You almost can't compare them strength to strength because they are both good at just about everything," an AFC quarterbacks coach said. "If you had to pick a weakness, you would say neither one of them is a running quarterback. That's it."
To get a sense of how these two compare from a scouting standpoint, ESPN.com asked three experts -- an NFC pro scout, an AFC defensive coordinator and an AFC quarterbacks coach -- to rate Brady and Manning across a range of criteria. Their evaluations follow:
Arm strength
Edge: Tie
Manning had all the physical tools coming out of college. That's why he was a near consensus choice as the No. 1 overall selection out of Tennessee...
The gap closes, however, when the experts analyze how arm strength translates to throwing a football.
"I think Peyton loses velocity because his balls are not pretty," the scout said. "Brady's spirals are always tight. It's picking on a guy -- Manning's throws are where they should be -- but they are not tight spirals."
Mechanics
Edge: Brady
We leaned hard on the quarterbacks coach for this one. He analyzed both players closely coming out of college. He has studied both as professionals.
"Tom has tremendous mechanics, maybe the finest in the NFL for the last 10 years," the coach said. "I mean, he is different."
Some quarterbacks keep their feet moving. Brady sometimes appears to freeze from the neck down as he surveys the field. He plants both feet and wastes no movement.
"Tom is just naturally accurate and fundamental like Jim Kelly was fundamental," the coach said. "Some of those guys you can look back on and the reason they were so good was because they were so fundamentally sound."
"As a pure passer, Brady is better," he said. "If you did a competition of superstar quarterbacks, Brady would win on style points."
Accuracy
Edge: Tie
Not known as a hard thrower, Brady compensates with his accuracy. Meanwhile, Manning commands so much attention with his pre-snap machinations that it's easy to take his accuracy for granted.
Suffice to say, both players can place the ball perfectly.
"Peyton's strength that is the biggest secret of all is his accuracy," the quarterbacks coach said. "He is just phenomenal that way.".
Bottom line: Neither quarterback misses much.
Pre-snap
Edge: Manning
Manning's ability to control a game separates him from every quarterback in the league -- including Brady -- the experts said.
Tom Moore does a great job of keeping him corralled and saying, 'Hey, I want these three [plays].' Tom calls the game, Peyton makes the choices."
Brady has become increasingly effective at changing plays at the line of scrimmage. He gets the Patriots into favorable running plays when defenses aren't in position to commit an eighth defender to the box, for example.
The Patriots' offensive package is more diverse in terms of personnel use and play count. But the Colts do more from within each play and formation. Their offense is more complex than it appears.
And nobody scares defenses at the line of scrimmage more than Manning, whose pre-snap gestures may or may not signal on-the-fly adjustments.
Poise
Edge: Brady
Brady screamed harsh words at his teammates following a false-start penalty last week, but the Patriots were so far ahead that it seemed calculated.
Manning has become demonstrably emotional when the Colts have fallen behind in important games.
"You just don't see Brady get riled," the scout said. "Peyton seems like he'll almost lose his composure at times. I'll say Brady almost lets the game come to him, whereas Peyton tries to dictate more things."
"If you couldn't move the ball real well against a team, Peyton would get more frustrated whereas Tom would be, 'You know, we'll get them,'" the scout said.
Durability
Edge: Manning
Pocket presence
Edge: Brady
Manning has always been the toughest quarterback to sack, but he's taking more shots this season, usually after he releases the ball.
"Manning is seeing so much Cover 2 and he doesn't have as many answers, so he is holding it longer," the defensive coordinator said. "Therefore you get a chance to get hit a little more."
Brady possesses a "spider sense" in the pocket that allows him to avoid trouble as well as anyone, the defensive coordinator said. The scout gave Brady a slight edge in this category.
"He is absolutely beautiful in the pocket," the scout said. "That guy feels it from everywhere, whereas Peyton is more of a 'box' guy, like there is a box there and he'll hit all four corners.
"Brady can slide better to the left and right, he's more elusive. With his footwork, he never seems to be out of position to the point where he can't make a throw. But that is very close."
