5 Reasons 2011 Season Proves Peyton Manning Is Better Than Tom Brady

The floundering Indianapolis Colts are headed inexorably to a winless season. Without Peyton Manning under center, the Colts' numerous flaws have been exposed.

The New England Patriots defense has been a liability this season, and so Tom Brady and his excellent tight ends and receivers have had to carry the load.

Brady is one of the best, certainly, but 2011 should finalize the debate over who is the best quarterback. Here are five reasons why.

The Patriots Didn't Fall Apart When Brady Went Down in 2008

While the Patriots certainly had a better supporting cast in 2008 than the Colts do in 2011, it seems clear that Manning means more victories to a team than Brady does.

The Patriots missed the playoffs with Matt Cassel at quarterback in '08, but they went 11-5, a very nice record that typically gets a team into the postseason.

The swing (at this point in the season) for games won from 2010 to 2011 with Manning on the sidelines is 10. With Brady on the sidelines, the swing for games won from 2007 to 2008 was six.

Four extra victories is huge for a 16-game season and shows that Manning was a more important piece for his team than Brady.

A few other interesting statistics also corroborate that Manning is a more valuable player than Brady—Win Probability Added and Expected Points Added. According to this article from Business Insider, Manning has been responsible for (on average) 1.5 extra wins per season for his team and 51 more points than Brady.

Manning's Record Against the Patriots Has Steadily Improved

Early in his career, Bill Belichick and the Patriots owned Manning. Stellar regular seasons would result in a crushing defeat at the hands of the Pats in the postseason.

The Colts' breakthrough against the Patriots in November of 2005 in Foxborough foreshadowed their victory in the AFC championship game after the 2006 season. These wins silenced many of Manning's critics who complained that he couldn't come through in the clutch.

Since the 2005 season, Manning's record against Brady is 5-2. 

He has been accurate and has protected the football well in their victories and has shown that he can adapt to figure out the Patriots' defensive schemes. 

Manning's in-Game Adjustments Separate Him from Brady

Perhaps no quarterback in the history of the NFL has had as high of a football IQ as Manning. His manic pre-snap gesticulations are legendary.

Manning's forte is reading defenses and making the right decisions that will move the ball downfield. Opposing teams' defenses get burned when they try to blitz and are picked apart underneath when they lay back in a zone.

Brady is an incredibly accurate passer who goes through his progressions with a keen sense for where the open receivers are.

He is not, however, as effective as Manning at making in-game adjustments. With his amazing understanding of the game, Manning serves as another coach on the field for the Colts and gives an edge to his team that Brady doesn't.

Manning Makes His Receivers Better

The fall-off for Manning's receivers this year with the noxious trio of Collins, Painter and Orlovsky under center has been astonishing.

Pierre Garcon has been fairly consistent despite the wretched quarterback play. Garcon has 60 receptions for 851 yards with six touchdowns. Reggie Wayne, however, is well off his normal All-Pro pace. With 748 yards on 56 receptions and only two touchdowns, Wayne hasn't caught nearly as many balls in stride as he did with Manning.

Even more egregious than Wayne's predicament is the fate of Austin Collie and Dallas Clark this year. Both players are having incredibly pedestrian seasons without Manning slinging the ball to them. Clark has been pulled in to block more frequently because the lesser guys the Colts have had at quarterback are not nearly as efficient at getting the ball away under pressure.

Collie hasn't gotten nearly as many targets as the previous two years; mostly because Painter, Orlovsky and Collins can't find him with the degree of accuracy needed to fit the ball into tight spaces.

While Brady did revive Randy Moss' career, Chad Ochocinco faded away this year even with Brady throwing him the ball. When Brady went down with his season-ending injury in 2008, the receivers around Matt Cassel stepped up and still had statistically excellent seasons.

Manning improved the play of the guys around him more effectively than Brady ever did.

Manning Has Had Poor Teams Around Him That He's Elevated Through His Excellence

The Colts' astounding collapse this year lays bare the huge lack of talent around him that Manning has had to put up with the past few years.

The Colts' best team was, arguably, their 2005 team that featured Edgerrin James in the backfield, Marvin Harrison and a young Dwight Freeney. Since then, their talent level has steadily declined as many of Bill Polian's high draft picks have failed to pan out.

Tony Ugoh, Anthony Gonzalez and Jerry Hughes are all early draft picks who have either underperformed or been injured too frequently to make an impact for the team.

These missed picks have caused a trickle-down effect for the Colts and left their special teams and secondary (in particular) with a shocking lack of depth.

Manning's excellence papered over these flaws the past few years and kept the Colts in the upper echelon of the league.

Without Brady, the Patriots were still a very good team. Without Manning, the Colts devolved into the worst team in the NFL.

The jury of the 2011 season has delivered its verdict. Manning is better than Brady.