E-lied Manning

[BossHog]

Go Redskins! We did the best with what we had and it turned out to be a great draft. Cooley is the perfect fit for Gibbs system. After selecting Sean Taylor, I thought we would end up with a guy like Casey Creamer in the later rounds. Hey, we may get Creamer afterall as an undrafted CFA! Why did we draft OTs as suppose to Gs? Why didn't we use Gardner as trade bait to aquire more picks? It seemed like BAL was desperate for a WR by the time they were on the clock. Having a second rounder could've opened possibility of drafting FSU DL Darnell Dockett. I couldn't help but notice My favorite QB in the draft going to GB. Yes, Scott McBrien. He will be the successor to Favre so keep an eye on him. I watched the first day of the draft with my Cowboy-lovin' brother-in-law. It felt good to see how stressed out he was with DAL not taking Stephen Jackson in the first round. I was initially disappointed that PHI didn't do something to counter Jackson being available when DAL was on the clock. But revealed afterwards, DAL was aiming to draft Shawn Andrews, who was picked by PHI a few picks before. What a competitive division so far, huh? As for NYG. I hope Eli Manning is thrown to the dogs and starts this year. How dare a rookie try to dictate who he plays for? Maybe, at first, Peyton felt as if being drafted by IND was going to doom his career but, does he feel that way now? I won't be the mean person I normally am and say I hope Eli is a complete bust. But, I have to root for Philip Rivers having a better rookie season than Manning. You must remember though, Manning was drafted by SD and thus the curse will follow... like a Leaf in the Brees.

[spanishomelette]

Wow, you addressed a lot of topics there. I'd say now that Gardner is definitely somebody they want to be on the team. And they might not be too sure about McCants and Jacobs yet.

Are you saying that the SD QB curse has now been transferred to the gints?

[BossHog]

Yes. It is written that any QB drafted first overall by SD will not be sucessful in the NFL. Technically, this year, Manning was that QB and he'll regret it dearly.

[sportscurmudgeon]

BossHog:

Actually, Ryan Leaf was not drafted first by SD. He was drafted second - behind Eli Manning's big brother.

[hogwatcher]

Looks like Ellie is going to start (and get thrown to the dogs) this year.

http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/NYG/7285670

[Daseal]

I think Gardner will have more trade value next year if we decide that Jacobs and McCants can fill the void that would be left. I'm not sure if McCants can fit the possession receiver type mold. Neither can Gardner really, but he has the ability to! I doubt Baltimore would have given us a 2nd for Gardner alone, although the WR heavy draft got depleted a bit earlier than I expected, I'm not sure if Baltimore would have given us the pick. Maybe under new ownership, but I know the old owner hates Snyder.

If we had their second we would have had a lot of options, and I would have tried to trade a bit higher, maybe with Kansas City and pick up Ben Troupe. Who on a lot of draft boards was ranked second.

How dare you say that a person should be forced to play somewhere he doesn't want to. The family told San Diego that they would prefer it if they didn't draft him. The Chargers are the one's guilty for making it public knowledge. I'd like to hope that when I get a job, I have a little say over where I work. If you don't want to move to Iran for a job, you don't take the job. Simple as that, and that's what Manning tried to do. I can't blame him for it. The family has problems with the ownership and coaching staff in San Diego, and I see no problem with wanting to play somewhere with a future. I seriously doubt Elway would of had a hall of fame career in New England (Elway was the last 1st pick QB to refuse and he was also the last 1st pick QB to take his team to the playoffs.)

Peyton's situation was vastly different. First of all, Indy had a lot more than just LT. They had a brand new owner with dreams of revamping the Colts to their former glory, which I think he's made huge strides at doing, and they knew there would be a lot of changes in the coming. I don't see San Diego making many changes, they don't seem to want to win. LT is a great player, but until they start spending some cash for an offensive line and some defense, they're in trouble. They let team leaders and veterans such as Junior Seau leave without any real type of backup in store.

All in all, put yourself in Mannings shoes. He knows that whoever drafts him will probably keep him there for eternity. Do you want to go to a team that won't spend money to give you help? I don't think so. Do you consider Bo Jackson a whiney little bitch because he didn't want to be drafted by (forget the team) so sat out a year and became a 7th round pick for the Raiders? Think Barry Sanders was a whiney little bitch because he wanted to be traded (to the Redskins I should add, but would have gone anywhere but Detroit) because his owner refused to give him any help, so he just retired. I think it's juust absurd how everyone attacks players for wanting some say over their career path. I think in the long run Eli will be better off with the Giants, just like Elway was better off with the Broncos!

