Since the question in the thread title specifies this season, then that eliminates Peyton Manning. In my opinion the best quarterbacks this year were Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady; who was next? I think you would have to go with Eli Manning.
So now the question is how you define the term elite, and everybody is going to have a different set of standards for that one. Do you put Eli in with those first three, or put him at the top of the list of the next tier? Do you base your reasoning on only the regular season so that everybody is on an equal playing field (same number of games), or do you include the playoffs?
I think the reason that Eli is not usually mentioned with the others is that they want to see him put together a couple of really good seasons back to back. His first three years as a starter he was average, throwing almost as many interceptions as touchdowns.
In 2008 he took a big step forward, getting his completion percentage over 60% for the first time, cutting his interceptions in half, getting his TD/Int ratio up to 2:1 for the first time, and getting his quarterback rating over 80 for the first time - but the Giants lost in the first round of the playoffs when he went 15/29 for only 169 yards with 0 TD and 2 picks.
In 2009 Eli took another step forward, throwing for 4000 yards for the first time, getting his QB rating over 90 for the first time, and his yards per attempt jumped over a full yard to 7.9 while maintaining a 2:1 TD/Int ratio - but the Giants missed the playoffs. It's not fair, but quarterbacks get too much credit for wins, and too much blame for losses.
In 2010 Eli definitely took a step back, leading the league in interceptions for the second time. Even though the Giants went 10-6 they missed the playoffs again. I think this season really hurt Eli's perception in the minds of many fans.
However this year Eli took a giant step forward, averaging over 300 yards per game, a QB rating of 92.9, a TD/Int ratio close to 2:1 again, and his yards per pass attempt jumped up to 8.4. Add the playoffs - three wins, with 8 TD and only one interception - and there's no question at all that he's had a fantastic season.
A win in two weeks and everyone will be talking about the 'big four' rather than the current 'big three' when it comes to quarterbacks next year and beyond. But he can still join that group if he has a good game even if the Giants loss, and/or follows up with another very good year in 2012. I think the only reason he's not typically included in that group is because he has yet to show he can maintain that high level of performance consistently.
