Peyton Manning. Tom Brady. Sigh. I like games featuring competent quarterbacks, I really do. But judging by my feelings on quarterbacks, ranging from throwing shade on Manning’s TD record to telling people to stop being surprised about Brady’s slow start, it is understandable if you believe I can’t stand them. I am always amused by the quarterback position – it is like there is a caste system, and it drives me up a wall. “You have a 2:1 TD-INT ratio, but ARE YOU ELITE?!” “You ran for 100 yards, but REAL MANLY QBs stay in the pocket and wear ties to press conferences!” “Nice 300 yard passing game, but you have tattoos and your hat is on backwards … you’re supposed to be a CEO – the FRANCHISE!”
Pictured: The Sanchize.
And at least Brady and Manning know that this isn’t a one-on-one matchup, something that fans and media get caught up in because simple-mindedness prevails in these conversations. It’s the Denver Broncos vs. the New England Patriots. It’s a team game. The passers are trying to beat defenses. A quarterback is the most important individual position on the field, but they are still a part of a team.
Grantland had a very detailed piece about the complex “rivalry” between the two passers, putting their careers into great context. Simmons brought up the same points about how much easier it is to be a passer now than when Manning and Brady entered the league around the turn of the century that I mentioned in the Week 7 Observations. Manning is arguably the best passer in NFL history, and there’s nothing I can take away from him. We’re probably never seeing a player with his diagnostic skill play to the level he has again.
But Brady’s career is amazing. We’ll never see anything like the Brady 6 ever again. Simmons continues to make the point about New England building the team around Brady. Manning is Kobe Bryant, Brady is Tim Duncan. Brady has had to deal with a Spurs-like talent base in New England, which is harder to be successful with on the football field because of the variables involved. Hell, I’ve been lowering expectations for Brady the last two seasons, only for Brady to wake fools up when the leaves start falling. The four-game stretch Brady is coming off of was his best since 2007; and that’s with Julian Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola at WR, not Wes Welker, Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth. You never really know what you’re getting from the Patriots and Brady on a week-to-week basis, and I feel like that has been truly special.
Both of these players are great. Both of their teams are great. The games the two quarterbacks have been a part of have been awesome. It’s not all about the quarterbacks. But, I’ll at least acknowledge that this part of football history has been great.
And for what it’s worth … Manning was a way better SNL host than Brady.
Six teams are on bye as the season has reached the midpoint. Expect some sort of revisitation to the NFL Hypothesis Report next week:
Atlanta: I usually have a low opinion on Atlanta’s annually shallow rosters, but the Dirty Birds have taken it to the extreme lately. For the second straight season, Atlanta is 2-6 after eight games. Last year, Atlanta’s biggest problem was a run defense that offered little resistance, giving up more than 2,000 rushing yards at 4.8 yards a pop. Atlanta went out and got big bodies in free agency (DE Tyson Jackson, NT Paul Soliai) and the draft (2nd-round DE Ra’Shede Hageman) and switched to more odd fronts. While Atlanta allows 4.0 yards per rush, they have allowed the most rushing TDs in the league while completely failing to rush the passer. Atlanta has only seven sacks and five INTs in eight games; four players have more sacks by themselves than Atlanta’s entire team. And while WR Julio Jones is healthy, QB Matt Ryan is still under more pressure than he was from 2008-2012. The Falcons are a painfully one-dimensional team, and heads might roll if they don’t get tougher on the line of scrimmage.
Buffalo: The Bills are 5-3 for the first time since 2011. The 2011 Bills signed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to a six-year, $59 million extension at the end of that October, then promptly fell apart, losing seven of their last eight games. Fitzpatrick started the first half of the year with a 15:9 TD-INT ratio, and finished with a 9:14 TD-INT ratio, though the 2011 Bills couldn’t stop the run at all. 1 The 2014 Bills have an interesting journeyman situation at QB with Kyle Orton replacing EJ Manuel, but Orton’s never thrown more than 13 INTs in a season, while this year’s Bills have one of the league’s best front sevens. Even without OLB Kiko Alonso, Buffalo has allowed only 3.6 yards per carry and three TDs while racking up a league-leading 28 sacks. The last time Buffalo allowed under 4.0 yards per rush was 2004. I thought Buffalo was winning five games for the entire season, and they still have to show they can sustain their high level of play in the second half of the year. But they have adjusted nicely to the QB switch and to DC Jim Schwartz’ scheme.
