Manning Shouldn’t Be Crowned Just Yet

At least not if Tom Brady has anything to say about it.  In the hype leading up to Super Bowl XLIV, the media has decided to unanimously crown Peyton Manning not only the best quarterback of this era, but the best quarterback of all-time.

Brady Could Still Be the Best Ever | Courtesy Patriots.com

It’s simply not true.  The door has not been closed on this debate, because the last time I checked, Tom Brady is still playing in the NFL, and he’s still playing at a very high level.  Consider what Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports had to say on the subject:

And here I was all this time, believing that there’s still a legitimate debate as to who is the best quarterback of this era.

So I tracked down the man who, in my not-so-humble opinion, is the greatest of all time and asked him if he agreed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady(notes) was being prematurely run over and kicked to the side of the road by the Short Attention Span Overstatement Society.

“Yeah, I think it’s too early,” former San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana said Thursday. “This is [Manning’s] second Super Bowl, and now they’re saying if he wins he’s the greatest. Tom’s sitting there with three [rings] and he’s been in four. I think it’s hard to pick one person.”

To add to what Montana said, Tom Brady also has the head-to-head advantage, 7-4.  Tom Brady has also knocked Peyton out of the playoffs twice, while Peyton has knocked Tom out just once (although that knockout made the Peyton/Tom debate legitimate, as Peyton would go on to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl).

But I think Silver hit the point really well when he mentioned our “Short Attention Span Overstatement Society.”  Tom Brady missed a season.  Before that, he “was” the greatest quarterback of all-time.  Now he comes back and has, although not record breaking like 2007, a great year all-around, especially considering that he was coming back from injury.

I’ll close this out with a few more quotes from Silver’s article, which is a great read, I might add:

I understand the hyperbole when it comes to assessing Manning’s greatness. At 33, he is a master at the top of his game. He just won his second consecutive and record fourth overall league MVP award. He already ranks insanely high on the career lists in most significant passing categories, and given his Favresque durability, it’s likely he will own most of the important records by the time he retires.

He also adds:

I understand the hyperbole when it comes to assessing Manning’s greatness. At 33, he is a master at the top of his game. He just won his second consecutive and record fourth overall league MVP award. He already ranks insanely high on the career lists in most significant passing categories, and given his Favresque durability, it’s likely he will own most of the important records by the time he retires.

And finally:

No matter how awesome Manning is on Sunday, I won’t even be ready to declare that he’s unequivocally the best of his time. I still think it’s a two-man discussion, and it won’t be settled until Manning and Brady are retired and getting asked about the great quarterbacks of the next era and beyond.

Look, Peyton Manning is a great quarterback, and he very well may be the best of all-time.  However, Tom Brady deserves to be respected, and this debate certainly isn’t settled quite yet.  The Patriots and the Colts will meet again in 2010 (once, but hopefully twice), and there’s no question that the greatest player-to-player rivalry will continue, as the two greatest quarterbacks of this era will meet once again.