that CB is a difficult position to judge as a fan. The mere fact that interceptions are the most telling stat of prolificity readily available attests to that. If you’re a TRUE shutdown corner, opposing QBs are going to avoid your side of the field like the plague, thereby not giving you the opportunity to make those types of plays. I honestly appreciate McKenzie and everything he brought to the team. In hindsight, his coming here from the Packers was probably one of the top 2 or 3 trades the Saints have ever made, in terms of productivity. Certainly moreso than giving up an entire draft for Ricky Williams. But I think you could say that about anyone. I personally wouldn’t be willing to give up that many picks for Drew Brees today, even if we were still starting Danny Wuerffel. Horrible, horrible trade value wise. Productive player while he was here (and healthy), though.

I personally never cared much for Archie Manning. A lot of that stemmed from my dad (and the rest of the stadium) booing him, chanting “we want Bobby (Scott)”, watching him consistently underthrow WRs sidearmed, listening to his dorky, slow southern drawl during interviews, etc. In hindsight, I realize he was better QB than most people were willing to give him credit for, just as I’m convinced Aaron Brooks will someday be thought of fondly, once he’s far enough removed from the fire. That being said, if John Carney had worn number 8, I’d probably be taking a ton of flack for choosing him over Manning to represent that number. That despite Carney being a better professional kicker than Archie ever was a professional QB. And yes, I realize that’s a piss poor analogy. I would have gone with Joe Horn or someone more prominent, if other positions could wear single digits. My point is, sometimes you just have to accept that your personal biases don’t best exemplify the general consensus, especially when you’re dealing with players of Archie (or Ricky’s) collegiately-driven “legendary” status.