Why Can't Tom Brady Make the Players Around Him Better Like Peyton Manning Does?

There seems to be a lot of articles on Bleacher Report about who the better quarterback is, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. This is an interesting topic even for me, and I'm not of fan of either the Colts or Patriots. However, what I find more interesting then the never ending question is the arguments that both sides use to try and prove which player is better.

I'm here to offer an outsider's opinion.

The biggest argument I see by Patriot fans is that Manning has played with much better wide receivers, which of course include Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, and Dallas Clark.

To settle this dispute we need to answer the following question Is Manning more of a product of great WR or are his WR more of a product of him?

Harrison's first two seasons without Manning he averaged 68.5 receptions for 851 yards and seven TD. He played in all 32 games.

When Manning arrived in 1998, through 2006, Harrison averaged 98.33 receptions for 1,333 yards and 12 TD.

You can see Harrison's production increased by 482 yards, 30 receptions, and five TD on average per year. 

Now, let's look at Peyton's stats with Harrison and without Harrison. Most of you probably know Peyton has never played a season without Harrison on the roster but I'm counting 2007 and 2008 as the seasons without him because he only played in 5 games in 2007 and he was terrible this past year.

With Harrison (1998-2006) Peyton averaged 4,176 yards passing, 30.5 TD to 15.4 INT with a 94.4 QB rating. He also completed 64 percent of his passes.

Without Harrison (2007-2008) (and probably will be without him the rest of his career) Peyton averaged 4030 yards passing, 29 TD to 13 INT with a 96.5 QB rating. He also completed 66.1 percent of his passes.

The stats show that Manning is just as good with Harrison as he is without him. You can also come to a logical conclusion that Harrison has benefited more from Manning than vice versa.

The other big gun for Manning is Reggie Wayne and he has played his whole career with Manning. A lot of Patriot fans or anti Manning fans like to point out that he has always had TWO great WR to throw to.

However, he has only had three season in which both guys were at the top of their game. Manning has played 11 years and only three of those years did he have two great WR to throw to. Yet he still has nine season of more than 4,000 yards passing which is an NFL record.

Brandon Stokley, who is a former Colts WR, had his only 1,000-yard season in his career with Manning. His second highest season total is 635 yards.

Does anybody remember Marcus Pollard? He was the starting tight end for Manning for seven years. During that time he averaged 35 receptions for 455 yards and 5 TD. Since he's left the Colts, he's averaged 29 receptions for 296 yards and 2 TD.

To wrap this side up, let me just mention Edgerrin James. He was a stud running back from the moment he stepped on the field for the Colts. However, even this year when the Colts basically had no running game, Manning won the NFL MVP.

Conclusion: Harrison is more of a product of Manning not the other way around. Manning can put up great numbers with just one good WR at his disposal, and he can do it with or without a running game. The stats also point out that he makes little known WR into good players.

Now it's Tom Brady's turn. Has he made the WR around him better?

The four seasons the Troy Brown was a starter before Brady took over in 2001 he averaged 46 receptions for 592 yards for 3 TD. The four years after Brady took over he averaged 64 receptions for 684 yards and 3.25 TD.

That's a little bit better but not the dramatic difference we saw in Harrisons', Stokley's, and Pollard's numbers.

Deion Branch averaged 64 receptions for 831 yards and 4.25 TD per 16 games with Brady. With Seattle he averages 65 receptions for 899 yards and six TD per 16 games.

There is no WR that has gotten significantly better with Brady as QB like they have with Manning. 

Randy Moss was an All Pro and Hall of Famer way before he got to New England. Moss has posted at least 1,000 yards with four different QB. It just goes to show that he doesn't need Brady to be successful. However, Brady didn't have a breakout season until he got Moss.

There is the Wes Welker factor, though. In two seasons with Miami, he average 48 receptions for 560 yards. With NE, he averages 111.5 receptions for 1170 yards.

That is the only WR I can see that had a significant increase in numbers with Brady as QB. However, as I'm writing this I've realized that Welker put up nearly identical stats this year with Cassell as he did last year with Brady. So maybe Welker doesn't need Brady to be successful either.

These stats and facts I've provided led me to the conclusion that the notion that Manning only puts up better stats because he has Harrison and Wayne is false. It also leads me to believe that Brady can only put up great stats with an already established great WR.

Now it's time to give Brady some love. I do believe that Manning is the better QB, meaning his physical skills are superior to that of Brady, but I also believe that Brady is the better football player. By that, I mean he has the intangibles, and that is supported by his playoff numbers.

Brady has three rings to Mannings' one, and has a much better post season record. He also has better post season stats which is directly related to each players individual performances. Something I don't like to hear though is that Manning is a choke artist in the playoffs.

How many Super Bowl winning QBs are choke artist?

He has had bad games and very good games. He's posted a perfect passer rating and has gone as low as 35. He's also had games where he's passed for 460 yards and four TD, and then another bad game. So let's just say he's inconsistent. However, most of the teams he lost to were just better than the Colts.

He lost to Titans who went onto the Super Bowl, he lost to the Pats who went on to win the Super Bowl and he lost to the Steelers who went on to win the Super Bowl.

The year he won the Super Bowl he beat Denver at home, then beat the Ravens on the road and New England at home. Why doesn't anyone say Brady choked in this game. He was up 21-3 and he threw the game ending interception.

If that was Manning, he never would've heard the end of it.

Brady has won three Super Bowls in large part because he is a great QB who is clutch. However, some of it has to do with luck as well. 

We all remember the tuck rule right? What if that had gone the other way? What if Adam Vinatieri had missed the field goal against the Rams, or the Panthers? What if Mike Vanderjagt hit that field goal against the Steelers?

I'm not trying to make excuses for Manning, he has flat out played bad in some playoff games but he's also played really well too. There is a lot more to winning a Super Bowl then what the QB does. That's why Trent Dilfer, and Brad Johnson have rings. It's team effort.

These are just my thoughts on the controversial QB debate that will rage on forever. I'm curious though, what if Manning catches Brady in rings? What will Pats fans say then?