Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi takes you inside 2004's Eli Manning Draft Day trade, plus read his original scouting report:
Ahead of Ernie Accorsi's 2016 Ring Of Honor induction, the former Giants general manager spoke with Giants.com about his first impressions of watching Eli Manning play at Ole Miss.
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"There were rumors that Eli was going to come out his junior year and I went down to see him against Auburn. He didn't come out, but when I wrote that report that's now gone viral, I essentially thought we could win a championship with this guy.
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"When he did come out, the fortunate thing for us is that we had that year in 2003 that put us in the fourth spot. If I wouldn't have been in the fourth spot, we wouldn't have gotten him. We would have had to go too far to get him. I would have been satisfied with [Ben] Roethlisberger. I felt very good about Roethlisberger and all our scouts did, Tom did, the Maras did, we felt real solid about Roethlisberger. They're about as close as you can get as far as what they've done, but it was just something about Eli that he was the one I wanted but I didn't really expect to get him at that point because it looked like they weren't going to trade him. They were asking for Osi Umenyiora, which we were not going to give them. So that's how the whole thing evolved because I just felt that with the quarterback, you have to reach for greatness if you have a chance.
"When I first came into the league, Johnny Unitas was the quarterback that I was involved with. So I was spoiled for life. And I also knew that as that team evolved from being world champions in the late '50s, the one that played the Giants in the sudden death game, to not quite as good a team -- although we won the Super Bowl in '70 -- his supporting cast wasn't as talented, but we always had him. What I learned is when you have a great quarterback, you always have a chance. And I always defined leadership as looking on the team bus on the road when you always have a few more butterflies than you do at home and seeing that guy and you know he's on our side and he's got a chance."
Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi's scouting report of Eli Manning back in college at Ole Miss:
Wears left knee brace… During pregame warmup, didn't look like he had a rocket arm… As game progressed, I saw excellent arm strength under pressure and the ability to get velocity on the ball on most throws. Good deep ball range. Good touch. Good vision and poise.
Sees the field… In shotgun on most plays and his only running option is a draw… his offensive line is poor. Red-shirt freshman left tackle. Eli doesn't trust his protection. Can't. No way he can take any form of a deep drop and look downfield. With no running game (10 yards rushing the first half) and no real top receivers, he's stuck with the three-step drops and waiting til the last second to see if a receiver can get free. No tight end either. No flaring back. So he's taking some big hits. Taking them well. Carried an overmatched team entirely on his shoulders. I imagine, except for Vanderbilt, his team is overmatched in every SEC game… He's big, never gets rattled. Rallied his team from a 14-3 halftime deficit basically all by himself. Led them on two successive third quarter drives to go ahead, 17-16. The first touchdown, a 40-yard streak down the left sideline, he dropped the ball over the receiver's right shoulder. Called the next touchdown pass himself, checking off to a 12-yard slant… Makes a lot of decisions on play calls at the line of scrimmage, but they ask too much of him. They don't just let him play. This is a guy you should just let play… When he's inaccurate, he's usually high, but rarely off target to either side… Plays smart and with complete confidence. Doesn't scold his teammates, but lets them know when they line up wrong or run the wrong pattern… Threw three interceptions. Two were his fault. Trying to force something both times. He could have run on one of them, a fourth down play. He has a lot to learn.
*Summary: I think he's the complete package. He's not going to be a fast runner, but a little like Joe Montana, he has enough athletic ability to get out of trouble. Remember how Archie ran? In that department, Eli doesn't have the best genes, although I never timed mom Olivia in the 40. But he has a feel for the pocket. *
Feels the rush.
*Throws the ball, takes the hit, gets right back up… Has courage and poise. In my opinion, most of all, he has that quality you can't define. Call it magic…Peyton had much better talent around him at Tennessee. But I honestly give this guy a chance to be better than his brother. Eli doesn't get much help from the coaching staff. If he comes out early, we should move up to take him. These guys are rare, you know.
