Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning: Do We Really Know Who the Better Quarterback Is?

This is a debate that has been on-going in the NFL for about five years now. It is the equivalent of the Joe Montana-John Elway-Dan Marino debate that took place back in the 80's. Montana was with the highly successful San Francisco 49ers franchise that produced four Super Bowl wins in eight years. Elway and Marino both advanced the the Broncos and Dolphins respectively, to the Super Bowl in that decade but come up short on winning it. So who was the better quarterback in that decade? Should we judge the leader of the team by the success or lack thereof for the franchise they play for? Should we judge those quarterbacks by how much offensive talent they have around them? Or should we judge them by the skillset that they bring to the table?

The Tom Brady-Peyton Manning debate has really taken a different turn since the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears in this year's Super Bowl. Or has it?

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have won three Super Bowls since the turn of the century, and are easily the most successful franchise in the decade. Tom Brady has taken home two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards during that period of time, too. In Super Bowl XXVI, the Patriots defeated the heavily favored St. Louis Rams as kicker Adam Vinatieri made a game winning field goal in the closing seconds for the win. The Patriots defense did give up 427 total yards to the Rams, but forced three crucial turnovers in the contest. The Patriots capitalized on those miscues by scoring 17 of their 20 points off those turnovers. The Patriots did not have any turnovers themselves, and they won their first Super Bowl in the team's third appearance in the big game. Brady took home his first Super Bowl MVP award, and helped lead the team down the field that setup Vinatieri's game winning kick. The Patriots proved to be the better team that day, and throughout the playoffs.

The Patriots would go on to the Super Bowl once again two years later where they capped off their season by defeating the Carolina Panthers, 32-29. The Patriots offensive line was outstanding in the playoffs as they did not allow a single sack in three games played. Tom Brady also had 126 pass attempts, which is the most attempts he has ever had in the playoffs. The defense also stymied the Indianapolis Colts in route to making the Super Bowl, too. The Patriots once again proved to be the best team in the National Football League.

This past season's playoffs was another matchup that featured the Colts playing the Patriots in Indianapolis. But before both teams advance to play one another, they both had tough road games to win. The Colts defense, who had been much maligned for most of the season, played their best football in the postseason. They didn't allow a single first down to the Chiefs until the second half of the game that they won at home in the Wild Card round. Then they went to Baltimore to take on the Ravens, and the league's top rated defense. The game did not see either team reach the end zone, and the Colts held the Ravens to only 244 total net yards in the contest. They also had their second straight game where they did not allow 100 or more yards on the ground after being the worst team in the league during the regular season. The Colts were the better team in those games.

The Patriots got past the New York Jets in the Wild Card round to advance to San Diego. The Patriots were trailing 21-13 in the last period, and were facing a 4th down play. On that 4th down play, Brady was intercepted by Marlon McCree. However, McCree fumbled the football, and Patriots wide receiver Reche Caldwell recovered it to give the possession back to their offense. Five plays later, Caldwell caught a 4-yard touchdown pass and the Patriots tied it by making the two-point conversion. The Patriots then got the ball back with over four minutes to play in the contest as the game was tied. Brady connected with Caldwell on a big 49-yard pass play which put the Patriots in position to win the game, and advance to Indianapolis to play the Colts. The Patriots were the better team that day.

The Patriots jumped out to a 21-3 lead in that game only to see the Colts come back to tie it in the second half. The Colts offense looked unstoppable against a tough Patriots defense. The Colts finally took the lead with a minute to play as running back Joseph Addai scored on a 3-yard run. But the Patriots had one last shot with Brady under center. The Colts defense put an end to the possible last minute heroics of the Patriots offense as Colts defensive back Marlon Jackson intercepted a Brady pass to seal the win and a Super Bowl birth for the Colts. The Colts were better than the Patriots that day.

The Colts advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since they relocated from Balitmore to indianapolis to take on the NFC Champion Chicago Bears. The Colts gave up a kickoff return touchdown to Devin Hester to start the game, but did not let him become a factor later. The Colts forced five turnovers in the game and Kelvin Hayden returned an interception for a touchdown to put an end to the Bears chances of winning the game. The offensive line dominated the Bears upfront which was a critical area for both teams to win at. The defensive line of the Colts never let the Bears running game get going either. The Colts controlled the clock for over 38 minutes in the game, and also the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Manning took home the Super Bowl MVP award after the game. The Colts were the best team in the NFL this past season.

So the debate on whether Brady or Manning is better should not be determined by the success of either franchise. The Patriots won those three Super Bowls because they were the better team -- not because Brady was the best quarterback. The Colts won the Super Bowl this past season because they were the best team -- not because Manning was the best quarterback.

Although Manning has had better talent around him on offense than Brady has had over the years, it still did not translate into Super Bowl winning year until they became the best team in the game. Both quarterbacks do not play on defense or special teams, so it is unfair to judge who is better because one has more Super Bowl rings than the other. Football is the only American sport where a player like a quarterback can only watch his teammates come up with a big play to give his team a chance to win a game. The Colts made the plays this past season when they had to, and that is why the Vince Lombardi Trophy is in Indianapolis until next year.

So who is the better quarterback: Brady or Manning? Team success does not make one quarterback better than the other. Manning is Super Bowl winning quarterback, and has the monkey off his back because the Colts as a team were better than everyone else for a change.