One thing that might want to be noted is that Tom Brady is throwing to someone that many people would argue is the most talented wide receiver ever. ANd if they dont think he is, theyd say hes second. Brady has thrown close to 45% of his touchdowns to that one guy.
Peyton Manning, while always having a VERY good receiving core, never had such a priveledge. Marvin Harrison is a very good receiver but in no way is he Randy Moss. In his record year Manning would did not have the opportunity to just throw balls up into X-touple coverage knowing his receiver could outrun and outjump just about any defensive players hed play against. We saw tonight as we have all season that Brady doesnt have a problem forcing balls to Moss that just arent there. The difference is that more often than not, Moss can make a play on those balls. A jump ball to Moss for instance is almost impossible to defend without PI. I think it says a lot that Moss is on pace to break the TD record the same year Brady is on pace to break the TD record. Brady is an amazing QB, but Moss MAKES QBs. Look at Culpepper. Hes an averagely talented QB, Moss made him great. Brady is a great QB, but Moss makes him a record breaker.
Ask yourself this, how many TDs do you honestly think Peyton Manning could score if he had Randy Moss to throw to?
Now that said, Brady IS an amazing QB and when people say one guy is 1a and one guy is 1b, I think they have it just right. I wouldnt be able to choose who is which though. Peyton Manning IS the better QB from a statistical point of view. He has 30 tds this year without his primary receiver, and for a few games he didnt even have the guy that FILLED IN for his primary receiver!
But, we've seen Peyton Manning break down under pressure which is something that rarely happens to Tom Brady.
I see it this way:
Peyton Manning has an edge over Brady in pure QB skill, and field control (he controls his own offense. As far as I know hes the only QB that does that. Could be wrong though.) However Brady is only slightly behind.
Brady has the edge in courage, mobility and mental toughness. Peyton is only slightly behind in this category (assuming now that the monkeys off his back he can keep from choking).
However Brady wins the courage category hands down. Hes far more willing to put himself at risk to get the yards. Brady won my ultimate unquestionable respect when he took off, faced down Brian Urlacher and instead of sliding, threw a fake and undressed him.
All in all though, I think people should get out of this mindset that Brady is God and Manning sucks or Manning is God and Brady sucks.
Theyre different QBs, with slightly different strengths and weaknesses, however, theyre both incredible, and in my books I dont think one is necessarily significantly better than the other. What IS for sure though is that having 2 guys like that in the league at the same time regularly meeting up is great for the game of football.
