A few months ago, an NFL head coach and I were discussing the 2004 quarterback draft class. I asked the coach if he thought the Giants would swap Eli Manning’s career for Philip Rivers’s. “They should,” he said, leaning back, kicking his feet up on his desk and saying in so many words that Manning has epitomized the “good but not great” quarterback. This was no surprise; the only argument for Manning over Rivers are the quarterbacks’ contrasting playoff pedigrees. When evaluating players, most coaches put a small fraction of the weight fans and media put in Super Bowl titles.
Philip Rivers Is Ready to Be Appreciated
