Hit and Miss - Tom Brady and Peyton Manning: A Case Study

The "changing of the guard" has come for Peyton Manning.
He has lost the yearly competition with Tom Brady for the 'Ultimate Quarterback of the Universe', especially when public relations is involved.


Hit- After having an argument with friends over Tom Brady, here are some conclusions I have come to.
A- Amazing. Not much of a conclusion, I know, but the truth is he has 27 Tds and 4 picks all year. Pretty impressive numbers, all around. Numbers speak louder than words and we all love stats! Free pr.
B- Bundchen, Gisele. He has a gorgeous, super-model wife. If you have an argument, he will always have a hotter wife, end of story. And what a story that the media eats up any chance they get. Remember when Brady had a hurt leg and was using a cane? Good PR move to escape that one.
C- Cassell. People said that the offensive line with the was the reason that Matt Cassell was so good when Brady was hurt. The Pats O-Line is pretty good, but in actuality, Cassell looks pretty good. He started 3-0 with KC and they are currently 8-4, probably making the playoffs and leading the AFC West.
D- Decisiveness. Recently, a small minority of people claim that Brady's receivers are the reason that he has been so successful.

Incorrect. For two reasons:

1. Brady decides who to throw to based on a number of factors such as their position on their field, his ability and the judgment of their ability.
2. Tom Brady shares the ball. Name one receiver that has played with the Patriots in the last few years that has become a standout, incredible player with the Pats and continued to be good anywhere else. Brady makes his receivers good.

In fact, try to name the best receivers for the Pats and then compare them to any other receiving core. Almost Randy Moss, but his best years were way behind him before he came and left the Patriots.
*Wes Welker hasn't played anywhere else yet, so we'll leave this point like Barry Bond's career; an asterisk.
E-Ego. As in keeping it in check. Although Tom Brady might be one of the most confident people in the league, I'm not a statistician, but I'm sure he is one of the league leaders for comebacks; especially in the fourth quarter. He has always kept his cool, from press conference to field. Peyton has been noticeably 'off' of his usual self while the Colts have struggled and this has been evident in his conversations with the media. I guess the clever MasterCard commercials he was in didn't cross-over into showing his real personality.
I could go onto F but I relieve you of my profanity.
As much as I am happy for Brady, there is still hope for Peyton to prove to be the better of the two. In the next three weeks, he is set to play the Texans, who have a pass defensive ranking that is dead last, KC who is ranked 21st and the Titans; who showed that they couldn't stop Indy on Thursday Night Football, December 9th.

Miss- The miss, in Manning's case, is the playoffs. The 7-6 Colts may be near the top of their but they have to play two up and coming teams that will look to literally run all over the 29th ranked rush defence. The Houston Texans, with incredible running back Arian Foster, and Kansas City's HB Jamal Charles, will likely have record setting days with the help of the struggling Indianapolis D. Also, the Texans' and Chiefs' rush defense is slightly above average so watch for them to completely shut down the last ranked and non-existant run game of the Colts.
 
There is hope for Indy to squeak out another win over the Tennessee Titans (Defense Pass Rank #25) at the end of the regular season, who will surely be unforgiving since their two point lost on Dec. 9.

Can't wait to hear the disappointment in Manning's voice when he has to tell the league he is retiring on account of his team being bad and ruining his stats!