The debate continues year after year during and after every NFL season. The conversations get very intense amongst rabid fans, even those who claim no allegiance to either the Indianapolis Colts or New England Patriots.
Who’s better: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
There are clear arguments on both sides of the table that would support a conclusion that both players are equally talented and would instantly upgrade the quarterback positions on any of the other 30 NFL teams.
They entered the league under very different circumstances. One was an All-American college football God from the University of Tennessee entering the NFL in 1997; the other was a little known back up from the University of Michigan who was relegated to the 7th round of the 2000 NFL draft. Manning is known for his rocket arm and precision passing when carving up an opponent’s defense. Brady can “dink and dunk” an opponents defense all the way to the goal line, then audible to a running play for a touchdown, which seems to work every time without missing a beat. When the game is on the line, there is little doubt that their respective teams have a chance to pull out the win. In both cases, the players maintain rather convincing winning percentages.
If we are to judge by the number of Super Bowl wins held between the two players, obviously Brady wins this debate hands down. However, there are a number of variables that come into play when doing so, for example: Manning regularly has to compensate for the ineffectiveness of the Colts defense as they have shown to be consistently unreliable when the game is on the line. Manning has to put up more than 30 points per game to ensure that they have a comfortable enough lead in case the defense decides to implode and try to give the game away. On the other end, Brady enjoys a more balanced roster, where the defense is often as effective as the offense. Brady also enjoys a future Hall of Fame coach whose system allows him to regularly plug-in players “off the streets” and seems to get the absolute most out of them.
Either way you choose to lean, both quarterbacks have all matched or surpassed the careers statistics amongst the NFL greats, such as Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway and the “on again, off again” diva of quarterbacks, Brett Farve.
While both have shown no clear signs of slowing down, Brady might be just a tad ahead in the race, as Mr. Manning has recently made a rather unceremonious exodus from the first round of the 2011 NFL Playoffs.
Only time will tell who wins the debate as the greatest ever!
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