Peyton Manning vs. Drew Brees: who is the real deal?

Question

Not that I dislike Peyton Manning because he is a snobby player, but Drew Brees is a great developing quarterback. Brees reminds me very much like point guard Steve Nash? He just makes every receiver a better player. Running the offense through Brees, the New Orleans Saints in 2006-2007 had four different players with at least 675 receiving yards or more. Peyton Manning, on the other hand, relies primarily on only two receivers—Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. No player on Indianapolis had more than 380 receiving yards, except Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

Click on the links below to compare the numbers:
http://www.nfl.com/teams/stats/NO/2006/ (Saints)
http://www.nfl.com/teams/stats/IND/2006/ (Colts)

When Peyton Manning and the Colts get slapped by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on the regular season opening game, Manning is going to realize that his trophy was a total joke.

Like I said, I don't hate Peyton Manning. Colts fans, Peyton entertains me--it is fun to watch him get sacked, and intercepted by Ty Law.

Answer 1

I agree with you 100%. SAying Brees is like Nash is a great comparison. Drew makes every player on his team better, and gives them a winning attitude. But if you really wanna know the truth, Drew Brees made a whole entire city (NEw Orleans) better. Not to mention he came back from shoulder surgery, and took the Saints as far as they've ever been!!!
Like we say in New Orleans, " It's BRESS-Y in the BIG EASY!!!

Answer 2

First and foremost there are reasons why those two were the only two with more yards than 380:
1)injury (Stokley and Clark)
2)game plan (that seemed to work very well)
3) last year the colts used a 2 Rb system and the yards were split there,
4)These two guys are elite players in the NFL; in fact many commentators have said that if Reggie Wayne were on another team he would be the number 1 WR

And to answer another thing on here the Colts led the league in Sacks Given up their front five on Offense is so good that most other teams gawk at them and would love to have any one of those guys. How many other Qb's in the league can say that they have won more than one game by throwing to a OT? (Klecko)... The next time you think of dissing on Peyton Manning remember who is wearing the most recent SB ring, and which team got beat by the same team that lost to the SB CHAMPS! With that said I will agree that Brees is a great player and still is developing but he will be lucky to scrape the mud off of the MVP's cleats, come on how many records does Peyton Manning have to break to be the "real deal", he has already surpassed Dan Marino by winning the SB, and holds numerous other QB records that prove that he is the real deal and has been for almost a decade! And to call anyone's SB Trophy a joke when you are rooting for a team that isnt proven itself is just crazy talk.

Answer 3

Both quarterbacks are the real deal. Both are currently two of the top five QB's in the league at the moment. You can't just rely on stats to justify who is better, stats can be deceiving. They play in different style of offense, and as far as spreading the ball around, in Mannings case, why would you want to go anywhere else with the football that to two of the games best recievers out there.

I think the difference between the two is that Manning is the smarter and more talented QB when the ball is in his hand. It was no fluke that the Colts won the Super Bowl, it was only a matter of time. No other QB in the game at the moment, or really ever for that matter, has total control over the offense while on the field. It speaks volume about a player when the head coach and offensive coordinator allow a player to call his own plays and audibles throughout the entire game.

As far as the opening season game between these two, it's in Indy, and the Saints don't have the defense to stop the Colts. It will be a great game(I wanted these two in the SB), but Colts win, 31-23.

Answer 4

First off Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne were the only receivers on the Colts to stay healthy all season last year. Dallas Clark was hurt and so was Brandon Stokley, and yes the Saints had there share of injury plagued players on offense last year. But until Drew Brees wins a Superbowl he won't be at the same level as Peyton Manning is; not to say Drew Brees isn't a good quartback he is a good QB just look at what he did with the Chargers when all he had to throw to was his running back (L.T.) and his tight end (Gaits), and talent in the NFC last year wasn't the best so he played in an easier conference last year. They are both great quarterbacks Brees has a little more upside to him now than Manning because he is younger and the players around him are younger than for Peyton and the Colts. But until Drew Brees leads a team to a Superbowl win I just don't think you can compare the two.

Answer 5

Manning (although Brees is still a great QB).

Manning has battled his adversaries and now has a ring.

Also, don't forget that in the 2004 season, Harrison, Stokely, and Wayne each had over 1000yards receiving. When is the last time that you've seen a QB throw 1000+ yards to three different receivers? Just a couple of QBs have done that throughout the entire history of the NFL. Also, if we observe Edge's stats with the Cardinals last season, we will see how much Manning meant to him.

