bostonfred
Footballguy
This game manager thing is way overblown. Brady threw for over 300 yards in a blizzard against the Raiders and ran in a touchdown. In the same conditions, rich gannon threw for 159. People remember the tuck rule and the Vinatieri kick, but Brady led the Patriots to a touchdown and a field goal in the final eight minutes of a game in the most difficult of conditions and then another field goal in overtime.
He got hurt in the steelers game but was on the cusp of scoring and had already racked up 118 first half yards despite the Patriots getting a punt return early.
The superbowl win against the rams, he played on a badly injured ankle which was very controversial at the time. The Patriots played as slow as possible to neutralize the greatest show on turf, but when he needed to, Brady let loose, throwing a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the first half and then leading the memorable game winning drive with a minute and a half left to win his first title.
His 2843/18/12 in 14 regular season games isn't much by today's standards, but as a first time starter he still led the Patriots to the number one seed with the 6th ranked offense in the nfl. And while they're considered a defensive team now, the reality is they were just 6th in scoring defense - the same rank as their offense.
In 2002, his first full season as a starter, Brady led the nfl in touchdown passes.
And of course, his receivers. The same people who claim that Brady was just a game manager with a great defense to discredit his early playoff success tend to give manning full credit for his passing numbers. But when brady finally got an elite receiver, he broke record after record the very first year they were together and led the superbowl with less than two minutes remaining.
Manning won two superbowls in four tries - the one this year and one where he threw 3 tds and 7 ints as the defense truly carried him to both titles. And he also threw a game ending pick six against the saints and followed a record setting year with an 8 point embarrassment against the Seahawks. Much like the time he followed a record setting year in 2004 with a 3 point performance against the Patriots in the afc championship game.
I'm happy that manning won. He's been brady's closest rival and it's been a lot of fun. He belongs in the conversation for top 5 quarterbacks of all time and last night's win solidifies him there for most of us. That's great. He's earned that. It's fine to get caught up in the moment, but try to keep some perspective.
He got hurt in the steelers game but was on the cusp of scoring and had already racked up 118 first half yards despite the Patriots getting a punt return early.
The superbowl win against the rams, he played on a badly injured ankle which was very controversial at the time. The Patriots played as slow as possible to neutralize the greatest show on turf, but when he needed to, Brady let loose, throwing a touchdown with 31 seconds left in the first half and then leading the memorable game winning drive with a minute and a half left to win his first title.
His 2843/18/12 in 14 regular season games isn't much by today's standards, but as a first time starter he still led the Patriots to the number one seed with the 6th ranked offense in the nfl. And while they're considered a defensive team now, the reality is they were just 6th in scoring defense - the same rank as their offense.
In 2002, his first full season as a starter, Brady led the nfl in touchdown passes.
And of course, his receivers. The same people who claim that Brady was just a game manager with a great defense to discredit his early playoff success tend to give manning full credit for his passing numbers. But when brady finally got an elite receiver, he broke record after record the very first year they were together and led the superbowl with less than two minutes remaining.
Manning won two superbowls in four tries - the one this year and one where he threw 3 tds and 7 ints as the defense truly carried him to both titles. And he also threw a game ending pick six against the saints and followed a record setting year with an 8 point embarrassment against the Seahawks. Much like the time he followed a record setting year in 2004 with a 3 point performance against the Patriots in the afc championship game.
I'm happy that manning won. He's been brady's closest rival and it's been a lot of fun. He belongs in the conversation for top 5 quarterbacks of all time and last night's win solidifies him there for most of us. That's great. He's earned that. It's fine to get caught up in the moment, but try to keep some perspective.
Took an enormous amount of grit to pull off - similar to Unitas in 1970. Unitas was extremely fortunate to win Super Bowl V but came back and tarnished his image. Hope Peyton doesn't make the same mistake.
