I have long had the same theory as
@Ice_Ice_Brady in regards to merit of a player getting into the Hall of Fame. When considering a player for HoF I compare him to his peers, not guys who played in previous eras. Looking at all-time career leader rankings is useless. By that measure Vinny Testaverde and Kerry Collins should be in the HoF since they both finished their careers as top-10 quarterbacks.
In regards to two Superbowl wins, by that logic Jim Plunkett should be in and Dan Marino out. Let's look at where Eli Manning ranks among his peers.
Eli Manning Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Aside from the two rings, Eli has two things going for him: among active players he ranks 2nd in comebacks and 3rd in game winning drives. Impressive, until you look at the other side of the ledger.
Passing Yards: never led the league, no single season in the top-3. More seasons outside the top-10 than in the top-10. Puts his #8 all-time ranking in perspective.
Passing Yards per Game: 12th among active players. Best was #5 in 2011.
Yards per Pass Attempt: 17th among active players. Only one top-5 season (4th in 2011).
Passer Rating: 23rd among active players. Only one top-ten finish, 7th in 2011. Yikes!
Pass Completion%: Eli ranks just 21st among active players. His career completion percentage is below 60% - a number worthy of being benched, not enshrined in Canton.
Passing TD: While it is true he is 3rd among active QBs, that has more to do with longevity. than anything else. He has only had two top-five seasons.
Passing TD%: The seven top-10 finishes looks good, but he has also had six seasons outside the top 10. He was never better than 5th, and is only 9th among active players.
Interceptions: Led the league in picks not once, not twice, but
three times! Overall he is 2nd all-time among active players. This more than offsets his current ranking of career TDs.
Pass Interception%: To add more context to the above stat, Eli ranks an abysmal 25th among active players in this category.
Won-Loss: To be fair NFL football is the ultimate team game, but is a .542 record as starter Hall-worthy? Also the two SB runs are offset by four one-and-dones.
Unfortunately all the facts won't matter. He benefits both the hype machine of being in the NFL Royal Family as well as playing in NYC. He'll be voted in to Canton, undeservedly so, quite possibly in his first year of eligibility.