Ask him how bad a father getting involved with your teams or contracts can be!
The Chargers have the top pick in the draft. Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning is projected, by most accounts, as the top player available.
One problem -- Manning does not want to go to San Diego. He'd rather be in New York with the Giants.
Manning's agent, Tom Condon, informed the Chargers that Archie Manning does not want his son to be drafted by the team. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith confirmed the news Wednesday night, a day after the elder Manning visited team officials at the Chargers training complex.
"Tom Condon informed us about the wishes of Archie Manning in regards to his son, Eli," Smith told ESPN's John Clayton. "We had a good visit with Archie and we told him we may be selecting his son with the first pick in the draft. Tom told us Archie's wishes are that we not do that and that New York would be a good fit."
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that Condon informed the Chargers about the Mannings' feelings last week prior to Archie's visit. After hearing of the news, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue contacted the elder Manning and asked him to meet with Chargers president Dean Spanos.
Spanos, according to Mortensen, met with Archie Manning and asked him to visit with Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer. But despite the visit this week, the former NFL quarterback remains convinced that San Diego is not a good fit for Eli -- although the Manning family did not want their feelings to be made public, according to Mortensen.
Will the stance affect the Chargers' thinking going into the draft? Smith would not guaranteel Condon that the team would grant Archie Manning's request.
"We told them we will do what will be in the best interest of the San Diego Chargers," Smith told Clayton.
Earlier this month, Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi called the Chargers to express an interest in trading up from the No. 4 pick to the top spot and take the younger Manning.
A third team entered the bidding Wednesday for the first pick when the Browns called. Cleveland wants to move to the first pick and take left tackle Robert Gallery.
The Chargers face some interesting decisions. Do they trade Manning to the Giants and let them feel as though the player was dictating the draft? If they take Gallery or another player -- or if they trade with a team such as the Browns who wouldn't take Manning -- they would be giving Manning to their division rival, the Oakland Raiders.
"We haven't decided what we are going to do," Smith said. "We could stay there and pick. It could be Eli. It could be someone else. We will do what we think is best. For now, we are staying where we are and then see what develops over the next couple of days."
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Archie Manning has been doing background checks on the Chargers this month. The newspaper reports that Manning's actions aren't unusual -- he looked into various colleges before both Eli and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning went to school.
The elder Manning then met with team officials this week.
"It was an opportunity to just sit down and just visit," Schottenheimer told the paper. "He came in around the late afternoon and left first thing this morning. I don't know that there was any quizzing going on. He wanted to visit with us, and we wanted to visit with him."
Archie Manning may be fearing that Eli will fall into the same situation that Archie suffered while quarterback of the downtrodden Saints in the 1970s.
The Chargers have not had a winning season since 1995 and have just four winning seasons in the past 20 years.
While quarterback and a tackle are high on the Chargers' list, they have several other desperate needs. Trading down would allow them to stockpile picks and possibly players as well as avoid paying a hefty signing bonus that a top pick would command.
"I know (the Chargers) have a lot of different options," Condon recently said.
Condon also represents Peyton Manning, who was taken by the Colts with the first pick in the 1998 draft. Condon said the Colts didn't decide until the night before that draft that they would take Manning, leaving the Chargers to take Ryan Leaf.
Leaf cost the Chargers an $11.25 million signing bonus and turned out to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
Four years ago, the Chargers traded the draft's top pick to Atlanta for the fifth pick, receiver-returner Tim Dwight and additional picks. The Falcons took Michael Vick and the Chargers got LaDainian Tomlinson. San Diego is 17-31 since that trade.
"I could care less about the Ryan Leaf decision," Smith told ESPN's John Clayton. "I've heard it so many times that we can't take a quarterback because of what happened in the past. Whether we decide to take a quarterback or not has nothing to do with Ryan Leaf. I didn't take this job with the idea that we can't do something that might help the team."
Despite the feelings expressed by the Manning family, the Chargers may see Eli as the only hope to resurrect the franchise. Manning's stature entering the NFL is very high.