- Ernie Accorsi*
As Eli Manning enters his 12th season with the Giants, we look back at this career.
Originally selected first overall by the Chargers in the 2004 NFL Draft, quarterback Eli Manning was obtained by the Giants in a trade for quarterback Philip Rivers, whom the Giants had taken with the fourth pick. The Giants also gave up their 2004 third round pick, and 2005 first and fifth round selections.
2005: Manning led the Giants to an 11-5 record and the first postseason appearance of his career. Manning is the first Giants quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in eight consecutive seasons, a streak he began in 2005. Manning threw 557 passes in 2005, which remains the second-highest total of his career (2011). He also had 124 attempts that season without an interception from Sept. 11 to Oct. 16, 2005, a streak ended by Dallas' Anthony Henry. Stats: 16 GS, 294 of 557 (52.8%), 3,762 YDS, 24 TD, 17 INT
In 2006, Manning started all 16 regular-season games and the NFC Wild Card Game, but the Giants lost in the opening round of the postseason for the second straight year. Manning's 24 touchdown passes matched his 2005 total and left him tied for fourth in the NFL with St. Louis Pro Bowler Marc Bulger. Manning was the first Giants quarterback to throw at least 20 touchdown passes in consecutive seasons since Simms did it three years in a row from 1984-86. Stats: 16 GS, 301 of 522 (57.7%), 3,244 YDS, 24 TD, 18 INT
2007: Manning was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLII after completing 19-of-34 passes for a career postseason-high 255 yards and 2 touchdowns against the then-undefeated New England Patriots. On the way to their title, Manning led the Giants on a game-winning fourth quarter drive by completing 5-of-9 passes for 77 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress. In four postseason games, Manning completed 72-of-119 passes (60.5 percent) for 854 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception. Stats: 16 GS, 297 of 529 (56.1%), 3,336 YDS, 23 TD, 20 INT
2008: In 2008, Manning led the Giants to their second NFC East championship in his four full seasons as a starter and fourth consecutive postseason berth, a franchise record. Manning played in his first Pro Bowl following the 2008 season to become the first Giants quarterback to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Phil Simms in 1993. Stats: 289 of 479 (60.3%), 3,238 YDS, 21 TD, 10 INT
2009: In 2009, Manning set career highs in completions, percentage, yards, touchdowns and rating, becoming the third quarterback in Giants history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season, joining Kerry Collins (4,073 in 2002) and Phil Simms (4,044 in 1984). Manning also became the first Giants quarterback with two 4,000-yard seasons. Stats: 16 GS, 317 of 509 (62.3%), 4,021 YDS, 27 TD, 14 INT
2010: Manning's 339 completions and 62.9 completion percentage were both franchise single-season records. The previous records were 335 completions by Collins in 2002 and the 62.8 completion percentages by Jeff Hostetler in 1991 and Kurt Warner in 2004. He had four 300-yard passing game and was 1 of 4 players to throw every one of his team's passes in 2010. Stats: 16 GS, 339 of 539 (62.9%), 4,002 YDS, 31 TD, 25 INT
2011: Manning won the Rozelle Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLVI four years after he earned that honor in Super Bowl XLII. He became the fifth player in NFL history to win multiple Super Bowl MVP honors, joining Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, and Bart Starr. Stats: 16 GS, 359 of 589 (61.0%), 4,933 YDS, 29 TD, 16 INT
2012: In 2012, Manning passed Phil Simms and became the Giants' career leader in completions (2,612) and touchdown passes (2011). Stats: 16 GS, 321 of 536 (59.9%), 3,948 YDS, 26 TD, 15 INT
Eli Manning enjoyed one of his best statistical seasons in 2015, in the second season of then offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo. Manning completed 62.6 percent of his passes, and threw for a career high 35 touchdown passes. His 93.6 QB rating was also a career high.
Manning enters the 2016 season, his 13th in the league, with a new head coach - Ben McAdoo. A trip to Green Bay and Pittsburgh highlight some of the away games on the schedule.
