The Great Quarterback Debate

With Peyton Manning going to his second Super Bowl and winning his NFL-record 4th MVP award, I think it's time to review the great quarterback debate: Is Tom Brady or Peyton Manning the best QB of our era? The answer isn't as clear-cut as it used to be. In my eyes, at least.

If the question were proposed to me circa 2007, the answer would be definitively Tom Brady. A five-time Pro Bowler, Brady enjoyed four trips to the Super Bowl in a short seven years. Add to the mix a regular season MVP in which he set the single-season record for TDs with 50, his 11-4 postseason record, two Super Bowl MVPs and you have a pretty good case for calling him the best.

But it doesn't just stop there. In order to measure greatness in a quarterback, you have to look at the unmeasurable factors: the intangibles. And if intangibles were measurable, Brady's might be the length of the Great Wall of China. Brady was plucked out of anonymity and inserted himself into greatness after the historic lure that is his 2001 playoff debut. The 6th-round pick had sparked a team that grew complacent with mediocrity and they responded by rallying around their young signal-caller. No easy task for a player who was mildly recruited out of high school and had to jockey for the starting job at Michigan with Brian Griese and Drew Henson. I won't even mention the amount of 4th-quarter comebacks that were led on the shoulders of Brady, but needless to say there are many.

And then Tom Brady goes down in the first game of the 2008 season. Fresh off an 18-1 record-setting season, the '08 campaign that was filled with promise was now deflated. And while in 2009 Brady had another great year statisically, those intangibles that was once the length of the Great Wall of China seemed more like the Yellow Brick Road. He was missing receivers, moving slow in and out of the pocket, and taking a lot more hits. The assurance that Brady would complete a critical play or spark a trademarked long Patriot drive just wasn't 100% like it was before. The fire seemed to be missing. He seemed to be more frustrated with his players instead of trying to rejuvenate them for the next series. It feels like Brady has lost his mojo...

...And Peyton Manning is playing the role of Dr. Evil as it appears he stole Brady's mojo. While yes, Manning has always been the prototypical quarterback, he never quite had the success that Brady had. That is, until recently. Since his 2006 title run, Manning has been nothing short of a methodical machine. That same assurance that made me have a full on bromance with Brady, I am currently seeing in Manning. I don't think I have ever seen one single player impose his will and defeat a team, seemingly single-handedly.

Now it might be easy for a bias fan to solely point to the rings on Brady's fingers as enough reason to crown him the best, but I ask you, how many people have won four MVP awards? The answer is Peyton Manning. And for all we know, there may very well be more on the way. I can honestly say that I have grown to love watching Peyton Manning play football. You have to respect how he runs that offense: calling his own plays, making his infamous pre-snap audibles, and making names like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon recognizable. And while Brady may have the more rings, I might argue that Manning would do just the same if not better if he was in Patriot blue. Manning was a product of a subpar defense. And we all know that defense wins championships.

Obviously I'm torn. There are two roads diverged in a wood and I am Robert Frost. Which one do I choose? Well when faced with life's really tough questions, I ask myself another question: If I had to pick one QB to win me one game, who would it be? Well seeing how we are fresh off a Super Bowl where Manning only had to win one game and he was the reason they lost. I may have a new lust for Manning, but Brady and I will always be bromantically involved. The answer for me was, is, and always will be Tom Brady. Although Manning is not too bad either...