Seven years later, San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith does not regret the blockbuster draft deal he orchestrated in 2004 when he traded quarterback Eli Manning for quarterback Philip Rivers, even though Manning and the New York Giants won a Super Bowl after the 2007 season. Smith believes it absolutely was the right move and he has unwavering faith in Rivers, who he believes can lead the Chargers to a Super Bowl title. "I believe with my heart and soul that he one day will lead the Chargers to a world championship," Smith said in an interview with Sporting News. “He’s a great quarterback—a phenomenal leader with great character, great work habits.†Before the '04 draft, Manning threatened to sit out the season and come back in the '05 draft if the Chargers selected him, but that stance didn't intimidate Smith, who said he would do what was in the best interests of the Chargers, and also did some predraft investigating and discovered that the Giants wanted Manning. "He was a value pick," Smith said of Manning. "He was a bar of gold." About 45 minutes after the Chargers picked Manning, the Giants took Rivers with the fourth overall pick and Smith then made the swap with the Giants: Manning for Rivers. In addition, the Chargers received a third-round pick in the '04 draft, which they used to take kicker Nate Kaeding; a first-round pick in '05, which they used to take linebacker Shawne Merriman; and a fifth-rounder in '05, which they converted into a trade and acquired left tackle Roman Oben. Seven years and one Super Bowl title haven't changed Smith's feelings about Manning. "He was a Charger for 45 minutes," Smith said "and that was too much time to be a Charger, in my opinion." Source: AOL Sporting News
The G-Men don't regret it either...... Greatest trade in the history of the Giants organization.......:icon_cool:
Serioisly?? Put Rivers on the Giants super bowl team and I'm quite sure they'd still have won. Infact, I'd wager they'd have won by an even greater margin if anything. Phillip Rivers is without question, the far superior QB. Give him to my team over Eli straight up and I'd take that deal everytime. But getting a pro bowl LB, solid kicker, and OL depth in addition? I'm sorry, but super bowl or not, the Chargers raped the G-Men in that trade. Plain and simple.
In hindsight I'd obviously take Manning and the Super Bowl Trophy. But The Chargers definitely got the better of that trade. Wasn't even close...lol.
I would have to agree. That SB was won because of that defense. That defense of the Giants beat the crap out of Tom Brady all game. They shut down arguably the greatest offense ever assembled. Rivers is Elite while Eli is a little above average. true story
I'd be willing to speculate that if the Giants had kept Rivers, not only would they have beaten the Pats by a greater margin, but probably have won more than the one Superbowl with this group. Call me a hater, but without the Manning surname we'd be putting Eli in the same group as other "greats" such as Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Doug Williams and Jeff Hostetler. And don't give me the crap about him being the MVP of the game and that, anyone with a brain who saw that game knew that the D-Line destroying the Pats O-Line was the sole reason why the Giants were even competitive in that game. In the end, an elite QB, pass rusher (for three years), kicker and a stopgap tackle for an average QB is a heavy swing in favour of the Chargers.
