2007 Brady vs. 2011 Rodgers: Who's better?

But you could certainly make the case he was the better QB that day:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/super-bowl/xlii.htm

No arguing that the Giants beating the ever-loving shit out of Tom Terrific--who, more than most QBs, doesn't like being hit--helped tilt the scales in favor of Eli. And I'd rather have Brady at 34 than Eli at 31. Still. One guy put together the greatest two-minute drive in Super Bowl history, and it wasn't Brady. (I know there's plenty of arguments to be made for Montana vs. the Bengals in 1989, but the Bengals weren't 18-0)

 

Which would be a vote in favor of Brady; Packers "don't run up the score" because they aren't capable of creating that kind of seperation.
And, according to the games, they are "running up the score."
Rogers was still throwing in the fourth quarter of a blowout against Denver in Week 4.
Still throwing - ineffectively - in second half of blowout vs. Rams in Week 6
Still throwing in the second half in a blowout of Vikings in Week 10.
The other games? They've been close. That didn't happen with the Patriots to this point of the season.

 

Tom Brady was throwing the ball midway through the fourth quarter of a 38-0 win against Washington. You will find nothing in the Packers' game logs that comes within a mile of that stat-padding.

 

If I'm coaching against Brady I tell my guys to hit him every single time it's borderline legal. Guy gets hit twice and he starts gyrating for a call and getting distracted.

 

Brady was in the game at the end of the Monday night massacre against the Chiefs two weeks ago. A week earlier in a rout of the Vikings, Rodgers was in a hat by midway thru the 4th. Nobody runs up the score like the New England Patriots. The end.

 

That beating Brady took is why it is unfair to say Manning was the better quarterback that day. Manning didn't have to face that New York pass rush.

And ranking that two-minute drive among the others in Super Bowl history depends on how you rank them. If you want to go by outside circumstances (the Patriots being undefeated), team performance or spectacular plays, sure, it's right up there. If you want to rank strictly by the play of the quarterback, no way. The long pass to Tyree was spectacular, but it certainly wasn't a great throw by the quarterback.

If you want to talk about quarterbacks getting it done in two-minute drills, Montana in '89 still has to be first. After that? Hell, Roethlisberger against the Cardinals was a better performance than Manning's.

 

Brady was wearing his hat midway thru the last week.
BYH, honestly, why are you so offended by the Patriots "running up the score?"
And please realize your post has nothing to do with what Mizzou and I were discussing.

 

That's a fair point re: last week. Also long, long overdue. Guys get hurt in those situations.

I'm honestly not offended. As I noted when the Pats were running it up on the Chiefs, I found it amusing b/c Todd Haley is such a humorless prat. And they're all big boys. I just think it's bad form and bad karma and a good way to get star players injured, and I think Belichick's ruthlessness in 2007 cost them 19-0. They were completely out of gas by mid-January.

 

I think teams should "run it up."
Never in the history of one coach accusing the other of running it up has the accuser ever been the one to concede the game. Everyone expects the team that's winning to concede.
Fuck that. You mean you want the Packers or Patriots to play scrubs and run plays that aren't in the game plan and put them at risk against the opposing team's starters?
No. The losing team needs to wave the white flag first.

EDIT: BYH, anger isn't directed at you; I have a shitty tone when I make points and when I reread this, it sounds very angry. Apologies if it comes off that way.

 

Given the opportunity, I think the Packers will play for 16-0. I don't see them taking the foot off the pedal even if they have clinched. I think 16-0 is a goal they have set and just don't want to admit it publicly. If you read between the lines in some of the player quotes, I think that is the case.

 

Least surprising post ever.

I agree it's a subjective ranking and that Pig Rapist's drive certainly compares favorably to Manning's. But don't go completely discrediting Eli for his performance in that drive. I imagine a couple dozen other QBs, at least, would have been dragged down there instead of wriggling free and firing a prayer up to Tyree.

 

Who's Rogers?