Eli Manning vs. Tom Brady Who’s the better quarterback?

Does a team's record always re­flect an particular player's abil­ity? I don't believe so. A team could have a dynamite quarter­back or running back but then the rest of the team could be god awful. The Patriots had a rough start to this season with a quick two losses to the Steel­ers and yes, the Giants. In those two games Tom Brady had his two lowest quarterback ratings of the year, a 101.8 against the Pittsburg Steelers and a seasonal low of a 75.4 After the first two games however, Tom Brady and the Patriots got their act to­gether and won their last three games in a row. Tom Brady managed to finish with a 118.4 against divisional rival New York Jets, a 109.2 against the chiefs and most recently put up a seasonal high of 134.6, with three touchdowns, no intercep­tions and 361 yards. On the season, Tom Brady has thrown for a total of 3,627 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Eli Manning hasn't had the same kind of ratings or num­bers as Tom Brady but has a better record overall. However, a record doesn't reflect the per­formance of the quarterback. In the five games that the Giants have played, Eli's highest quar­terback rating came against the Miami Dolphins, with a 106.6. This has been Eli's only quar­terback rating over one hun­dred and the rest of the ratings aren't impressive to say the least. However, the Giants managed to churn out wins and have produced a record of three wins and two losses, same as New England. On the season, Eli Manning has thrown for a total of 2,952 yards and 18 touch­downs. He will be looking to elevate those stats on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints.

When comparing the num­bers and stats of the quarter­backs, we can see why one team manages to win and why one does exceptional. With the quarterback ratings of Tom Brady, it's fair to put the blame for most of the losses this season on the defense. Any New Eng­land fan could tell you that. As for the Giants, Eli has been all over the place with his ratings. He performs well some games and then could drop the ball and have a bit of an off game. However, the Giants still find a way to win the majority of their games. Looking back at some of the games that they have played and looking at the stats of Eli, I have to say that the main reason that the Giants have a winning record is defense. Opponent quarterbacks have averaged a combined passer rating of 75.6, which is below average for a typical quarterback. Eli Man­ning is averaging a 94.7 over­all. So with Eli's stats in mind as well as the defensive stats, I believe that the Giants come out on top due to their defense. Tom Brady on the other hand, is pulling better statistics than his defense. The New England Defense is averaging a passer rating of 82.6 against, which isn't much worse than the Gi­ants defense, but it makes all the difference.