"You guys talk about Eli Manning like he's an absolute bum" - ESPN analyst shares bold take on Eli Manning-Ben Roethlisberger debate
Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement on Thursday morning, thus eliminating the last of the 2004 draft class quarterbacks from the NFL. With Roethlisberger joining draftmates Philip Rivers and Eli Manning in retirement, analysts have been debating who had the better career between Manning and Big Ben, both with two Super Bowl wins.
The debate made it to First Take, and Dan Orlovsky came to the aid of the former New York Giants quarterback after everyone else took Roethlisberger's side. Orlovsky felt that his co-hosts were undermining Eli Manning.
"You guys are talking about Eli Manning like he's an absolute bum," Orlovsky said.
You can watch the complete segment in the video below:
Eli Manning led the league in INTs three times compared to Ben Roethlisberger's zero
Stephen A. Smith and Damien Woody both argued that Ben Roethlisberger had a far better career than Eli did. While both quarterbacks won two Super Bowls, Roethlisberger and the Steelers appeared in three compared to Manning and the Giants' two. Moreover, Roethlisberger has appeared in the postseason more often than Manning.
Big Ben played in the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons with a 13-10 record. Eli Manning only made the postseason six times in 16 seasons, but he has an impressive 8-4 record. However, as Orlovsky pointed out on the show, you simply can't judge a quarterback's greatness on how many times they made the playoffs. Manning played in two Super Bowls, but he beat the best dynasty, the New England Patriots, and the GOAT, Tom Brady, in both of them. The Giants even ended the Patriots' perfect season as a Wild Card team.
To further support his point, Orlovsky pointed out Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" defense. Roethlisberger had the top defense on four occasions and a top-ten defense throughout most of his career.
"You talk about a level of consistency," Orlovsky said. "That dude [Manning] is top 10 in passing yards and passing touchdowns over the course of his career. That is the walking definition of consistency. And then you compare the ability... or not going to the playoffs. Big Ben in his career had a defense that was not in the top 10. Twice."
"He had the number one defense in football six times," Orlovsky continued. "He had the number two defense in football three times. He had a top five defense five times... We have to stop talking about quarterbacks and going, well, they went to the playoffs this amount of times, or they were in the playoffs, or they won this many games. It is a team sport. A quarterback is dependent on the pieces that are around him. He had a top 10 defense every time but twice."
While all of this is true, you cannot take away the fact that Eli Manning also led the league in interceptions three times. The last few years of his career were something he would likely want to sweep under the rug.
Ben Roethlisberger vs. Eli Manning - who had the better career? on.sny.tv/DnWfw0y https://t.co/MlHXfoiaC5
Dan Orlovsky called Eli Manning the "walking definition of consistency" since he is a top-ten quarterback in passing yards and touchdowns. But he could be knocked out of the top-ten in the near future since he's ninth in passing yards (57,023) but has Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford closing in. He's already 10th in passing touchdowns (366), and Stafford can surpass him in two seasons. Manning also happens to have thrown the 12th-most interceptions (244). By the definition of consistency, Big Ben is more the face of it. He's never had a losing season and has had consistently good stats each year.
Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger are both Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and you can argue on both sides of the debate. But while Manning was drafted first overall, Big Ben had a more successful career as the 11th pick.
The top 3 QBs from the 04 NFL Draft are now retired: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers & Roethlisberger.
Worth revisiting that draft: Giants were going to take Ben if they couldn't trade for Eli. Rivers would've been a Steeler.
How different the NFL would be...
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Also Checkout: Eli Manning super bowl wins