Chicago: The Bears haven’t been 3-5 since 2007, when Rex Grossman was finally benched and Chicago ranked 28th in total yards allowed. That season started Chicago’s slide of six of seven years out of the playoffs. Now, Chicago has just about had it with QB Jay Cutler, while head coach Marc Trestman is taking Joe Philbin-like criticism for his issues controlling the locker room. But much like 2007, Chicago’s primary concern should be a defense that ranks 29th in points allowed. Even with improvements to the run defense that was so poor in 2013, Chicago has failed to defend effectively, with the pass defense allowing a 101.4 passer rating. The Bears didn’t upgrade the safety position at all, and now CB Charles Tillman is out for the season again. It’s hard to win games when you give up almost 30 points a game, no matter who your passer is.
Detroit: I was a fan of Detroit’s hiring of head coach Jim Caldwell, and even with serious injury on both sides of the ball, Detroit is 6-2 for the first time since 2011 – Detroit’s only playoff season since 2000. The 2011 Lions dominated in the passing game, with QB Matthew Stafford throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs, with WR Calvin Johnson accounting for 1,681 of those yards and 16 of those TDs. Stafford and Johnson are nowhere close to reaching those numbers, with Johnson dealing with a high ankle sprain and Stafford taking more sacks this season (league-leading 24) than all of last season (23). Detroit also has the league’s worst rushing attacking, gaining only 3.1 yards a carry, while the team is on their third K due to a ridiculously poor season of field goal kicking. But new DC Teryl Austin has Detroit leading the league in yards and points allowed, allowing a league-best 3.3 yards per rush. OLB DeAndre Levy has been a terror in particular. Detroit will miss DT Nick Fairley indefinitely, while ILB Stephen Tulloch is out for the season. But Johnson and the TEs should be coming back from injury, and the addition of WR Golden Tate has allowed Stafford and the Lions from completely going in the tank offensively. The Lions have to keep it up if they want to win their first division title since 1991.
Green Bay: The Packers were 5-3 last season as well, though they were dealing with a serious collarbone injury to QB Aaron Rodgers that prompted a five-game winless slide. Rodgers isn’t dealing with any broken bones or torn ligaments, just a sore hamstring headed into the bye. While the strength of the team continues to be the passing game, Rodgers has been on fire, starting the season with 19 TD passes and one rushing score; he had 17 TD passes last season and no rushing TDs. The only time Rodgers has played better was his MVP season in 2011. Green Bay still can’t stop the run, while the offensive line has been mediocre, so the Packers are putting a lot on Rodgers and his receivers to win games again.
Tennessee: The Titans are used to being mediocre, but they are usually under-the-radar with their poor performance. They are 2-6 for the first time since 2009, when Tennessee started 0-6 but “rebounded” to finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs. The 2009 Titans couldn’t defend the pass, giving up 31 TD passes while finished 31st in passing yards allowed. The 2014 Titans just have issues scoring, ranking 30th in the league in points scored, with only four rushing TDs. New head coach Ken Whisenhunt has already benched two QBs, and they are now starting 2014 1st-round rookie LT Taylor Lewan, 2nd-round rookie RB Bishop Sankey, and 6th-round rookie QB Zach Mettenberger. Combine that with Tennessee’s boom-or-bust 3-4 defense, and it is clear that the Titans are looking more like Whisenhunt’s post-Warner Cardinals.
2014 #NFL Week 9 picks (9-6 in Week 8, +24 in 2014): CAR, CIN, TB, ARI, PHI, KC, MIA, WAS, SF, DEN, SEA, PIT, IND
— Law Murray (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 31, 2014
New Orleans at Carolina: I didn’t make a formal preview for this game in any format, though I figured Carolina would be ready offensively for a division rival who had to travel after a Sunday night game. In addition, New Orleans came into this game 0-4 on the road, allowing 31.1 points in those losses this season. New Orleans wound up allowing ten points, fewest on the road in over three years, while putting up four TDs to win and get to .500 at the season’s midpoint.
Jacksonville at Cincinnati: Jacksonville rookie QB Blake Bortles has been given a new goal: stop throwing multiple INTs. Jacksonville is 0-7 when they have been kept under 20 points, and a good way to help Bortles out would be to get RB Denard Robinson going against Cincinnati’s bottom-five run defense that will be without OLB Vontaze Burfict. Cincinnati will be without RB Giovani Bernard, while WR A.J. Green isn’t 100 percent yet. Jacksonville’s defense is starting to play better, and they’ll have a chance to sneak the Bengals if their QB can take care of the football.