[redwagonskins]

Here in San Diego, there are some great conspiracy theories going around. The best one is that the Mannings just didn't want to negotiate a deal before the draft with SD (much like KWII) and SD got worried. Two years ago they passed on Vick and in order to cover their asses from the fans, they RELEASED this information. NOW, the fans HATE Manning and Rivers can do no wrong. They got the guy they wanted and covered themselves should he go Ryan Leaf on them.

[SmootSmack]

Daseal, why do you keep bringing up Elway and New England? It was the Colts he refused to play for.

Regardless, my beef with Eli is that he's disrepecting the system. A system that has, in fact, helped make the league what it is today and thus will get Eli a pretty nice chunk of change. YOu get drafted, you become a free agent later and then get to choose the team of your liking. You might as well just do away with the draft if we just let every college player pick where they want to play.

[Daseal]

You're right, it was the colts. Sorry, not sure why I had NE stuck in my head.

The fact of the matter is, Franchise QBs have a hard time getting out of deals, and often get very large rookie contracts. I think he should have a say in where he goes. It's not like he said I want to go to X, he just said I don't want to go to San Diego.

[itvnetop]

although his career was shortened, troy aikman didn't complain when he was drafted by the 'boys... nobody can convice me that team had more upside when he was drafted than the chargers do now. weren't they 1-15 his first year? regardless of "tradition", they were in worse shape than SD is. Aikman didn't complain in the face of a bad offensive line. eventually, jerry shaped the team from that point on. David Carr went to a freakin expansion team and went on to get the most sacks in L history. He didn't complain. This is football- and the worst team in the league should get who they want, or who they deem will help them the most. Not the other way around where the best college player deems who he wants to play for. You earn your right in the league when you've played up to your capabilities and, like smootsmack said, you become a free agent.

I don't care if it seems the SD front office is "nonchalant" about making the team better- as a draftee, you would probably have less insight into the future plans of any front office in the NFL. You just have rumors and people telling you what the word about that team is. You look at many of the teams that are successful now- Tampa, St. Louis, Indy... they've all been at the bottom of the league at one point or another. Nobody has had a worse reputation for lackadaisical management than the Bengals (not even the Chargers) and yet they seem to be turning things around. And let's be honest- there was no guarantee that Marvin Lewis was going to turn things around in a city where NO one secretly wanted to play. Yet Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer didn't seem to have a problem being drafted number 1 by a team that is synonymous with mediocrity. What separates Eli from any of these guys? Is he that much better than Palmer, Aikman, and Carr that he has the right to bitch and moan about staying away from SD? The word "draft" is defined within itself... you're not suppose to have any choice in the matter whatsoever. If everyone coming out of college football would have the opportunity to hold out if they didn't want to play somewhere, what's the point of the draft in the first place?

I just am of the opinion that it's not really dictating what job you want to do- by being a draft entry, you are deciding what profession you want to play for yourself and that's football. Using the "regular" job analogy, most people are in jobs they applied for and whether or not they enjoy them it was their choice to apply. As such, if the company headquarters tells you that you need to transfer to california headquarters you either listen or you get fired. Once Eli entered the NFL draft, it's no longer his decision where he gets to play... it ain't like the NFL is telling him he has to learn soccer in Brazil. He's gonna go to a particular city, get paid millions, and live a life of luxury. And yet he complains about getting drafted by a team he deems unacceptable? Hey Eli, Pat Tillman is an example of honor. He should be grateful for what's on his plate.

[redwagonskins]

by the way, as someone who currently lives in SD, it's not too bad a place especially if you've got money. I guess if you don't like sunny, 70 degrees, beautiful beach, beautiful girls (some of my buddies have some questions about Eli concerning that...) and relatively no pressure then SD is not the place for you. Can't wait for Eli to pull a Couch and CRy after the NY media crucifies him for his 7 for 25, 107 yard, 0 TD, 2 pick performance against the skins!

[sportscurmudgeon]

redwagonskins:

San Diego is a GREAT place to live - and if you want to live in the burbs, you can do a whole lot worse than La Jolla!!

Somehow, Eli felt that it was better to live in East Rutherford or Piscataway. There's no accounting for taste!

But then again, this guy just finished living 4 years in Oxford Mississippi!!

[redwagonskins]

True dat! I've lived in SD and Mississippi and let me tell you, if I don't fly over MS I'll be happy.

[Daseal]

No doubt San Diego is a great city to live in, but he's looking to build a career.

[skinsfanthru&thru]

don't they say a qb's best friend is a good running game? if that's the case, which running back would u rather have in your backfield, mr. butterfingers barber or arguably the best running back in the league LaDainian Tomlinson?