Brady vs Manning Redux: Rivalry Renewed

Next week,An old nemesis returns in a new uniform

Both the Pats and Broncos are at 2-2, It surely will be an interesting game. It seems like such a long time since Brady and Peyton squared off against each other..............
Any in house experts here care to detail how the teams match up against each other? ( i would appreciate it)

Re: Next week,An old nemesis returns in a new uniform

Should be another classic. Pats will pound the snot out of them for 3 quarters and then they're just hang on barely in the 4th. Might come down to the defense to make a big stop again. Surprised this one didn't make primetime, instead 0-4 saints vs chargers

The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

Your Feelings about our good old buddy Goober returning to Foxboro next Sunday.

Is it still the same rivalry?....Peyton's wearing a horses head instead of a horseshoe,his arm is noticeably weaker,there is no Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark out there to defend.

Do you feel differently about the clash between the 2 best quarterbacks in the past decade returning to face each other for the first time in 2 years? or is it the same old,same old reunion?

I am a bit torn between saying its the same old and a lot different.....the uniform,the weaker arm and the WR arsenal really change what we were used to seeing.

I for one,am excited to see Peyton back in action to face Brady again......we may be seeing the last of these two facing off this year for possibly the last time unless somehow Denver becomes a yearly opponent.

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

It is completely different despite the "rivalry" feelings going on this week. Peyton is just no longer the "gunslinger" he was several years ago and like you said....does NOT have the weapons that he had that "connection" with in Indy. Secondly his arm is MUCH weaker than it used to be.....MUCH weaker. He is throwing "Tebow-esque" wounded ducks out there now and really can NOT throw the DEEP Ball on any GOOD defenses. Now yesterday has all the talking heads salivating and blathering "Peyton's back" after he had a field day with the despicable PA-Raiders.......(Didn't the doofins beat them?) I don't see it.....I think we are dealing with Brady still able to be Brady...and sadly...Peyton is a shadow of his former self....

PATRIOTSFANINPA said:

Your Feelings about our good old buddy Goober returning to Foxboro next Sunday.

Is it still the same rivalry?....Peyton's wearing a horses head instead of a horseshoe,his arm is noticeably weaker,there is no Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark out there to defend.

Do you feel differently about the clash between the 2 best quarterbacks in the past decade returning to face each other for the first time in 2 years? or is it the same old,same old reunion?

I am a bit torn between saying its the same old and a lot different.....the uniform,the weaker arm and the WR arsenal really change what we were used to seeing.

I for one,am excited to see Peyton back in action to face Brady again......we may be seeing the last of these two facing off this year for possibly the last time unless somehow Denver becomes a yearly opponent.

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I can already hear the media hype machines spooling up for this epic rematch. Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady has always been a special matchup. From the debates about who is the better QB of all time, to who is the best QB in the game today. To all the fierce playoff battles and regular season battles that these two players have competed in head to head. What is sweeter than seeing Brady triumph and Peyton making the 'Manning' face?



We had an unscheduled interruption to this epic rivalry last season due to Peyton's neck injury. But after the Colts 'sucked for Luck' and cut ties with Manning, we thought it was all over. But no, we were wrong. Manning made a comeback with the rival Denver Broncos of all teams. And yes Denver is one team that we have a history as well, a heated history, going all the way back to Sharpe's 'calling of the national guard' line because they were 'killing the Patriots'.

A tough playoff loss to the Broncos in 2005, where a near miraculous come from behind tackle by Ben Watson should have resulted in a forced fumble and touchback by the defense but instead resulted in the ball being spotted at the one. Yes, the Pats have an axe to grind with the 'Donkeys' as some fans not so affectionately term them.

So back to Peyton, what has he done so far? He has revived his career and come up with a big win against Oakland to bring his team back into contention for the AFC West. He showed that he still has 'it', throwing for over 330 yards and 3 TDs. The Pats and Broncos both come into this game with an even 2-2 record. However only one can walk away the winner. And the winner of this game will be considered a serious contender in the AFC.

Is this a 'must win' game for the Pats? In a way it is because they are facing a classic archnemesis and they must defeat a top team to be considered among the elite again. Their two wins thus far have been against the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans. Not the most impressive of teams, neither featuring fearsome QBs either. Peyton Manning is going to be considered a 'real' test for the Pats young and recently retooled secondary.

The key to this game will be a story of turnovers in my opinion. If the Pats D can force Peyton to turn the ball over a few times, harrass him at every turn, make him feel uncomfortable in the pocket, they have a real chance at turning this into a blowout win. However if the passrush fails to make PM uncomfortable and lets him take his time he will pick the secondary apart.

