I grew up a Los Angeles Rams fan. I followed my team as a little kid, beginning from the late 1960s. The Rams were a consistent division leader in those days. Just as consistant, but at the bottom of the pack, were the woeful New Orleans Saints, seemingly forever led by QB Archie Manning.
Since the Saints were largely irrelevant to my team’s success, I pretty much ignored them and their passthrower; but I remember hearing every now and then someone say that the Saints’ miserable performance was not really a reflection of Manning who, they’d claim, was a decent QB. Well, with all the attention swirling around the elder Manning’s offspring these days, it got me wondering just how good (or bad) Pop was.
I’m sure someone will chime in with some hard stats. That’s great, but I hope an oldtime gridiron fan or two will also post a more general overview of the guy – his strengths and weaknesses, his attitude and demeanor, that sort of thing.
Pretty much interchangeable with Fran Tarkenton, IIRC. Scrambler (had to be, no line), decent arm but not spectacular, good poise. Much of his good press was for continuing to do his best, year after year, on a hopeless team without starting to phone it in, like many other athletes in a similar situation do. Much of his admiration in the South was for sticking around with the closest team to his home. The Saints would probably have lost just as much without him, though, and when he got to the Vikings they didn’t get much better.
When the Saints were playing in the divisional playoffs this year against the Eagles, my mother and father had decorated their house with Saints memorabilia. One of the things that survived Katrina when their house got flooded was a number 8 Saints jersey from when I was about 4 or 5 years old (I’m 40 now). Unfortunately, I lost the one I had kept at my house from when I was 15 years old. And you can still buy number 8 jerseys at local shops. I don’t have any hard facts, but I remember when Archie was traded (for Leon Gray of Houston, if I am not mistaken) and how strange it was. Fans were in shock. However, some were happy for him in that maybe he’d have a better chance on another team, but I think that his stints in Houston and Minnesota ended in losing seasons. As far as I have always heard (being a native New Orleanian), he was a fairly nice guy and a class act. Here are some stats I found:
I also enjoyed when Archie and Jim Henderson were calling the Saints’ games on the radio. However, I believe Archie stopped when he started to travel around the country to watch his sons play.
Great player, but generally for very bad teams. Played his heart out while getting his ass kicked. Had he played for a strong franchise, he’d have his share of Super Bowl rings.