Who’s the better quarterback, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?
It’s one of the great NFL debates of our time, and it’ll be a bar stool argument for as long as people who saw them play are arguing about sports on bar stools. There will never be a definitively correct answer.
But Andrea Kremer of NBC Sports polled 20 people who know a lot about the quarterback position — the 20 living quarterbacks in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — to try to get a clear answer.
The result? Four abstained and Joe Montana gave a half-and-half answer, but of the 15 who expressed an opinion, 13 chose Manning and two chose Brady.
Warren Moon said he views Manning as a quarterback who makes the players on his team better.
“He takes the talent around him and raises their level,” Moon said. “What he demands of himself, he demands of others. It’s scary what he would be like if HE had a Randy Moss on his team.”
Troy Aikman suggested that Manning has had a more challenging career path because he’s had to play for three coaches while Brady has only had one.
“Peyton’s done it with different head coaches [Jim Mora, Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell], although he has had assistants Tom Moore and Howard Mudd his entire career,” Aikman said. “The greatest thing Tom has going for him is Bill Belichick — he’s able to take off a lot of the burden that quarterbacks feel in other places.”
The two quarterbacks who picked Brady were Terry Bradshaw and John Elway. Both acknowledged that Manning has better numbers but said the numbers that really matter are three and one, and that as long as Brady has two more Super Bowl rings than Manning, Brady is the choice.
“Great stats are important, but the most important aspect is winning,” Bradshaw said. “That is all anyone remembers.”
Steve Young was one of the four who refused to pick either Manning or Brady. Said Young, “No way I answer that, it’s just disrespectful to the sheer art of
quarterbacking. I believe quarterbacks are artists. It’s
so rare to have two guys like this in a generation.”
Doesn’t Brady make people around him better? While Peyton was throwing to Marvin Harrison, who was Brady throwing to? Grant, Brown, and who else?
So… all the guys with bigs stats… but no rings like the guy with the big stats and one ring.
Moon, Marino, Fouts…
McNabb threw for 450 yards today. Giddyup.
Both guys make their team mates better. I’ll take Brady. Peyton’s got happy feet in the pocket.
Otto Graham went to the league championship game for 1o straight seasons….Winning 7 times, oh and by the way, he also won a National Basketball league title in that time……As a player, all this while serving in the Navy during WW2…..It amazes me, that NFL players fail to realize how much a dominant athlete he was, sure the game was different, athletes slower, but he simply ruled for an entire decade, these same athletes today have the same competition he had in his day…..His accomplishments are mind boggling…None of those who chose Manning or Brady, should even be asked such a stupid question….”peyton’s done it with different coaches”……Pales in comparison than Graham did it in between having bombs flying over his coast guard cruiser……….They should have all abstained…..
“It’s scary what he would be like if HE had a Randy Moss on his team.”
Uhhh….. Marvin Harrison?
I don’t care for the Pats but Brady is the best QB in the league. A champion three times over and absolutely clutch. If Manning had Moss? How about if Brady had Harrison and/or Wayne all these years? The greatest thing Brady has going for him is Belichick? Have another Aikman, you’ve got it backwards. Belichick was on his way to getting canned for the second time in two tries before Brady saved his ass. One has carried his team to championships the other is a stat machine with happy feet in the face of pressure who was carried to a championship by a resurgent defense.
First of all, this game does not decide who the better quarterback is….the body of work does. As of now, it is Brady. Why? Because he made it 3 Superbowls with offensive talent that was clearly not as good as Manning had. Period. When he had comparable offensive talent in 2007, he went undefeated and perhaps orchestrated the greatest offense ever. He put his team up in the Superbowl on his last real possession (on a severely sprained ankle no less). With that said, their careers aren’t over…we’ll have to wait and see who comes out with the best well rounded stats. These QBs opinions are just that…opinions just like ours…no more, no less. Interesting though that the boys with the big arms and no rings picked Manning.
Hpac says:
November 15, 2009 9:45 PM
“It’s scary what he would be like if HE had a Randy Moss on his team.”
Uhhh….. Marvin Harrison?
Marvin was great… but honestly, Randy Moss is as close to Jerry Rice as anyone is gonna come for a long long time.
They should see the show Brady is putting on please i will take Brady over Manning
Manning has played EVERY SEASON of his career with at least one elite receiver, and quite a few years with two. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
Brady played with Reche Caldwell and Troy Brown. He’s had an elite receiver for TWO SEASONS and has out-performed Manning in every way.
Brady = the best
Manning = Brady’s left nut.
I didn’t realize so many of those greats took that many shots to their heads.
Brady was 7-3 against Manning head to head, when this question was asked. Did any of those old men remember that?
Might as well ask who’s better. Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.
Last year when brady was out the Pats were 11-5. If manning missed a season would the colts even be a .500 team?
Secondly Everyone talks about how great reggie wayne and marvin harrison were but how good would they have been without Manning? Marvin harrison numbers could take a dip similar to what eddie royals did if he didnt have manning.
Randy Moss is probably the most “Talented” receiver to ever play the game so please dont compare him to marvin harrison and reggie wayne.
