khayos

I was thinking, how many Pats receivers from last year have over 20 catches from anywhere in the league.

Here is 2006

Receiving Statistics
NAME REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
Reche Caldwell 61 760 12.5 62 4 1 1
Benjamin Watson 49 643 13.1 40 3 3 1
Troy Brown 43 384 8.9 23 4 0 0
Kevin Faulk 43 356 8.3 43 2 0 0
Chad Jackson 13 152 11.7 35 3 0 0
Jabar Gaffney 12 98 8.2 21 1 0 0

Here is 2007

Receiving Statistics
NAME REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
Kevin Faulk 25 210 8.4 23 1 0 0
Benjamin Watson 20 232 11.6 35 5 0 0
Jabar Gaffney 11 142 12.9 33 1 0 0
Caldwell, Brown and Jackson have caught nothing this year

So, then only two pieces of consistency have been Kevin Faulk and Ben Watson. Compare that to the Colts having Addai and Clark, but the Colts also have Wayne and the injured Harrison.

If Manning can't pull off a run to the AFC Championship game, I'd say that is the definitive proof to end the #1 vs #2 debate.

Ootball

"If Manning can't pull off a run to the AFC Championship game, I'd say that is the definitive proof to end the #1 vs #2 debate."

Is that a fact?

How come no one ever talks about how many Superbowls Manning would have won by now if he had had the same defense that Brady had, or the same coach?

EnglishPatriot

In my mind, the fact that Brady & Gaffney linked up better than 18 & 88 in the play-offs ended this debate.

Manning didn't win that superbowl, his defence won it. Manning can win when he's carried by Rex Grossman, his D and his superstar wr's. Otherwise, it's six picks.

bradmahn

This year Manning has a really good defense and only three Pro Bowl calibre players at the skill positions (Addai, Clark, Wayne). An early round loss would say a lot about the differences in Brady and Manning.

__________________
I don't like Dungy and that's because he [was] the head coach of the Colts. Period. End of question. The degree to which I like a player or coach is predicated solely on the color of the laundry they wear on Sunday. When fans admit this and stop bashing players and coaches for any other reason, the world of sports will be infinitely improved.

chrisfx811

Ah the old 'defense' card.
Go read cold hard football facts, and educate yourself.

Manning would have none, because you see he has proven many times before that he cannot perform on the biggest stage. Was it his defense that put up a whopping 17 points in 2 playoff games in Foxboro?
No, I belive that was good ol Peyton laying those eggs.

Luckily he squared off against the anti-qb in Rex Grossman last year, or he might still be ring-less.

Is Dungheap not good enough for Manning? He's had the same offensive coordinator for some time too.

Compare that with the changing coaches in the NE's title machine.

Ootball

That's just a teensy bit biased. I wonder how long you guys will use that 6 INT game for?

It's too bad you have such a hard time giving Manning credit. Brady's place in history benefits from having a real rival during this time. Your attempts to diminish Manning's accomplishments only lessens what Brady has done.

QuiGon

No it is not a fact. To intelligent observers, we already have the definitive proof.
Because the defense was never the problem in those playoff games Manning has lost over the past several years. When they lost 24-14 in January, 2004, you couldn't blame the defense. When they lost 20-3 in 2005, you couldn't blame the defense. And when they lost 21-18 in 2006, you couldn't really blame the defense. But you can blame the guy who threw 2 TD's against 5 INT's in those games.

chrisfx811

Well he went up against the greatest show on turf, Donovan McNabb, and Jake Delhomme for the superbowl.

Manning overcame Rex, barely.

Ootball

Manning overcame what was at the time considered one of the most dominant D's to be in a Superbowl in some time.

And he won by a margin that was considerably more than any of the Patriots wins, as lons as you want to bring in the "barely."

bradmahn

Saying Brady is better than Manning (which he is) does not make Brady's accomplishments any less impressive.

Faced with similar circumstances (and Manning's offensive players were still better than anything Brady had in '03 and '06, and much more balanced than anything in '05) Manning sucked. It's one game, but one game in which Manning was absolutely horrendous. The rest of the season is yet to be played, but it will go a long way in ending this debate.

__________________
I don't like Dungy and that's because he [was] the head coach of the Colts. Period. End of question. The degree to which I like a player or coach is predicated solely on the color of the laundry they wear on Sunday. When fans admit this and stop bashing players and coaches for any other reason, the world of sports will be infinitely improved.