My pops is a very simple man. He likes his drinks ice cold (to the point that he leaves his bottled beverages in the freezer and often forgets about them, causing them to burst on occasion…my mother HATES this), he’s never used a computer in his life and his favorite basketball player for the better part of the last decade and a half is Tim Duncan.
This was always hard to understand. Well, it was always easy to recognize his ability, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a more boring superstar on or off the court than TD. When I asked my father why after all these years he had been riding so hard for Duncan, my father simply replied, “consistency”.
It’s one of those things life forces you to appreciate as you get older because only then do you develop the perspective required to reflect back with any lucidness on all the days, weeks, months and years that seem to roll on by so effortlessly. Much like the Jimi Hendrix scene in White Men Can’t Jump, I listened to my father talk about Duncan when I was 18, but didn’t begin to hear him until I approached my 30s.
Basketball analogies and nonsensical Sydney Deane theories aside, the point is it’s really hard to be exceptional at anything for a long period of time, especially playing the quarterback position. These days, the quarterback is commonly known as the hardest job of any athlete in American sports. The expectations, the leadership, the contract, the endorsements, the accolades, the criticism, the responsibility, the opposing defensive linemen, the franchise, the city— having to drag all that around 24/7 is enough to make anyone want to breakdown physically and mentally. This is why what Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have done throughout their football careers is so utterly astonishing.
Manning’s Denver Broncos visits Brady’s Patriots this Sunday night for what has become an annual duel between two of the best to ever lace a pair of cleats. The debate over which quarterback is superior has raged on for over ten years now, and is still as much of a hot button as it ever was before. While my personal allegiance is firmly implanted in one camp (Brady’s), this particular space of internet will be utilized not to differentiate between the two, rather to recognize their most basic similarity: their unwavering devotion to excellence.
Sidebar: We’ll save the debate of who’s better for the HHSR podcast.
While both men are in the twilight of their careers, they each have their teams once again atop the AFC a little more than halfway through the season. Manning may be in the midst of the best season of his illustrious tenure at age 37 (let that sink in for a minute). Enjoying arguably the greatest collections of weapons at his disposal in his career, Peyton is authoring a campaign that could surpass Dan Marino’s 1984, Aaron Rodgers 2011 and Brady’s 2007 for the greatest quarterback single-season in NFL history. Manning is the mid-season slam dunk pick to win the NFL MVP, which if he wins, would extend his own league record as a five-time recipient.
Brady meanwhile has seen his armory all but crumble around him. From last year’s team, Brady has seen one target end up in Denver, another miss half the season after four surgeries (Or was it five? I’ve literally lost count) and another is laid up in a correction facility for murder.
A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY FOR MURDER!!!
He’s also seen one running back end up in San Diego, while another missed nine weeks due to injury. He’s had to rely heavily on rookies and guys the Patriots just picked up off the street, his defense has been ravaged by injury, and through it all New England is still running the AFC East and remains a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
The obstacles that have slowed Brady (including missing all of 2008 after blowing out his knee one quarter into the season following the best campaign of his career) and Manning (including missing all of 2011 with a debilitating neck injury AND changing teams) come with the business of being the quarterback. In order fully understand the accomplishment of guiding their respective teams to the top of the conference year in and year out, look no further than the performance of their peers when faced with injuries, head coach/coordinator changes and all the other barriers that inevitably come with time.
Peyton’s younger brother Eli has won two Super Bowls, both at Brady’s expense. This season, he leads the NFL in interceptions. Despite winning it all twice, Eli has also failed to qualify for the playoffs only once in the last four years and has a sizable uphill climb if he wants to make it back in 2013. His comrades from the 2004 Draft — Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger — have both flirted with Manning/Brady level success, either through gaudy statistics or postseason triumphs, but neither have been able to navigate the tribulations that come with being a franchise quarterback without having a few down seasons.
Conversely, since 1999 Peyton Manning has never had a bad regular season. Ever. The numbers and W’s most assuredly back that up.
What about Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco? A plethora of injuries to his fellow Falcons have sabotaged Ryan’s season, but one can easily argue that ATL hasn’t quite seen the wave of injuries (or arrests on the suspicion of murder) Brady’s Patriots have dealt with. Atlanta, who currently sits at 2-9 and these days, are probably spending more time watching Jadeveon Clowney tape than figuring out how finish with a record better than 4-12. By winning a Super Bowl, Flacco has already accomplished what many expected Ryan to have done by now. His free fall from grace however has happened so rapidly, I actually forgot he was on top earlier this year (even though I predicted it). After losing several guys from last year’s championship team (retirement, free agency, you know, the typical reasons why guys leave after winning a ring), Flacco’s defending champion Baltimore Ravens are only 4-6 and would be lucky to even make the AFC playoffs.
You think Brady’s Patriots ever had deal with the “Super Bowl hangover”? They have. Three times. And they’ve endured two other trips to the big game where they barely came up short, which can also take a toll on a team.
It’s hard to believe that in 2009 Matt Schaub completed 68% of his passes for 4,770 yards and 29 touchdowns. What’s your most recent memory of Matt Schaub?
Exactly. And consider the various struggles Aaron Rodgers, Colin Kaepernick and RG3 have dealt with this fall; being great is not a right, it’s a virtuous privilege bestowed upon a diligent, talented and lucky few.
More than any other major American sports league, the NFL is designed to turn teams around quickly. The hard salary cap, the inverse draft order, the favorable schedules for weaker teams— this is precisely why the Kansas City Chiefs went from 2-14 a year ago to 9-1 so far in 2013. Fans and media love to shine the spotlight on teams like the Chiefs or last season’s Colts for their speedy turnarounds. The have-nots cannot turnaround though unless a few of the haves fall off. Somehow, Brady and Manning routinely defy logic by evading the fall off every year.
Sidebar: By the way, the full season that Peyton and Brady missed due to injury, their teams missed the playoffs.
The quarterback position is as fickle as it is fruitful. On Sunday some dude named Matt McGloin threw three TDs and had a 105.9 passer rating. Guys like Matt Flynn and Rob Johnson have hustled teams into giving them insane contracts after one good game. Many have played the position well and have led their team to victory once. Many more have done it for one good season. But what happens when there are expectations? What happens when you must win on the road? What happens when the rest of the league gets film on you? How do you stay ahead of the curve and hungry for 15 years? Simply put, this is what separates Brady and Peyton from every other quarterback.
Sidebar: I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw Drew Brees into this conversation. To his credit, Brees has balled out for 10 years now and has won a Super Bowl. And though he ranks surprisingly high in many NFL all-time passing records, he’s only played in nine total playoff games in his 12 years as a starting QB, which says he hasn’t quite seen the same level of regular team success Brady and Manning have. They’ve been a little better for a little longer.
The national conversation will naturally tilt towards “who’s better?” leading up to Manning/Brady XIV, and why not? Few debates in sports are more fun. Brady backers are quick to tout his playoff success, though Manning’s career passer rating in the playoffs is slightly higher. Peyton supporters love to throw out the regular season total stats argument, despite the fact that Manning has basically played three more full seasons as a starter than Brady.
We’ll get to see both on Sunday night for possibly one of their final meetings— no two quarterbacks with a greater total of regular season victories will have ever squared off. Whether you have a dog in this fight or not, do yourself a solid and savor the unprecedented consistency on display in Foxboro, Mass.
I know my dad will.
