Vegas_Bronco
01-16-2006, 03:03 PM
Hey Steelers fan, let's sit down and smoke a cigar and enjoy before we knock each others teeth out this weekend:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/525139
Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?
Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
No, we're not asking which one is the best quarterback in the NFL. We're trying to figure out who had the more stunningly miserable performance over the weekend.
Brady and his three-time champion New England Patriots are done. Manning and his could-have-had-the-best-season-ever Indianapolis Colts are also done. Another postseason Patriots-Colts showdown, which had been eagerly anticipated by roughly four billion people, won't happen.
Where does the NFL go from here? Same old place: that large chunk of your brain where the league resides. This is the NFL. United States citizens are legally required to pay attention.
But, now, that's all Manning and Brady can do: pay attention. This week, the Manning-Brady argument has about as much relevance as the old Manning-Ryan Leaf debates.
So who had the more stunningly miserable performance?
Brady had first crack at the honor, and he didn't disappoint — which is to say, he really disappointed. His numbers against Denver (20-for-36, 341 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) were fine, but as you have heard 1,679,832 times, Tom Brady isn't about numbers. He is all about winning. He is about the clutch play in the final moments — hitting the open receiver, then rescuing a damsel from a blitzing linebacker.
Brady basically gave away at least 10 — and maybe 14 points — with the worst pass of his life, a gift that Champ Bailey ran from one end zone to the other.
I don't know what Brady's passer rating was. I'm sure I could look it up, but who cares? I know what I saw. Tom Brady, who usually wills his team to victory, led the mistake parade.
You know, Brady said all along that he wasn't perfect. Maybe people should have believed him.
Then came Manning.
Unlike New England's Tom Brady, Peyton Manning of the Colts doesn't have any Super Bowl rings to help heal his wounds from Sunday's painful loss to Pittsburgh. (Darron Cumming / Associated Press)
With Brady and New England out of the way, he just had to beat Pittsburgh — at home, with an extra week's rest — and then the Broncos, who have been destroyed by Indy in previous postseasons. Instead, Manning missed open receivers and threw what should have been a season-killing interception. (The officials, for reason no one will ever be able to explain to me, decided Troy Polamalu dropped the ball.)
Manning's passer rating was 90.9, but as a wise man wrote a few centuries ago, "Who giveth a crap?" He is supposed to be the best passer in the league. Sunday, he was outplayed by Steelers' second-year man — Ben Roethlisberger.
"Every game that I play, I take it personal when we play well and lose," Manning said. "I'm disappointed, and I can't give you a better explanation than that."
No need. What would he say, anyway? Nothing would make this feel, smell or look any better.
So who had the more stunningly miserable performance? Brady's day was probably more stunning — it was strange to see the Patriots lose because of him, or at least partly because of him. Let's be honest — we've seen Manning do this before. Heck, Brady has seen it up close. As good as Manning is — and he is one of the best quarterbacks ever, he has struggled in big games since he was at the University of Tennessee.
But that's why Manning's performance is much more painful. Brady can comb his hair in the reflection of his Super Bowl rings. This game will not damage his reputation as a clutch player. But for Manning, well, this was his year. He might put up great numbers for a great regular-season team next year, but a lot of people will just yawn, and there is nothing he can do to make them snap out of it.
"We're never trying to build toward next year," Manning said.
He was supposed to be building toward next week. Unfortunately, Manning is earning the same nickname as Reggie Jackson, and for the opposite reason. Until he proves otherwise, Peyton Manning is football's Mr. October.
Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg is a contributor to
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/525139
Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?
Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
No, we're not asking which one is the best quarterback in the NFL. We're trying to figure out who had the more stunningly miserable performance over the weekend.
Brady and his three-time champion New England Patriots are done. Manning and his could-have-had-the-best-season-ever Indianapolis Colts are also done. Another postseason Patriots-Colts showdown, which had been eagerly anticipated by roughly four billion people, won't happen.
Where does the NFL go from here? Same old place: that large chunk of your brain where the league resides. This is the NFL. United States citizens are legally required to pay attention.
But, now, that's all Manning and Brady can do: pay attention. This week, the Manning-Brady argument has about as much relevance as the old Manning-Ryan Leaf debates.
So who had the more stunningly miserable performance?
Brady had first crack at the honor, and he didn't disappoint — which is to say, he really disappointed. His numbers against Denver (20-for-36, 341 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) were fine, but as you have heard 1,679,832 times, Tom Brady isn't about numbers. He is all about winning. He is about the clutch play in the final moments — hitting the open receiver, then rescuing a damsel from a blitzing linebacker.
Brady basically gave away at least 10 — and maybe 14 points — with the worst pass of his life, a gift that Champ Bailey ran from one end zone to the other.
I don't know what Brady's passer rating was. I'm sure I could look it up, but who cares? I know what I saw. Tom Brady, who usually wills his team to victory, led the mistake parade.
You know, Brady said all along that he wasn't perfect. Maybe people should have believed him.
Then came Manning.
Unlike New England's Tom Brady, Peyton Manning of the Colts doesn't have any Super Bowl rings to help heal his wounds from Sunday's painful loss to Pittsburgh. (Darron Cumming / Associated Press)
With Brady and New England out of the way, he just had to beat Pittsburgh — at home, with an extra week's rest — and then the Broncos, who have been destroyed by Indy in previous postseasons. Instead, Manning missed open receivers and threw what should have been a season-killing interception. (The officials, for reason no one will ever be able to explain to me, decided Troy Polamalu dropped the ball.)
Manning's passer rating was 90.9, but as a wise man wrote a few centuries ago, "Who giveth a crap?" He is supposed to be the best passer in the league. Sunday, he was outplayed by Steelers' second-year man — Ben Roethlisberger.
"Every game that I play, I take it personal when we play well and lose," Manning said. "I'm disappointed, and I can't give you a better explanation than that."
No need. What would he say, anyway? Nothing would make this feel, smell or look any better.
So who had the more stunningly miserable performance? Brady's day was probably more stunning — it was strange to see the Patriots lose because of him, or at least partly because of him. Let's be honest — we've seen Manning do this before. Heck, Brady has seen it up close. As good as Manning is — and he is one of the best quarterbacks ever, he has struggled in big games since he was at the University of Tennessee.
But that's why Manning's performance is much more painful. Brady can comb his hair in the reflection of his Super Bowl rings. This game will not damage his reputation as a clutch player. But for Manning, well, this was his year. He might put up great numbers for a great regular-season team next year, but a lot of people will just yawn, and there is nothing he can do to make them snap out of it.
"We're never trying to build toward next year," Manning said.
He was supposed to be building toward next week. Unfortunately, Manning is earning the same nickname as Reggie Jackson, and for the opposite reason. Until he proves otherwise, Peyton Manning is football's Mr. October.
Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg is a contributor to