No

by Darren Rueb

Created on: October 12, 2010

Peyton Manning is not the greatest quarterback ever. To be the greatest ever he would have to be the best today and he's not even that.

Peyton Manning is a great quarterback and in the top-tier compared to other signal callers. However, and this has been true for many years now, Tom Brady is the quarterback you'd pick to win a tough game.

In today's world people are so interested in stats. You can't base opinion on this matter solely on stats though. Just because Manning had great stats in week 1 against the Houston Texans didn't mean he had a great game and that his team won. To the contrary, his team lost and since they were so far behind Manning was required to throw the ball. Since they were behind they couldn't run the ball. They had to try to catch up. That's one way stats are misleading.

Also, Manning has been surrounded by great receivers. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne are great receivers. Until Brady had Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to he basically had to throw to a bunch of average guys. He made these players good though. Look at David Givens and Deion Branch. When they were New England Patriots they were high-level players but when they left the team they didn't experience that success.

Another thing to think about is where the two quarterbacks played. Brady played outside while Manning had his fast receivers playing on a quick surface in a dome. It's much easier to throw the ball when the weather is not hindering you and your targets are where they're supposed to be. As proof, look at Manning's stats when he had to play in snowy New England. The Colts, who would routinely put up 30 points a game, would be held to single digits or low double digits when visiting the Patriots.

The final argument is that Brady has been so great and helped his team win big games. Manning has struggled to get to the Super Bowl or even win tough games. It seems like Brady steps up to the competition while Manning will stomp the low-level teams but will struggle when facing a challenging defense. Count the rings Brady and Manning have. That's the end of the argument right there. The name of the game is to win titles and as quarterback you take that as your primary responsibility. Brady exemplifies what a great quarterback does.

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