Almost every poster on this thread loses credibility if he doesn't put Manning in at least the top five, if not the top three, of all time. I suspect that there is a large dose of irrational feeling toward Manning simply because he is Brady's contemporary and major rival. But Manning is absolutely in the same stratosphere as Brady; whether he is equal is almost impossible to assess since they are so close.
Some posters toss out Manning's stats as irrelevant (actually, I pretty much agree -- see below), but if you do that, you also have to discount big wins, which some posters use to make the case that Brady is better than Manning. You can't simply use playoff success as the deciding factor between the two of them. Yes, it is one factor, but not the overwhelming factor since neither QB plays defense or special teams. They have less than 50 percent influence over whether their teams win. (And Manning, you will recall, has had a worse defense in Indy in almost every year he has been Brady's rival. That is every bit as important an issue in this discussion as Manning's having had better receivers in many years.)
Stats, as some have noted on this thread, are also misleading. I agree that you should discount Manning's gaudy stats vs. Brady's simply good stats (before this year). There are too many variables that contribute to stats. (Witness Rivers' QB rating.)
Furthermore, to not consider old-time QBs like Unitas in this discussion is like saying you can't put Bill Russell in a discussion about the greatest centers of all-time. That strikes me as crazy. (Unitas was a contemporary of Russell's.)
I think it mainly comes down to what you see with your own eyes. You throw out the stats and wins (if you put huge weight on wins, some great athletes never get into the Halls of Fame in all sports), and mainly decide who would give your team the best chance of winning, all other factors being equal.
Unitas belongs in that discussion. As does Starr. Maybe Elway (kind of erractic). And certainly Montana, Brady and Manning.
In a year or two, Brady may be clearly out in front.