If this game turns into a shootout, the Pats still have the offense to compete, so it's not a lost cause. But I would feel much more comfortable if the defense continued their growth and came out with a 'statement' game of their own. If they show they can shut down Manning, they can shut down any QB in the game. So far we have not seen that but I am looking forward to it. Get your popcorn ready folks, the media is gonna have a field day hyping up this game and it's gonna be a good one to look forward to!

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

the rivalry was never Brady vs peyton, it was Pats vs colts.

You had two head coaches Dungy and BB, who were incredible coaches.

You had the defenses with big names,

On offense you had brady vs peyton.

This was the best of the two most consistent winners in the AFC.

What made it unique was that the colts were afc south and the pats afc east, 2 teams from 2 different conferences playing every single year because they were always number one, and if by chance one of them didnt win the division the other one probably didnt either.

now peyton is with the broncos, this isnt the same, its just a QB who is learning to ride the bike again, going against the pats who are looking to restart that dynasty talk.

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

It's different, the rivalry was always Colts vs Pats. Both teams had a contingent of really good players besides at QB.

Just like in November when the Colts come to Foxboro, it won't be the same. One team has faded so it isn't a current rivalry anymore, kinda like the Sox - Stankees series this week. Although, being an O's fan, I hope the Sox can find a way to win a few. Would love to see the Stankees stumble into the playoffs as a wildcard.

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

The Pats are in a rivalry with lots of teams in the NFL because of the incredible run and consistent excellence they deliver to everyone. We had a great rivalry with the Colts that overlapped with the Steelers, Chargers, Ravens, Jets, Giants, Eagles, and a few lesser ones like Denver and Carolina. Then "spygate" got the whole country hating us. We got the pretty boy QB who leads the league every year in something, the coach who is irritating as hell with the media and we got the American flag in the logo.

Everyone hates us and wants to beat us. That makes us the rival of the entire league.

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

I have no problem with Manning, Peyton that is.

Those were great games when he played with the Colts, we won some, he won a few. Sometimes his message to his team is not delivered when or where it should be, but by and large he is ok in my books.

He is a fan of 12 and 12 is a fan of him. I cheer against him when playing our team but I like to see him do well otherwise.

I don't think Sunday will have the same feel as past games against him, but I do believe there is a bit of 'left over' rivalry there, seeing that our pasts have crossed frequently, and in big games.

Sunday will have a familiar feel I am sure. Hope the crowd is not super rude to him but at the same time I hope they will leave no doubt that coming in here on Sunday is gonna be every bit as hard as it always used to be!!

Re: The Return Of Brady vs. Manning .... Same old rivalry or different?

I used to hate him with such a passion. Now I don't mind him. That's the difference for me.

I'm surprised how many are saying that Peyton is washed up already and dismissing him. I'm unwilling to underestimate Peyton Manning. The guy is a HOFer. Maybe not in his prime right now because he's coming off serious injury. But still a guy who can carve up a defense if they give him the time. Just look at his last game. Some are saying, yeah but it's 'just the Raiders'.

But take an honest hard look at our OWN defense. The Pats secondary gave up 300+ yards to Ryan Fitzpatrick. And the guy has a noodle for an arm! They have made some mediocre QBs look very very good. Make no mistake, Peyton Manning is a dangerous opponent for us, even if he's not at full strength yet this season.

I think the key to victory for the Pats like I said before is forcing some turnovers and getting consistent pressure in Peyton's face. I'd also like to see our emerging run game show up again. The Pats 'invincible aura' at home has lost a bit of luster since losing the home opener. The Pats will have their hands full at the early going. I believe our team has the better overall talent, but they better not fall into a 'trap' mentality or they will end up losing just like against the Cards.

In the end the QBs are going to be vital again. The NFL, especially these days, is keyed by the QB play and the aerial attack. I'd love to see the Pats complement Brady's aerial assault with more ground and pound. That will make the play action all the more effective. And I hope to see Chandler Jones add to his rookie sack total by making Peyton meet turf a few times next week. A few "welcome back to the NFL" hits so to speak!

(PS Poll option 5 should say Brady will have better stats but Broncos win. I think you guys knew that though!)

For me, I'm gearing up for this week the way I used to gear up for a game against the Colts. This is going to be the most enjoyable game of the season for me.

Heck yeah, the rivalry is still there. I hate Peyton, his good-guy persona, and his goofball li'l brother. I hate that for so many years people watched him get happy feet and somehow it was Brady who was the chicken in the pocket. I hate all the stat-padding over the years, I hate the fact that he played many more minutes in his 50 TD season than Brady did in his (and was in there in bigger blowouts, throwing TDs with under 2 minutes left while up by 28) and yet the national media said it was Brady who stayed in too long and padded the score in order to break Manning's record!! A joke.

