He may not have posted the best numbers in team history, or had many successful seasons from a winning standpoint, but few players are more identified nationally with the Saints historically than former quarterback Archie Manning. His pedigree was not only proven by his playing days but also by producing two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks in his sons Peyton and Eli. Manning continues to make his home in New Orleans where he remains to this day a favorite local celebrity. Manning was sacked a whooping 340 times in his playing career with the Saints, which is by far the most in team history. His struggles on the field were mostly attributed to playing being an offensive line that was completely inept. Still, Manning was the starting quaterback for the team for 12 seasons, and was able to amass some impressive numbers during that span.
Archie’s stats:
As mentioned, he was sacked more than any other Saints QB in team history. He was also intercepted 156 times, which is almost double any other franchise quarterback. He was intercepted 22 times in a season once, which is tied for most in franchise history, and he was also intercepted 20 times in a season 3 different times.
On the positive side, Manning is third all time in team history with 115 touchdown passes, first in career attempts, second in career completions, and second in career yards (just recently passed up by Drew Brees). He’s also 8th in team history for rushing touchdowns with 18. He’s 11th all time in team history for rushing yards, and he has by far the most rushing yards of any other quarterback to ever play for the Saints. He also averaged 5.74 yards per carry in his career, which is incredibly impressive.
Manning led the Saints to their first ever .500 season in 1979 and he was a 2 time Pro Bowl selection.
Thanks for the memories Archie, and sorry you never got a chance to play on better teams. My hope is that while your son Peyton lost to the Saints in last year’s Super Bowl, you at least got some satisfaction out of success the franchise is finally enjoying.
The “List”
10. Eric Martin
9. Pat Swilling
8. Archie Manning
to be continued…
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
