I'd certainly support Eli as a better QB than Peyton if the sole goal of professional football is to win championships.
But if I'm starting a franchise with any young QB, I'm taking a young Peyton over any other QB in history, even knowing what we do today (that he will never be a great postseason QB, and will in fact be disappointing).
In Peyton you get:
- the greatest regular season QB of all time, bar none
- a guy who, because of this, is extremely popular with both the media and fans (= $$$)
- a guy who, because of this, practically guarantees my team and city at least one home playoff game every year...year-in/year-out (= $$$)
- also a QB who has had no real PR missteps in his entire, lengthy career, despite constant media scrutiny...a real golden boy
- a guy who, because of this, is even more extremely popular with both the media and fans (= $$$)
In essence, Peyton is going to sell jerseys, bring in revenue, pack stadiums, and create post-season opportunities unlike any other QB the game has ever seen. He's the game's all time guaranteed cash cow.
Is he a great leader? No...he's rigid and inflexible in his approach. Is he an all time great post-season performer? No...he's a choker. But the things he does bring to a team, he brings in much greater quantities and qualities than anybody else could. If you chose any other QB to start your franchise, you'd be nuts.
That said, if you want to win titles, there are loads of QB's you'd take ahead of him, including his brother.