In addition, Manning will probably never get traded by the Colts (or any other team), but Brees got dealt away by the Chargers. Plus, truthfully speaking, with the number of weapons that the Saints have, most QBs could go there and have at the very least an above average season.

Bottom line, Manning is the real deal. Later......

Answer 6

Don't be such a hater! Peyton's the better all around quarterback. Brees is a great developing (DEVELOPING) quarterback, however, you're trying to put down Manning's natural ability and skill by pointing out that he only uses two receivers and that's not helping your point at all. Think about it, if Manning is only throwing to 2 receivers, shouldn't it make it easier for the defenses he's throwing against to break up the pass? Oh, yeah that's right, the pass was thrown by Peyton, and well...hey, if Peyton throws it, it's going exactly where it was supposed to go, yeah, on occasion as with all quarters, the defense gets lucky and intercepts the ball...I believe my team DALLAS, even got lucky last season and beat him. But still the same, Peyton's the better quarter between he and Brees.

Answer 7

Man I see a pattern developing here... once again Peyton Manning is being compared to a quarterback who has no weapons at receivers.

Well I'm going to have to go with Drew Brees (yes I know I'm bias) because he made an impact. Drew Brees turned an entire team around in just 1 year. We're talking 3-13 to the NFC championship for the first time in team history. Anyone who tries to tell me that Reggie Bush was the one to do it is crazy. Bush is good but he really had no effect until the second half of the season. Joe Horn was injured all last season, Donte Stallworth was traded to Philly (still don't know why), and they never had a consistent tight end which is a very important position for a quarterback like Drew Brees to have available. Drew Brees had nothing but a breakout rookie (only played 6 games) and a bunch of no namers to work with and he made it happen all season long.

Now I'm not saying that Drew Brees is better than Peyton Manning, nor am I saying that Peyton Manning is better than Drew Brees. As far as Brees not being in the same league as Manning (as one person said) goes... I'm going to have to disagree with that one. I believe that both Brees and Manning are at an equal level of play right now because I guarantee you if you would have taken the two and switched teams Drew Brees would have led the Colts to the super bowl victory and Manning and the Saints would have fallen "just short" of the big game just like Brees did.

Personally I believe that Drew Brees is going to lead the Saints to a victory over the champs in the opener and that will just justify my claims of Brees being just as good. Now mind you this is just my opinion so don't you Colt's fans and Manning lovers go all crazy on me. That is my opinion and we can only wait and see come the season opener if I am right or not.

Answer 8

Okay. First of all, the New Orleans offense is one that is designed to spead the ball around. No receiver really stood out and there wasn't a receiver that started the entire season.

Second, Brandon Stokley and Dallas Clark were both injured for extensive parts of the season. 2 years ago, Peyton had 3 receivers with over 1000 yards in Wayne, Harrison, and Stokley.

I like Drew Brees. But to say he's in the same class as Manning is just the talk of a ignorant Saints fan that's high on the success of one season. Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl, 2 MVPs, and the touchdown record. Argue with that.

Answer 9

Hey, Peyton has been great every year of his career except his rookie year. If you truly think Brees makes every WR better, look back when he was in a San Diego uniform. WRs weren't good, only McCardell was decent. And until the new rule of the 5 yard contact rule, Gates was an average TE. Peyton doesn't just rely on Harrison and Wayne. Clark made a ton of huge catches in the postseason. Ben Utecht gets catches too. Joseph Addai caught 11 passes in the Super Bowl, and Aaron Moorehead caught more passes in the postseason than in the regular season. And Harrison didn't get many catches in the postseason. And you're telling me he just relies on them?? You can't say the championship was a joke. even if the Saints kill the Colts, it will be a high scoring game and the Saints will win because of the Colts horrible defense and special teams. It's not just offense that matters. And this was Brees' breakout year. He hasn't been consistent his whole career.

Answer 10

It is not a question of whether Drew Brees is good or not, because he is. The question is, is he the best QB in the league (because that is what you are stating if you are comparing him to Peyton Manning), not by a longshot.

Drew is a great QB, as of late probably top 5, but he is not top tier, not yet. There are only two top tier QBs right now, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Drew belongs in the next grouping.

Will he develop into a top tier QB? Maybe. He needs a couple more post season runs (deep) to prove he can handle the pressure.