensive weapons. They could have addressed offensive line earlier but I like the picks of Samuel and McCaffrey. My only fear for McCaffrey and Samuel is that Mike Schula may not be creative enough to use both to their full potential in that Panthers offense.
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