Eli Manning led Giants in WAR over past decade

QB Eli Manning led the New York Giants in WAR over the past decade, which is a testament to both his talent and success.

Who were the New York Giants’ most valuable players of the past decade? You could probably take a guess and come close, but the analytics website Pro Football Focus went shard and put some date behind the decision and came up with this.

First of all, what is WAR and how does it work? If you can find someone who can explain it in full, you’re a better man than I. PFF divulged their process for determining WAR as follows:

The PFF WAR model does these things, in order:

  • Determine how good a given player was during a period of time (generally a season) using PFF grades
  • Map a player’s production to a “wins” value for his team using the relative importance of each facet of play
  • Simulate a team’s expected performance with a player of interest and with an average player participating identically in his place. Take the difference in expected wins (e.g., Wins Above Average)
  • Determine the average player with a given participation profile’s wins above replacement player, assuming a team of replacement-level players is a 3-13 team
  • Add the terms in the last two calculations to get that player’s WAR.

Got it? I knew you would. The process is so complex one wonders if its even worth the effort. But considering who is on the list, the stats line up with reality.

Eli Manning was basally irreplaceable, especially when you consider the backup quarterbacks the Giants had on their roster over that period. None of them could ever be considered starting material in the NFL, although Ben McAdoo thought Geno Smith was worthy.

Who could possibly replace Odell Beckham Jr.? No one, that’s who. The Giants are finding that out the hard way right now.

Hakeem Nicks was a solid receiver but he was never considered elite. Victor Cruz was elite, but not for long. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the only defensive player on the list, played well and got himself to a Pro Bowl one year, but what does that say about the Giants’ defense in the 2010s?

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