@4BITS, did you ever watch the New England defense during any of those games ? they weren’t exactly playing football like the Lions or the Browns
god knows when people will realize that this is a team sport
Peyton needed a strong run defense for his ring, Brady needed a defense that regularly hustled opposing QBs, why is that fact so difficult to understand for some people ?
Game, set, match. Thank you Hall Of Famers for confirming what everyone outside of New England has known all along.
Brady on his best day is less than HALF the quarterback Manning is.
Btw, that 4th and 2 call by Belicheat, the one that all the Pats fans are whining about, was a tribute to Manning’s greatness. Belicheat KNEW he couldn’t give Peyton the ball back or he’d LOSE the game.
That was a call made out of fear. Fear of the best qb in the history of football.
Troy Aikman a HOF QB? What a joke. Bernie Kosar was a better QB than him.
Everyone can have their opinions…but HOF QB’s usually know what they are talking about.
They all know they could have won superbowls with their coach telling them the plays and the other teams defensive schemes in their ears.
When Brady won Superbowls with no receivers, it was the defense and Adam Vinatieri who were the MVP’s of the team. Peyton was the MVP of his team every year he played.
Utilizing Elway’s line of logic, I suppose he would have to say that Montana, Brady, Aikman, Starr and Bradshaw are all better than him. Because if you’re keeping score based on the number of rings on one’s fingers, these guys have Elway beat.
And I suppose Jim Plunkett is on par with Elway’s greatness, seeing they both have the same number of rings on their fingers.
Bradshaw is dumber than the metal his Super Bowl MVP trophies were engraved on. Who gives a crap what this guy thinks.
Peyton Manning is not only better than Brady, he’s the greatest QB to ever play the game. Another ring or two would certainly benefit him in the minds of skeptics, but he’s already proven his greatness in my mind. No other QB in history has had the combination of talent, intelligence, devotion to the game, leadership qualities, and mastery of the game that Manning possesses. The only other QBs I would place in that category would be Brett Favre and John Elway (which makes it even harder to comprehend his logic that Tom Brady is better than Manning).
Bradshaw and Elway are idiots. Steve Young is a douchebag. Brady is better; he did it all those early years without a stud WR and only an average RB. And Elway’s Superbowl team won by going over the cap and paying the paltry $100K fine.
“Marvin was great… but honestly, Randy Moss is as close to Jerry Rice as anyone is gonna come for a long long time.”
Rice was a hard worker. A guy that had to work hard to excel, knew it and did exactly that. Moss could be so much better than Rice but he’s a lazy head case. Squandered talent, his curse is never even getting close to realizing his potential. Moss is happy just being one of the best in the NFL because it comes so easy to him. He could have been the best ever IMO.
Manning is an offensive coordinator that also plays QB. I dont think the Colts even need an offensive coordinator with what Manning brings to the game. I think that is the biggest difference in comparing him to Brady.
ANYONE who tries to take the credit for those three SBs from the real reason why they were won (the Pats’ DEFENSE) and attempts to give Brady credit for is is either an idiot or a Pats fan (oh wait, they are one and the same). The fact that both Bradshaw (whose defense carried his sorry ass in all four SBs that he “won”) and Elway (who is just jealous that Manning is way better than he ever was) were the only two who picked Brady, speaks volumes.
Manning is the better QB, hands down. So sayeth the VAST MAJORITY of his eventual peers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. END OF STORY.
Meanwhile, the collective cry rises up from New England: WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!
LOL, has everyone forgotten about the patriots cheating from 2001 to 2007(when they were caught)? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/09/13/cheating/index.html
Manning has made his weapons…..Garcon, Collie, and Gonzalez are the new guys coming up. Manning made Harrison great, and Wayne has benefited as well!! Manning doesn’t cheat as Shady Brady and Bill Bellicheat have. Bellicheat had a losing record, and Brady was a 6th string college qb for at least 3 years. When you mix a coach with a losing record and a below average to averge qb together its not going to equal 3 rings. The cheating is overly obvious!! Brady has gotten better, but no ring and no overtime win since they were caught. He couldnt win the super bowl in that last drive and even couldn’t score late in the 4th quarter on Sunday nights game. No coincidence that this comes after they were caught. Half of Mannings offense now are rookies and the Colts are still 9-0 and his comp % is 70%!!
LOL, has everyone forgotten about the patriots cheating from 2001 to 2007(when they were caught)? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/dr_z/09/13/cheating/index.html
Manning has made his weapons…..Garcon, Collie, and Gonzalez are the new guys coming up. Manning made Harrison great, and Wayne has benefited as well!! Manning doesn’t cheat as Shady Brady and Bill Bellicheat have. Bellicheat had a losing record, and Brady was a 6th string college qb for at least 3 years. When you mix a coach with a losing record and a below average to averge qb together its not going to equal 3 rings. The cheating is overly obvious!! Brady has gotten better, but no ring and no overtime win since they were caught. He couldnt win the super bowl in that last drive and even couldn’t score late in the 4th quarter on Sunday nights game. No coincidence that this comes after they were caught. Half of Mannings offense now are rookies and the Colts are still 9-0 and his comp % is 70%!!
forget brady vs manning. i have an ass of a brother in-law who thinks jim mcmahon is a way better qb than jay cuttler.