Nice one Pony.
Put it this way,
Brady + Branch + Givens + Graham = 109
Brady + Wayne + Harrison + Clark = ???
I'm guessing somewhere a tad north of, you know SIXTY-FIVE POINT ONE!!!...about 178.3 sounds right.
Then again, I guess I'm just not looking at this objectively? After all, Wayne/Branch/Givens/Harrison...just mix and match -- they're all the same...yeah, that rating system sure is a rock solid way to compare QBs.
If anything Peyton was a liability. He was carried to victory by his running game and defense.
In '01, Tommy was seven years younger than peynus is now -- and was up against much smaller odds.
No he didn't have the big numbers back then, but he had a poise and command far beyond his years -- or anyone's years for that matter...only one INT in that postseason, made timely throws, and put together TWO legendary signature drives (one against Oakland and the clincher in the SB). Yet because of his youth, everyone tried to make the kicker out to be more valuable.
I don't know how anyone can look at the body of work by Peyton's playoff career (not his numbers, or the points allowed by his defense, but HIS INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OVERALL) and put him up there in the pantheon of greats.
Let's not forget the Colts were FAVORED to win the SB, and yes, even the AFC Championship. There were serious doubts on that '01 team...football players aren't dumb...that Rams team was "unbeatable"...in the most critical moments, when they probably should've cracked, the looked their 24 year old QB in the eye and felt a strange sense of calm and focus...you can ask David Patten.
That's the difference. Tom makes his guys play great -- Peynus is made to look great by all the talent around him. There has never been a more jittery shizoid QB in terms of postsnap adjustments than Peyton Manning...the read and react part of the game. And there's never been a more cool and adept reader of postsnap chaos than Tom. Indy's system is designed to hide Peyton's weaknesses -- having receivers who can blow 10 yards past cover-2, or 10 yards clear of the underneath coverage on a simple comeback, is the reason it works (see: last Sunday). There's no way Peyton could handle an offense where he was asked to consistently make 2-3 reads and fire it into the guy who was least covered like a blanket.
Yet we continue to compare QBs with weapons as diverse as Jerry Rice, Reggie Wayne and Troy Brown.
Had we beaten the Colts, it would've justified the front office decision to play musical chairs with reject receivers all year.
I guess I'm in the minority but I'm sick of could'ves, should'ves would'ves...if you want to see this team dominate like say the '89 Niners then put some freaking talent around Tom...he's the best player in the game...sure, Adalius Thomas would be a nice upgrade, but we'd be THREE TIMES as good with elite receivers...enough reject crackheads...time for some TALENT!!! Are we saving our money for future generations?? We have a window of opportunity RIGHT NOW! We're better off overspending now and ending up in salary cap hell in the future. We just flushed one SB down the toilet. YOu're not going to notice aging linebackers if we're averaging 35 points a game. No more "we can get by" with these receivers crap. I'm sick of just getting by.
TIME TO DOMINATE!