The best part of the game is that the Colts fans are going to be watching it with a big pit in their stomachs, thinking about how they sold their souls while the two biggest stars of the last 12 years in the NFL go at it for another epic down-to-the-wire performance. There will be vomiting all over Indy this Sunday.

why is anyone even excited about this game? the denver defense is HORRENDOUS. brady will be 15-18/220 yards/3 tds at halftime.

belichick knows manning very well. in fact, the 'rivalry' has always been more about peyton and belichick - when it comes to film study, football knowledge, preparation, etc they have a lot in common. moreover, brady and manning do not play against each other. the 'chess match' has always been between the patriots head coach and the colts qb.

manning doesn't know the 2012 patriots, and hasn't played against a belichick defense since nov of 2010. he never had the strongest arm to begin with, but now it is dreadfully weak. he looks like tim tebow out there on a lot of throws. all he can do is dink and dunk to receivers he doesn't have any chemistry with.

this is going to be a blow out. i expect a 28-6 score at halftime. manning will throw 3-4 picks but will lead the broncos to 3-4 tds, most coming in garbage time.

48-31 patriots. i wouldn't buy into the manufactured hype surrounding this game. the broncos cannot and will not stop brady (remember the games last season?) and manning is a washed up, overpaid legend on a crappy team desperately clinging to a game that has physically passed him by. he should just retire and become an oc if he has trouble leaving the nfl - perhaps he can get a few rings that way. he's clearly going to the hall of fame and has a ring, shouldn't that be enough?

playing for the 'greatest of all time' title is ridiculous, as that will always be a subjective opinion. the game and rules are constantly changing, so comparing players from different eras is nonsensical. the greatest qbs of the past decade are obvious: brady, manning, rodgers, brees - who is the better of the 4? who cares? they are/were elite and above the rest. all of them will end up in the hof.

this is not a 'rivalry' game. i'm sure brady would take more pleasure in carving up the giants D, than the beatdown his offense is going to put on the broncos D. i'm also sure that belichick would be far more concerned going up against the peyton of five or even three years ago. it will still be a 'chess match' but it won't be as challenging because belichick sees what everyone else does: manning is physically washed up.

^ Stay humble

I expect Denver to do what Buffalo did and line up in their Nickel for the vast majority of the game to try to strangle the passing attack. With that in mind, the running game should be featured once again. Not only does it take advantage of the smaller defense and force them to stack the box (opening up things in the seam and downfield), but it also takes up long, time consuming drives which keep the defense fresh and Manning off the field.

the thing is though, the broncos defense will not be able to stop the patriots passing attack. does anyone remember the regular season and playoff game last season? the broncos are actually pretty good at stopping the run.

manning cannot throw the ball effectively - the throws that are catchable to his receivers are wobbly and lack velocity. as i said in my previous post: he isn't physically capable of being even an average QB anymore. his football mind is as sharp as ever, but what does that do, when you can't throw the ball?

the dude should hang it up as a player. john elway has to be cringing at every pass and asking himself: "what was i thinking?"

I once heard a very wise man say "stats are for losers". All I care about is that the Patriots win the game.

But if I were to vote on this poll, I would choose Brady with the better stats but the Colts win.

BTW, who are the Colts playing this week?

nerdstein said:

the thing is though, the broncos defense will not be able to stop the patriots passing attack. does anyone remember the regular season and playoff game last season? the broncos are actually pretty good at stopping the run.

manning cannot throw the ball effectively - the throws that are catchable to his receivers are wobbly and lack velocity. as i said in my previous post: he isn't physically capable of being even an average QB anymore. his football mind is as sharp as ever, but what does that do, when you can't throw the ball?

the dude should hang it up as a player. john elway has to be cringing at every pass and asking himself: "what was i thinking?"

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I doubt that; I have to think that Elway is pretty happy right now.

I'm not sure what you're seeing. He's not as strong as he was, but aside from the Falcons game, he has looked pretty sharp. He never had a tight spiral, at least consistently.

Peyton was a crowd favorite when he came to Foxboro last year. That says a lot about the respect we as Pats fans have for him. The rivalry will go down as one of the best in NFL history. We hate Peyton, but we love to hate him. Looking forward to this game!

I could care less about Brady vs. Manning because Tom has clearly ended the debate years ago. Regardless the Pats need to win this game. No excuses,IMO! The are clearly the better team and need to play 4 quarters of football and win.