Brady had a much better defense to rely upon.
He made it clear that he still thought Brady was the greatest
So you agree with harrison that brady is the best ever? Or you agree with harrison's unbiased assessment that the defense he was on was the key to their winning ways?
That's not what Harrison said Fred. The defense was a huge key, thats a fact. So was Brady. But Brady didn't have to win despite his d like manning did
I didn't watch the thing, so I can only go off of what Hoss Style said, but yeah, that is what he said. According to Hoss, he said he thought Brady was the best ever. He also said that the defense - of which he was a part - was a huge key. I can understand why a hall of fame caliber player who played on one the Patriots championship defenses might say, hey, Brady's the greatest to play the game, but another QB could have won with our defense. But that doesn't make it true.In fact, this narrative that Brady won because of his D while Manning had to win "despite his D" is wrong, plain and simple. There are three reasons for this.
First of all, it assumes that Manning would have done just as well without his embarrassment of riches on offense. By providing him with a stud left tackle, WR1, WR2, TE and RB for most of his career, the Colts gave him the tools he needed to pass for lots of yards and touchdowns. By providing Brady with guys like Troy Brown, David Givens, David Patten, Deion Branch, Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell, the Patriots basically left Brady alone on offense. We've seen this year that Brady was capable of leading a horrid set of receivers to a winning record, just like he did back in 2001-2006, but that his numbers wouldn't look as pretty. The same is presumably true for Manning - if they'd spent a top 5 pick on s defensive player instead of Edgerrin James, or spent other firsts on guys instead of Glenn, Wayne and Clark, Manning might never have emerged. In fact, prior to last year, he'd only eclipsed the 33 TD mark once - the season when Harrison, Wayne, Clark, Edgerrin and Stokley were all at the absolute peaks of their careers. How much of his statistical success is owed to those receivers, and now to DeMaryius, Decker, Julius and Welker? If he'd had a great defense and a bunch of 25-30 TD seasons but got a few rings, he'd be Ben Roethlisberger - very good, but not really an all time great.
Second, the disparity between their defenses wasn't as great as people tend to remember.
Manning had the #1 defense in the league in 2007 (#1 in scoring, #3 in yardage). They lost in the first round of the playoffs when Manning threw two interceptions, had first and goal from the 9 with under three minutes left to play trailing by 4, failed to score, then his defense forced a three and out and got him the ball back with almost two full minutes left to play, and he went four and out to end the game.
Manning had the #2 defense in the league in 2005 (#2 in scoring, #11 in yards. What happened? Again, he got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in a game where his defense forced two turnovers and held Roethlisberger under 200 yards and the Steelers under 300 total yards. Manning, on the other hand, threw an interception to Polamalu, it was overturned on a call that the NFL would later say was incorrect, then led a scoring drive to pull within three, the defense got him the ball back, and he went four and out and actually lost 16 yards on the possession by getting sacked twice. Then his defense bailed him out AGAIN, forcing a Bettis fumble on an easy goal line TD attempt, and returned it all the way to the 42. Manning brought them to long field goal range, threw an ill advised pass on third and 2 deep into the endzone, and the Colts lost the game.
The Colts also had the #7 defense in 2002. Manning led his team to zero points in a first round playoff loss. They had the #7 defense in 2008. Another first round playoff loss. In 2009, he had the #8 defense, and went all the way to the Superbowl - where Manning would throw a game ending pick six against the Saints.
And what of the other seasons where he didn't have a top defense? Like the ones in New England, where he threw four interceptions in a game? Or the next year, when he followed up his 49 TD season by leading the Colts to three total points? Were those the defense's fault? You could make the case that it was Denver's defense's fault that they gave up a late touchdown bomb by Flacco to send the game to overtime, but that doesn't totally excuse Manning from throwing the game losing interception in overtime. What about 2010, when the Colts defense held the Jets to 17 points - but the Colts offense could only score 16 points. In fact, Manning's teams have scored 18 or fewer points in nine of his eleven playoff losses - much like Brady's Patriots have scored 18 or fewer in five of his seven playoff losses.
So it's absurd to say that he would have won Superbowls if he'd only had top defenses. There were several years where he had the offensive weapons AND the defenses - and he still didn't come through. And when he imploded, there was almost nothing the defense could do to stop him. Almost...
Which brings me to the third reason: Manning won his only title BECAUSE of his D. In their first game, a home game vs. Kansas City, Manning threw three interceptions, but won because his defense got three turnovers of their own. His kicker - the same Adam Vinatieri that helped Brady win his titles - scored the first nine points of a game that the Colts won 23-8. Manning threw his only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter after the game was out of hand, 16-8. The following week, Indy at Baltimore, the Colts defense held the Ravens to just 6 points while forcing two turnovers. Which was fortunate, because Manning also two interceptions of his own. The game was won by five Vinatieri field goals, including a 51, 48 and 42 yarder. In the AFC Championship Game, Manning threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown and put his team in a 21-6 hole at halftime. To his credit, he battled back in the second half in what was arguably the best half of football of his career. But then in the Superbowl, he played badly again, with an interception and a fumble. But his defense forced five turnovers against the Rex Grossman Bears, and the Colts won again. And somehow Manning won the Superbowl MVP for it.
So this storyline that Manning would have won as many Superbowls if he'd had great defenses - which ignores the great offensive talent he's enjoyed, and the top defensive efforts he's squandered - it's just not true.
