Dr. Giganto

So, now that 4 years have passed since the trade, let's consider the impact of this trade.

Thus far in their careers, Eli and Rivers seem to be similar talent-wise. Both are still young, make plenty of mistakes, have flashes of brilliance, and have benefited from having strong teams around them.

Eli has made the playoffs all three full years that he's been a starter. Rivers has made the playoffs both years that he's been a starter.

Merriman had a monster year last year, but it's possible it was steroids-aided. He missed 4 games due to a steroids suspension last season. This year, he had a good year, but not the monster year that he had in 2006, which has led some to believe that steroids played a major part in his success last year.

Kaeding is one of the better kickers in the NFL. Although his position is not nearly as important as most other positions on the field, the kicker position is a highly leveraged position (to borrow a phrase from baseball statisticians), meaning that although kickers don't see the field that much, the few times that they do see the field have a seriosu impact on the result of a game.

In the trade, the Chargers also received a 5th round pick from the Giants which they traded for OT Roman Oben. Oben was 32 at the time of the trade and played tackle for a little bit, and spent most of his time backing up the Chargers' young O-line. He is no longer on any NFL roster.

At first glance, it appears as though the Chargers made a great trade. However, the Giants won the Super Bowl and the Chargers have not. Do you guys think Eli made that much of a difference in this postseason run to make the trade worth it?

Or, what if the Chargers make the playoffs like 6 straight years but never win the Suer Bowl, and Eli goes back to being the shaky QB we've seen for most of his career and the Giants struggle for the next few years? Would the Giants winning that one Super Bowl make the trade worth it?