"I think you're probably pretty safe picking Eli Manning," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren told the Indianapolis Star.
Is Manning's dad being a prick or is this a subtle way of expressing Eli's interests without actually saying these are Eli's interests?
Some of the best advice I've heard regarding your career when you're young is to find someone who is older than you who can serve as a mentor who is NOT your dad. If I had listened to my dad, I'd probably be a chemical engineer right now. Of course, I also probably wouldn't have been unemployed for a year, either...
"Yeah, angles in the ring... someone thought of that a long time ago. They called it pro wrestling." -- the MCS
"I think mentally maybe I've just reached puberty." -- Vince McMahon (hollywoodreporter.com)
"How many poles did you get?" "I got just enough for . . . ninja!"
Originally posted by DrDirtIMO, SD is dreading another Ryan Leaf and would welcome a way out.
That may be true, but at this point what would Manning be able to accomplish that Doug Flutie or Drew Brees can't? Gallery at least makes larger holes for Tomlinson to run through...
Supposedly the Chargers are the ones who leaked this. What a brilliant way for them to deflect criticism from their decision to trade the #1 pick by putting the blame on ol' Archie and the Mannings not wanting Eli to be a Charger. If they'd have just made the trade they might have gotten beat up in the press and by fans, but now they can say "it was Archie's fault we made the decision. PLEASE DON'T HATE US!"
Trash. (TM DJ Frosty Freeze)
Also, until the concussions became to bad to deal with, the Lindros thing had worked out quite nicely. And a guy named Elway had a pretty nice career and managed to put the Colts mess behind him fairly easily.
“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.
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I guess the Manning's are really embarrassed by this, and, needless to say, it's hurt their image as a family of nice country boys.
I've read that Archie is worried about the Chargers because they don't have much of an offensive line, and when he was a rookie, he got destroyed because his own team didn't have an offensive line.
But the Giants don't have much of an offensive line either, do they?
If Eli does go to the Giants, it's a bigger market with more pressure on him. I guess it's a better market to make money, but it's not like Indy is huge, and Payton's a pretty huge superstar. Sure, San Diego hasn't been very good lately, but they've got the best running back in the league, and arguably the best weather in the country. (what did Lewis Black say? Easiest job is weatherman in San Diego: 70 degrees and sunny all the time)
Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects.
You can tell that the Chargers are bent on trading the pick by the fact that they have not opened negotiations with any of the projected top picks. The NFL will let you negotiate a contract ahead of time if you hold the top pick and know who you are going to pick. Brees can be a good QB but they need to fill some of the holes on the team and trading down to grab a few extra picks makes sense. At 4, they have the opportunity to get a stud Tackle or Safety.
Are you a professional halfwit or talented amateur?
Originally posted by evilwaldoYou can tell that the Chargers are bent on trading the pick by the fact that they have not opened negotiations with any of the projected top picks. The NFL will let you negotiate a contract ahead of time if you hold the top pick and know who you are going to pick. Brees can be a good QB but they need to fill some of the holes on the team and trading down to grab a few extra picks makes sense. At 4, they have the opportunity to get a stud Tackle or Safety.
ESPN reported they were negotiating with both Manning and Gallery.
Everyone's assumed all along Eli will be the top pick, but what happens if the Chargers take Gallery or if the Browns trade up to take Gallery? Would the Raiders take Manning as the heir apparent of Gannon?
Originally posted by ESPN InsiderThe news regarding Archie Manning's preference that his son, top-rated QB prospect Eli Manning, not play for the San Diego Chargers is now very much public knowledge. What's not, however, is that a deal between the Chargers and Giants is in the works.
From what we've been told, the Chargers will have a deal done by Friday that will allow them to move from the No. 1 overall pick to the fourth overall pick in exchange for the Giants' second-round pick (No. 34) this year and either a second-round pick in the 2005 draft or WR Ike Hilliard.
