When Peyton Manning was playing, debates raged about whether he or Tom Brady was the greatest quarterback. With Brady still winning Super Bowls and playing at an MVP level long after Manning’s retirement, however, Brady has largely won the debate and the title of greatest of all time.
Not in the mind of Bart Scott, however. Scott, a linebacker who played against both Brady and Manning multiple times, says Manning was the much more difficult quarterback to play against, and he says that every defensive player in the league who faced them both would agree.
“I’d much rather go against Tom Brady every day of the week than go against Peyton Manning,” Scott said on ESPN Radio. “I believe that’s how everybody feels.”
Scott says that Manning was such a master of the mental side of football that defensive players would lie awake at night with anxiety about what Manning might do, whereas Brady’s success was more a function of the people around him.
“Tom Brady was more about Bill Belichick, the entire team, the execution, them having a game plan,” Scott said.
Scott faced Manning five times in the regular season and three times in the playoffs. He faced Brady 10 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs.
Bart Scott: Every defensive player would rather face Tom Brady than Peyton Manning originally appeared on Pro Football Talk