Best wishes to Peyton for, hopefully, becoming the first QB to lead two different . .

[JMSqb11]

I take it you blame the lone int for the entire loss? So the defense doesn't share any blame for allowing the previous score that gave up the lead? Or Reggie Wayne for not coming back like he was supposed to?

FWIW I heard on the radio the other day that Manning's QB ratings and stats in the playoffs are actually better than Brady's. There must be other factors involved, no?

Which goes back to my main point. You can have all the individual awards and stats you want, but if you're not leading a team to wins in the Super Bowl, those don't matter.

 

[BenGrimm]

Which goes back to my main point. You can have all the individual awards and stats you want, but if you're not leading a team to wins in the Super Bowl, those don't matter.

So it's not about individuals but if an individual plays well and the TEAM loses its the individual's fault?

 

[BenGrimm]

I would still take rings over stats.

So Dilfer is on par with Manning? And Roethlisberger is better?

 

[barknoxbrawler]

This thread is almost certainly going to be moved and it is, admittedly, woefully premature. However, best wishes to Peyton for, hopefully, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to lead two different franchises to Super Bowl championships. The Broncos are definitely on a roll going into the playoffs, riding the crest of an 11-game winning streak. Peyton also has a much better defense at his disposal than he had for much of his career at Indy.

Peyton for Mvp. Peterson for come back. You can make an arguement that sitting out a year and coming back is worse then tearing a knee last season and coming back the next. It goes both ways as well.

 

[thebjd]

I would still take rings over stats.

Stats give you a better shot at rings.

 

[BaldBiker]

As below my avatar shows....i'm still a colts fan. Have been since the Johnny U days. Have to admit, it was much more fun being a colts fan when Peyton was there than it is now.

I cheer for Peyton every week. Hope he does well as i'm hoping for the Bronco's to lose. I hope every former TN player does well, but I do not necessarily hope their team wins.

 

[UTBasketball2]

So Dilfer is on par with Manning? And Roethlisberger is better?

Did I mention those two? I would take Brady and his rings with the talent he has over Manning and his stats.

 

[UTBasketball2]

As below my avatar shows....i'm still a colts fan. Have been since the Johnny U days. Have to admit, it was much more fun being a colts fan when Peyton was there than it is now.

I cheer for Peyton every week. Hope he does well as i'm hoping for the Bronco's to lose. I hope every former TN player does well, but I do not necessarily hope their team wins.

I understand the bottom part. Wanting them to do good seems normal to me but rooting for that team makes no sense IMO.

 

[BenGrimm]

Did I mention those two? I would take Brady and his rings with the talent he has over Manning and his stats.

If its all about rings then wouldn't those two fit the criteria for being just as good or better?

I'm not trying to discredit Brady. I personally think Manning and Brady are 1a and 1b. Brady has been fortunate to play on some better over all teams though, particularly on defense.

My point is basing a players worth based soley off Superbowls is silly.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

I agree. The “Super-Bowl-is-the-be-all-and-end-all-measuring-stick-for-quarterbacks” argument is one of the most specious premises in all of sports. It will not die, however. The Manning/Brady debate is a virtual carbon copy of the Montana/Marino furor. There is no question whatsoever that Montana was a truly great quarterback but he also had a much better defense as supporting cast than Marino did. Even Marino couldn’t consistently outscore his porous defense. The question that I would pose to Brady advocates is the following: If Peyton achieves the unprecedented goal of leading two franchises to Super Bowl championships, particularly if he should rack up a couple of those at Denver, where, then, would they rank Peyton vis-à-vis Brady?

 

[sjrobert]

Stats give you a better shot at rings.

......and endorsements. If Manning stays healthy and plays three more years with 4200 yards passing each year, he will surpass Bret Favre as NFL all-time regular season passing yardage leader.

 

[DeansRedHalo]

I never said for anyone to root for the Titans. I simply a stated why I choose to pull for them. And I root and pull for a team. You don't pull for UT because of one player. I never said anyone had to root for any team. Just stated how ridiculous it is that a lot of people were Colts 24/7 for a pro team and then people basically pissed on them overnight.

Also, to me, Super Bowls aren't a stat. It's the Mecca of NFL and the best honor. Rather have a QB that can get it done and get to the game over a QB that can get a million individual awards.

Toni Kukoc is a 3x NBA champion. By this logic he is a better player than LeBron.

Brady has won 3 SB's...well, he's also LOST 2. Oh, I see it doesn't work that way. He gets ALL the credit when they win, so shouldn't he get all the blame when they lose?

Again, Terry Bradshaw is the best QB ever by this logic.

 

[Mustng959]

Tom Brady will keep that from happening. Pats are the hottest team right now.

Got to go through Mile High Stadium, don't see it happening this time. Good Luck, Peyton! Go Broncos!

 

[RockyTop411]

Haven't the Falcons made the playoffs 4 out of the past 5 years? They play better than the Titans.

Could say that about the earlier 2000's Titans and compare them to Atlanta then. You all still suck when it comes to playoff time. You've made one Super Bowl in 46 or 47 years of existence and got drilled. You have around 100 more losses than wins as a franchise. You've had recent regular season success, but when it comes to playoff time, you don't have to tell Matt Ryan and Co. twice to pack up their stuff.

 

[Mustng959]

I started following the Big Orange consistently in 1967 and have been a Tennessee loyalist ever since. I became a Dallas Cowboys fan at about the same time, largely because of the, then, flamboyant passing combination of Dandy Don Meredith to Bullet Boy Hayes, the “World’s fastest human.” I remain a Cowboys fan although the strength of that association was severely weakened when the franchise took a serious nosedive, in terms of class, following the transition from Tex Schram and Tom Landry to Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson.

