Brady Bunch VS. Manning the Marketing Genius

VS

While I do know that it is June I am just TOO excited for the upcoming football season. Fantasy football is like cocaine although I do draw the line at some of the things I would do for it. One thing I tend to shy away from is drafting a QB too soon which is why these two players need to be discussed.

For the past few years I can't remember Peyton Manning not being off the board by the beginning of the 2nd round. Our first 2 years Manning was in the top 5 in the draft. Last year Tom Brady took that role (rightfully so, I mean 50 TD passes, hello...McFly!). Unfortunately for the poor folks who drafted him, his season was over before you could say dynasty.

So to help build your own dynasty(or not) I'm going to break it down for you with your concerns

MARKETING MASTERY

Now I know this has nothing to do with their performance on the field....well maybe a little. If we were basing this on TV shows they have been on, Brady would clearly win for obvious reasons (duh Simpsons AND Family Guy). Brady is the spokesman for Stetson as well as getting it from Gisele, giggidy, but Manning is the spokesman for...let me think...oh yeah everything else. Who else can gloat about their laser, rocket arm with a 70's porn 'stache?

ADVANTAGE: Manning

INJURY

Manning's knee injury was far less severe(arthroscopic surgery prior to the season) then Brady's season ending injury on the first series in week 1. Manning didn't perform like his normal self until well into the season but by then you probably had a more viable option and sat him stupidly when he actually started to produce. Maybe you didn't but moving on, both have recovered, Brady claims to be stronger then ever and seems to look fine in OTA's. Honestly you can never be too sure of any player until you see them in actual games running away from lightning quick defensive ends (oh its the SUGGERNAUT). The only real advantage here is that Brady had almost an entire season to heal while Manning was playing through the pain last year.

ADVANTAGE: Brady

COACHING CHANGES

This argument is easy considering a future hall of fame coach and most of his supporting cast has left Indy. The only change in New England is Josh McDaniels. Haven't they lost an offensive coordinator before? I would be more concerned if I were a Broncos fan. Brady also hasn't come out in the off season to cry about all the coaching changes. Manning has comeback with other quotes about his initial over reaction. However as the leader of his team the fact that he was freaking out says a lot about what the team will do.

ADVANTAGE: Brady

SCHEDULE

So AFC East VS AFC South, you have to give it to the South. While all the AFC East teams are probably going to be competitive you just can't be sure about the Jets or the Bills. Yeah they signed T.O. but that may not result in a winning season(even though they will have their popcorn ready). The Jets have a huge question mark at QB but either way it doesn't scream winning season. Although with Rex Ryan at the helm you know they are going to be a smash mouth football team so anything could happen. The South division only had one poor team that shocked everyone since it wasn't the Texans. What the Jags lacked was a decent offensive line mostly due to injury and a tragic off field shooting. I predict a repeat of last season within the East resulting in a battle between the Patriots and the Dolphins. The Bills have too much to prove and I think the Jets are a year away from being really competitive. I mocked the Texans before but they showed a lot last season finishing the season winning 5 out of their last 6. They had two impressive wins (vs Titans, @ Green Bay) so they didn't just beat cupcakes (speaking of which they lost to Oakland in the black hole). I predict that the division will be between the Titans and Colts with the Texans not too far behind. The real wild card is the Jaguars. You never know which team will show up but if they do it should make for an interesting division race. Nothing fuels a players fire like one of those and considering that 3 out of the four teams in that division are more known for the offense you can see where the advantage lies. Houston's D is starting to turn around but are still young, Colts are hit(with Bob Sanders) or miss(w/o Sanders), Jags defense is aging/got completely abused last season and then there is the Titans who were one of the top D's last season. Hmmm, let me think.

ADVANTAGE: Manning

SUPPORTING CAST

This one is going to decide it. Look at what the Patriots have done on the offensive side of the ball. They went out and got a work horse in Fred Taylor to pick up the slack in the backfield which with the oxymoron of a healthy Laurence Maroney who knows what will happen. Also they picked up Joey Galloway who always finds a way to produce and you have the best WR triplets in the NFL. Well outside of Arizona as long as they keep Boldin. So the Pats sound like the offense isn't going to be an issue. The D is where there are issues, however that doesn't concern Brady so who cares. On the flip side of this is Manning who loses a future hall of famer in Marvin Harrison. No real key free agent pickups at receiver so the team is hoping that Anthony Gonzalez pans out. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are automatic however last season Wayne did have some drops that really hurt considering they were for touchdowns. I mean not Braylon Edwards but still, they hurt. The addition of Donald Brown will solidify a backfield that lost Dominic Rhodes in the off season. Joseph Addai had injury problems and could have one of those Brian Westbrook seasons where he is great until he's hurt and out for 3 weeks. Brown is still a rookie but I think given the opportunity he will be able to perform at a high level (what running back do you know that can't if he is a Colt lately). It is almost getting to be like Shanahan's Broncos. Where he could just poop a 1,000 yard rusher or pluck them off a tree like fresh fruit. If Brown can catch out of the backfield then who knows. So lets just go through and compare. Moss/Wayne (Moss), Welker/Gonzalez (Welker), Clark/Galloway (Clark), Addai/Taylor (Addai if healthy), Maroney/Brown (Maroney) and the O-line is clearly in favor of the Colts who only allowed an astonishing 14 sacks last season compared to 48 for the Pats. Then again Brady wasn't back there so who knows. The cards don't lie....lord 'ave mercy.

ADVANTAGE: Brady

So there you have it. Let the great debate begin. Of course if I were Tom Brady I would be able to say kiss the rings... Alas I am not. The preseason power rankings are available at ESPN.com. Of course the Steelers are favored but right on their heels is Brady and the Pats. "Until further notice, a team coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Tom Brady is a legitimate Super Bowl contender," says Tim Graham one of the voters for the rankings. So get ready folks, for some FOOTBALL!