Philadelphia ? Archie Manning, widely considered one of the great college football players of all time, is suddenly Bonnie Lindros.

Manning traveled to San Diego this week to tell the Chargers not to use the No. 1 pick in Saturday’s NFL draft on his son Eli. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has told reporters that Archie Manning would rather the New York Giants get Eli, a quarterback from Mississippi.

This is not the first time that an athlete has tried to take control of his fate in a professional league’s draft. John Elway used his baseball potential as leverage to force the Baltimore Colts to trade him to Denver. J.D. Drew’s agent played hardball with the Phillies, who could not sign the No. 1 pick. And then there was Eric Lindros, whose parents’ role in forcing Quebec to trade his rights to the Flyers (and the Rangers) should have been a warning sign of the misery that would accompany Lindros to Philadelphia.

Archie Manning’s attempt to dictate his son’s draft fate is such a multifaceted mistake, it’s hard to know where to begin.

Apparently, Manning doesn’t want Eli to endure the same hardship he did. After a brilliant college career, Archie Manning played 14 seasons in the NFL, for three different franchises, and never once had a winning record or experienced the postseason.

That must have been just awful. For his teammates.

It has never occurred to Archie Manning that, as quarterback, it was up to him to get his team to the postseason. Football is a team sport, to be sure, but there is no more important position than QB.

This is just a little bit like Alex Rodriguez saying he wanted to go to the New York Yankees because his goal was to be on a winner after losing in Texas. Sorry, A-Rod, but if you’re making $25 million a year, it’s up to you to do something about the losing.

If Donovan McNabb retires in 10 years and says his deepest regret is not reaching a Super Bowl, how much sympathy are you going to have for him? None. Why? Because if he never gets to the Super Bowl, he won’t have anyone to blame but himself.

You play quarterback for 14 years in the NFL and never make the playoffs, guess what? You have no one to blame but yourself.

But here’s the hilarious part: Eli Manning has at least as good a chance to win in San Diego as in New York.

Offensive line? The Giants allowed 44 sacks last season. The Chargers allowed only 29. One of New York’s off-season moves was the signing of former San Diego tackle Ed Ellis.

Supporting cast? The Chargers have a young superstar named LaDainian Tomlinson who can take the pressure off the quarterback. The Giants have Tiki Barber.

Pressure? Eli Manning can develop in San Diego without feeling anything like the pressure to succeed that he would in New York.

It is one thing to challenge the draft rules to gain access to the league, as Maurice Clarett is doing. While the Supreme Court declined to force the NFL to allow Clarett into this weekend’s draft, there still is a chance he will win the right to enter the league. And he should win that right, just as the 32 NFL teams will retain the right to choose whether to hire him.

The Mannings, by contrast, are attempting to undermine the very system that has so enriched the family.

That makes them wrong. The fact that they are pulling a power play designed to get Eli Manning to New York instead of sunny San Diego with Tomlinson — that just makes them stupid.