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First let me say that we’ve seen this argument before: in the 80’s it was Marino v Montana, in the 90’s Aikman v Elway / Young. I don’t have a dog in this fight, this is merely my opinion.
If you’re a bottom line kind of guy / gal, then it’s a no-brainer: Brady has three rings and Manning’s never even taken his team to the game. But there are other factors as well, sometimes a QB HAS to throw (ala Elway) because Denver didn’t have the running game they did with Davis or now. The same could be said for Miami.
Sometimes QB’s are asked to “manage” the game, not make mistakes and let the running game, special teams and defense win it. (Aikman). Brady throws more than Aikman, but then until 2004, (when Dillon arrived) New England didn’t have a spectacular running game.
But there’s more to it than the factors I’ve listed. Name a New England receiver other than Troy Brown. (Who should be collecting Social Security any time soon). Name New England’s starting backfield for the first Super Bowl they won. (A game they shoulda been blown out of - more on this in a moment).
Compare your answers to Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James, et al. I remember reading in 2002 a TSN quote where a scout said,
“New England doesn’t have bad talent for a playoff team, they have bad talent for a NFL team.”
Next, who in your opinion handles “pressure” better? Sure Manning is a stud when he has four seconds plus per pass to throw, but he’s performed so poorly (after monster regular seasons) that there is a term for it (No, not the Atlanta Braves),
“The Manning Face”
It’s that look when you realize the season is over, and despite a plethora of talent, you’re being outschemed and outplayed by the opposing team. Which leads me to -
Coaching.
I won’t use the overused term ” genius” but there is something special about Belicheck. To win three SB’s in four years? Shocking. (I think the only comparable team is the old Bills who GOT to FOUR SB’s in a row, I don’t think you will see that anytime soon).
And let’s be honest, New England takes Billy Beane moneyball to an extreme. WOuld YOU let Adam Vineteri go for a measely few hundred thousand? Hell no. Oh and NE is MILLIONS under the cap right now.
So while Manning puts up monster fantasy stats, Brady wins four out of five games. In spite of last nights uncharacteristic performance, I still go with Brady to win “that one game.” Not only because he HAS won it multiple times, but because I think Manning is this generation’s Marino until he proves me wrong.
(An interesting question - who wins a SB first - Peyton or Ron Mexico?)
And finally, I offer this to Peyton, stop doing commercials and get yourself one of
these (Mrs. Tom Brady)
“We’re gonna win the game, I guarantee it.�
Do you recognize that quote? If you don’t, you should. This is probably the greatest prediction ever made by a player, in a time when player predictions actually meant something. Who is the player, you ask? None other than Joe Namath, predicting the
outcome of Super Bowl III. The New York Jets were facing off against the Baltimore
Colts and were 10-point underdogs. The brash young QB would follow through on his prediction, winning 1969’s big game 16-7. His boldness was innovative and would be copied time and again throughout sports history by some of the game’s greatest athletes. Recently, however, this trend has gotten a little out of hand.
“I know we goin’ win. I know we goin’ bust they ass. Tomorrow night is the last game
here in this building this year. Y’all can quote me, put it back page, front page, whatever.�
Now I know most of you know who this is. It’s Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace giving his
usual playoff prediction. This prediction came after a Game Three loss to the
Cleveland Cavaliers and Lebron James. Rasheed was pretty much explaining, in his own
crazy language, that the Pistons would defeat the Cavs in Game Four and wrap up the
series back home in Game Five. Wallace’s predictions have become so common that
writers have coined the phrase ‘guaransheed’ to explain his constant predictions.
This is Wallace’s fourth such prediction and there is one problem. The Pistons lost
Game Four. This forces me to bring forth the ultimate question; do player
predictions mean anything anymore?
I have thought long and hard about this topic and came up with a checklist of sorts
to see if this ‘guaransheed’ actually constitutes a meaningful prediction.
First off, if you are trying to be bold and make a prediction, you or your team must
be the underdog in the contest.
- Nope. Sorry Rasheed, but your team is the heavy favorite to win the NBA
Championship. This in no way constitutes the Detroit Pistons as the underdog against
the fourth seed Cleveland Cavaliers. No one on this Pistons team should be making
any guarantees, unless they find themselves down in a playoff series, and that is
very unlikely to happen now.
Second, what does a guarantee mean if the game that is being predicted is not the
championship? My answer: absolutely nothing.
