Tom "Iceman" Brady

[The Huddle]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

For clarification:
When someone asks what Tom Brady has done, it doesn't help your case to spout off what the New England Patriots have done. The New England Patriots have won 3 championships in the last 5 years. The New England Patriots have won their division and made the playoffs 4 times in the last 5 years. Tom Brady is a player on the New England Patriots. He is not the team. He's the best player on the team and the biggest reason why they are so good.

Let's say you are trying to win an election, lets say for town mayor of Foxborough, MA, against 52 other people. The rules are simple, most votes wins. You are the most qualified candidate and collect 10% of the votes. You win by a significant margin. Does that mean that if you ran for President of the U.S., against a candidate from Indianapolis by the name of Peyton Manning, that you are a lock to win?

You could have a lot of national media talking heads that call you a "winner", or a "money-man" or "clutch", but none of those titles actually says anything about you as a candidate.

Likewise, a 12-1 record says nothing about you as a football player. It says that you played on a pretty good team. Did you make them good? Who knows?

In the case of Brady, he does contribute a hefty part to his team's success. Probably more than any other individual on the Patriots. But it's very, very clear that Peyton Manning does a lot more to help the Colts win than Brady does to help the Pats win. Peyton has consistently been putting up 12 win seasons with no defense to speak of whatsoever.

The Patriots have been a better football team than the Colts for years. But Manning wins just as many games if not more than Brady does every year. If he beats Brady in the playoffs this week, the arguement should stop, IMO.

A 12-1 postseason record in the NFL- the biggest pressure games the sport of football has to offer- says nothing about a team's quarterback? Somehow, I doubt you really believe that, but if you do, more power to you.

Being the best player on and single biggest reason for the success of the league's best team- as you have admitted - doesn't help Brady's case? Now I know you don't believe that.

Basically, what you're doing is trying to hold it against Brady that his team plays better football than Manning's. Manning's stats are the result of his being great- you don't think having Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to throw to have anything to do with Manning's success.

This topic has grown tired for me. You can have Manning and his numbers, he's a great QB. I can understand your aversion to words like "clutch" and "money" when supporting Manning because that's one thing he's never been in the playoffs (and I have nothing but respect for him, as I have said). I'll take Brady and his proven record for playing his best football in big games, under pressure- unlike Manning, and the record speaks for itself there as well.

The Patriots have beaten the Colts twice in the postseason when both men are playing, but now you want the discussion to end if Manning takes one of three? I can promise you this won't happen.