Our sources tell us Eli Manning's agent, Tom Condon of IMG, was much more of a factor in this deal than people think. Condon apparently had two separate asking prices, one for the Chargers and another for the Giants. In order to please the Mannings, Condon's asking price was several million higher for the Chargers than it was the Giants. While Condon obviously was trying force the Chargers into trading out of the pick, he also figured Manning could more than make up the difference with marketing and endorsement opportunities he'll get in New York that he wouldn't get in San Diego.
We expect the Giants to have a contract completed with Manning by the end of the day on Friday, which essentially means that when we wake up Saturday morning, the Raiders will be on the clock with the No. 2 pick.
Also, from what we've been told, the Chargers' target at No. 4 will be Iowa OT Robert Gallery, if he gets past the No. 2 spot, currently held by the Raiders. However, there's a decent chance the Raiders either will take Gallery themselves or trade the pick to the Browns, who will be moving up from No. 7 to take Gallery.
If Gallery is there at four though, San Diego will take him, no question. If Gallery is gone, the Chargers will look at N.C. State QB Philip Rivers, whom they love and would take over Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger. But they also know No. 4 is a little too high for Rivers, so they'll also discuss the possibility of taking Roy Williams there instead.
San Diego also will listen to offers to continue trading back, but the phone may not be ringing as much as people think. If you're looking for a wild-card team to trade up to the fourth spot, look at Jacksonville, which would want Williams there. The Chargers would drop down to No. 9 and still be able to get Rivers.
If the Chargers wind up with Gallery, they still will have two-second round picks -- Nos. 34 and 35 -- to possibly draft Tulane QB J.P. Losman and either a wide receiver, such as Oklahoma State's Rashaun Woods (if they don't get Hilliard in the deal), or a top defensive lineman.
However, if the Chargers wind up with Rivers, they get their franchise quarterback for less money and add either Hilliard and this year's 35th pick or this year's 35th pick and the Giant's second round pick in '05.
(Zims-If posting things from pay-sites such as Insider is a no-no, then I offer my humble apologies.)
"It's the four pillars of the male heterosexual psyche. We like naked women, stockings, lesbians, and Sean Connery best as James Bond because that is what being a [man] is." -Jack Davenport, Coupling
Sounds like the Chargers may be short-changing themselves if all they get is the # 4, a 2nd rounder, and Ike Hilliard. Esepcially if they wind up with Roy Williams instead of Gallery...
Originally posted by GrimisSounds like the Chargers may be short-changing themselves if all they get is the # 4, a 2nd rounder, and Ike Hilliard. Esepcially if they wind up with Roy Williams instead of Gallery...
But it sounds equally like there is NO way they would do that so it'll be either
A - Gallery at #4, the extra 2nd-rounder, and Hilliard
OR
B - Philip Rivers and another draft pick (for trading down from #4 since Gallery's off the board), the Giants' 2nd-rounder, and Hilliard
Not bad either way.
“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.
"Your input has been noted. I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim
Chris Mortenson is now reporting that Eli will sit out the entire NFL season if he gets drafted by the Chargers.
I can't wait until Jevon Kearse or LaVar Arrington put a pounding on him. In the extraordinarily strong NFC East, I'd have to say that the Giants are the weakest team, and most likely to be the whipping boys of the division.
Gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 73 percent of all accidents involving falling objects.
Originally posted by JayJayDeanBut it sounds equally like there is NO way they would do that so it'll be either
A - Gallery at #4, the extra 2nd-rounder, and Hilliard
OR
B - Philip Rivers and another draft pick (for trading down from #4 since Gallery's off the board), the Giants' 2nd-rounder, and Hilliard
Not bad either way.
It sounds like Oakland will take Gallery at # 2, so that may not be an option(remember though, this is Al Davis so all bets are off).
Also, they will not take Rivers at # 4 because that's too much of a reach, even if that's the guy they want. They might take Roethlisberger at # 4 though.
They could also trade down again to try to take Rivers around # 10.
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