- You have come up short once again Rasheed. This is the second round of the
playoffs, not even the Conference Finals. Save your predictions for that round, or
even better, the NBA Finals. A second round prediction, especially when your team is
up 2-1 games, means absolutely nothing to me.
Finally, make sure you come through with solid play in the game you made a
prediction about. There is nothing more embarrassing than predicting a victory and
then having a less than stellar performance. Ask Seahawks TE Jeremy Stevens, he’ll
tell you.
- Would you believe it that Rasheed falls short once again? I would hardly call 7
points and 3 turnovers a stellar performance. Simply said, Wallace talked the talk
but did not walk the walk in Game Four.
So let’s sum up what we have learned today. The Pistons are heavy favorites to win
this series, Wallace’s prediction did not come true during an all-important game,
and Rasheed had a pretty poor performance in Game Four. To add further insult to
injury, the Pistons actually lost the game. Rasheed’s predictions have come to mean
absolutely nothing and these types of player predictions have become a real problem.
If you can think all the way back to the first round of the playoffs, Ron Artest
made a similar bogus prediction, but for different reasons. He predicted the Kings
would win the championship; only the Kings were the eighth seed and no one took them
seriously. Especially after they lost in round one to the Spurs. Some other athletes
actually make predictions just to pump themselves up. A classic example is Joey
Porter, the linebacker from the Pittsburg Steelers. Before the 2006 Super Bowl,
Porter made all kinds of predictions for the sole purpose of giving his team reasons
to win the game. If these predictions and trash talking are the only way to get
pumped up for the SuperBowl, you have a serious problem.
I am going to close with one important message to all athletes such as these. Leave
the prediction making to the experts and the media. We, like you, might not know
what we are talking about, but at least we get paid for it. All your bogus
predictions about games that aren’t very significant are just diluting your
importance and turning you into a circus act. The next time I hear a player
prediction, I’ll know it’s more valuable as entertainment than actual information.
Written by Michael Rothman, a writer for WagerWeb.com
George Herman “Babe” Ruth, the best baseball player of all time is about to be displaced from second on the all-time home run list to third by Barry Bonds. Meanwhile Major League Baseball is treating this “event” like you or I would a test tube filled with the AIDS virus. As in hands off, and we shall not speak of this - ever.
I pick my spots to ‘pile on,’ but bonds and his ‘personality’ just ask for a Dreadrant â„¢.
First off, Ruth never used drugs other than speed (and that is suspicion on my part - nothing was ever confirmed. We do know he came down with a, ahem, disease in the crotchet area in the mid-20’s. AKA “THe Bellyache heard round the world.”)
Bonds on the other hand is a walking endorsement as well as poster child for all that is wrong with MLB. Want to get ahead? Not quite happy enough with your performance? Care to gain 20 pounds of lean, muscle mass at the age of 38 when most men are starting to spread?
Well then look no further because not only is there a drug (heck a LOT of drugs) for you, we’ve got the agent to mask em. (Not that you need to because MLB is still years behind where they need to be). People get suspicious? Lie, deny, obfuscate and be a general ass because your talent WILL PREVAIL.
No doubt Barry was a first ballot Hall-of-Famer WITHOUT the drugs. He was a five-tool, seven time MVP (which sorta destroys his, “The press doesn’t like me” blather. Yo, Barry - see Ted Williams as somebody the press REALLY had it out for) who was also a perennial all star. There was no reason for him to take performance enchancers.
Barry’s antics as a teammate are well documented. He is a complete ass. From special treatment to his own corner of the locker room, Bonds is the kind of guy who if he WASN’T hitting 35, er 73 home runs a year you would trade in a heartbeat. (which is why the Giants aren’t entertaining the idea of moving him to 1B).
Beano Cook once said of Bonds, “The people of Pittsburgh would rather lose without him than win with him.”
Irony given their 14 straight sub-.500 seasons, but that’s another story. Maybe the Bucs fortunes will turn around when Barry finally hangs it up.
So “congratulations” Barry. You’re about to move into second place on the all-time Home Run list. Hope that and your HoF plaque keep you warm at night 15 years from now when you have nothing but sycophants and hangers on skulking about.
And don’t expect us to shed a single, farking tear for you. As somebody wiser than me once said, “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” - Dread
“Dread” is a NCSU graduate currently in the military stationed in the Middle East. He is an avid Pittsburgh Pirates fan.