I support the Titans but it is on a “take-it-or-leave-it” basis. The Titans are a comparatively recent transplant and not a particularly good one. Even when they have been successful, they have never played an exciting brand of football, even by NFL standards. Furthermore, the Titans came to Nashville in the same year that Peyton began his NFL career. Whom am I more inclined to support, a transplanted Texas-based franchise or the team that drafted the most revered ambassador of Tennessee Volunteers football? Hmm, the decision wasn’t difficult for me, particularly considering I attended grad school at UT during Peyton’s era.

I considered it stupid and the epitome of ingratitude for the Colts to release Peyton, considering what he had meant to that franchise, and I stand by that statement regardless of the financial implications associated with it. If Peyton was incapable of coming back from his neck surgeries, he would have simply retired. Once he received medical clearance, I had little doubt, considering his work ethic, that Peyton would return to his former standard of play. As things turned out, the Colts have rebounded nicely. However, in an era when NFL players jump ship, at the drop of a hat, for the newest free agency contract, I believe, perhaps erroneously, that Peyton would have been a rare exception, someone who would have been content to finish his career with the Colts, had he been given that option. He wasn’t, however, so he is now faced with the opportunity to do something unprecedented in NFL history, i.e. lead two different franchises to Super Bowl championships.

For many of us who grew up in the Volunteer State, our allegiance to the Big Orange will always be preeminent. Since we never had the opportunity of becoming fans, at an early age, of a locally entrenched franchise, our NFL loyalties are more transitory and flexible. They’re just not that important; this remains a state where college football, in our minds, is still king.

Gave a thumbs up. In the South, college ball rules ... why? Because we had no NFL teams except Atlanta and New Orleans for years though we did follow Tennessee players to NFL teams they went to such as Bill Bates to Dallas, Hacksaw Reynolds to the Rams, Dewey Warren and Bob Johnson to Cincinnati, etc.
I was also a Colts fans since Johnny Unitas and was thrilled to see Peyton go there. However, the Colts lost my support when they let Peyton go, the man that built the house and brought them back to the Dance. Peyton came back his senior season to Tennessee because of his love for UT football, I won't forget that and will be a fan of his no matter what team he plays for. Go Broncos! (always liked Elway too).

 

[utkell65]

Got to go through Mile High Stadium, don't see it happening this time. Good Luck, Peyton! Go Broncos!

Agreed. Denver is the hottest team heading into the playoffs. They have won 11 straight and done so averaging 31.5 on offensive and only 15.9 on defense.

NE lost to SF in week 15 and barely got by Jax in week 16.

I hope that it does come down to Denver and NE in the AFCCG. It should be a fun one to watch.

 

[JMSqb11]

Toni Kukoc is a 3x NBA champion. By this logic he is a better player than LeBron.

Brady has won 3 SB's...well, he's also LOST 2. Oh, I see it doesn't work that way. He gets ALL the credit when they win, so shouldn't he get all the blame when they lose?

Again, Terry Bradshaw is the best QB ever by this logic.

This argument is getting skewed. I said I would always take rings over stats anyday. Yes you have your one hit wonder players like Dilfer and others. Don't even try to put Brady in that category. He is the reason his teams won Super Bowls and his defense has been a victim of bad luck in the two losses. If we are putting Brady in the Dilfer and Kukoc category, it would make sense if Brady wasn't a top 3 QB in the league. This not the case.

Also, do you remember Brady's last two Super Bowls? He threw touchdowns to go ahead and New York gets a lucky ass play and score with under a minute. Yes, I guess it's his fault he had to go 80 yards with 30 seconds left. It's a skewed way to look at it because wins and losses are shouldered on the QB

 

[Volosaurus rex]

It may represent the convoluted balance of football “karma” over time, but it is strange that the three Brady-led Super Bowl victories were won by a total of only nine points (List of Super Bowl champions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Conversely, the two Patriots teams that lost on the biggest stage were absolute offensive juggernauts, but were defeated by Giants teams who sleepwalked their way through the regular season, caught fire in the playoffs and peaked at the right time.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Consider the following evidence that Peyton is primed for a Super Bowl run:

"Peyton Manning tied yet another NFL record Thursday when he won his sixth career Offensive Player of the Month award. Manning joined Kurt Warner (2001) as the only players with 10 TDs, 1,300 yards, a 70 percent completion percentage and five wins in December as the Broncos (13-3) captured the top seed in the AFC playoffs. . . . Manning completed 123 of 174 passes (70.7 percent) for 1,399 yards with 11 touchdowns with three interceptions and a 108.4 passer rating in December. In the regular season finale, he broke Brett Favre's record with his 73rd career game with three or more TD passes.

Manning also won the honor in October, making this the first season he's won it twice in one season" (Peyton Manning of Denver Broncos wins 6th Offensive Player of Month award - ESPN).

Eslewhere, UT's official press release states that "Manning completed 123-of-174 passes for an NFL-best 70.7 completion percentage during the month of December. That completion rate was seven percent higher than the next closest passer. He also paced the AFC in yards per attempt (8.0), touchdowns (11), first-down percentage (42 percent) and a passer rating of 108.4 that was 18.1 points higher than the next closest player" (Manning Ties NFL Record With Sixth Monthly Honor - Tennessee).

Needless to say, Peyton is getting hot at the right time of the season.