Tampa Bay at Cleveland: The Buccaneers have the bottom of the NFC all to themselves, and they unloaded former starting SS Mark Barron at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay has beaten the Browns three times in a row, but as last week proved, these Buccaneers can lose to anyone in any number of ways. Cleveland has perhaps the least threatening group of receivers in the league, and TE Jordan Cameron is out with a concussion, which you would think would give the Buccaneers a break considering how bad the pass defense has been in Lovie Smith’s first season. Cleveland has also struggled to run the football in the wake of C Alex Mack’s injury. Tampa Bay needs rookie RB Charles Sims to have a big debut against a bottom-five Cleveland run defense.
Arizona at Dallas: The Cardinals haven’t won in Dallas since the 1998-1999 playoffs, and haven’t beaten their former division rival in Dallas in the regular season in 25 years. The Red Birds get a break, as Dallas will comes off a short week and will either start an injured QB Tony Romo (back) or his pressure-averse backup Brandon Weeden. Arizona doesn’t get to the passer 2 but they blitz relentlessly to force mistakes. If Romo can’t slide from the pressure, he’s just as much a liability as Weeden would be against the same defense. Arizona is going to test the Dallas secondary down the field like few teams have done so far this season.
Philadelphia at Houston: The Texans have beaten every team except for Minnesota and Philadelphia. The Eagles have one of the best special teams units in the league, while Houston is annually one of the league’s worst. Philadelphia also gets RB Darren Sproles back, which should help the special teams and Philadelphia’s top-five offense. Of course, Philadelphia’s offensive line will be tested by DE J.J. Watt, but Houston may be without rookie OLB Jadeveon Clowney (illness). The Eagles need to force Houston to play from behind, as Houston RB Arian Foster is ripping teams apart.
New York Jets at Kansas City: New York QB Michael Vick is making his first start in a Jets uniform, but this is a bad spot for him. Last time Vick faced Kansas City was September 2013 in Philadelphia, as Chiefs head coach Andy Reid made his return to Lincoln Financial Field and Vick turned the ball over three times. Vick was also sacked by Kansas City OLB Justin Houston 4.5 times, and Houston is already up to ten sacks this season. Things might get ugly for New York’s offense in their first visit to Arrowhead Stadium since 2005. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs find a WR for a TD for the first time this season against a New York secondary that has allowed 22 TD passes and only one INT.
San Diego at Miami: The Chargers went into Miami in November 1980 and won in overtime, 27-24. They went back for the Epic in Miami for a 1981 Divisional game, and the Chargers got a legendary performance from TE Kellen Winslow to win 41-38 in OT. 
You know where this is headed: the Dolphins have beaten the Chargers in Miami every time since, seven straight games, including last year’s 20-16 win that saw San Diego QB Philip Rivers take three fourth quarter sacks. Rivers is going to have to deal with Miami’s pass rush yet again, along with Miami’s top-ten pass defense. The Chargers will be relatively rested for this trip to South Florida, and they’ll face a Miami team that is inconsistent offensively but has shown signs of putting it together.
Washington at Minnesota: Washington is bringing back QB Robert Griffin III for this game, and the hope is that he will be able to spring RB Alfred Morris. Morris had ten 100-yard rushing games in his first two NFL seasons, but none so far in 2014. Morris’ last 100-yard game actually came in Minnesota, when he had 139 rushing yards to complement three TD passes by Griffin in a 34-27 loss. Expect Washington to bring the pressure against a Minnesota offensive line struggling to protect rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater. Washington is coming into Minnesota on a short week, and both teams played overtime games, so this may be a bit of a slopfest.
Saint Louis at San Francisco: Yes, these teams just played three weeks ago – football and baseball. The 49ers had a week off, while the Rams watched QB Austin Davis take seven sacks. San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick played one of the best games of his career in the Week 6 Monday night win at Saint Louis, though the Rams expect a little more help with newly acquired SS Mark Barron along with the return from injury of CB Trumaine Johnson. I want to emphasize the word little, as Barron was a bust in Tampa Bay’s wretched secondary, while he plays the same position as 2013 3rd-round pick T.J. McDonald. The 49ers are an even 1-1-1 coming out of a bye week under head coach Jim Harbaugh, while the all-time Rams vs. 49ers regular season series is tied at 63-63-3.
Denver at New England: A rematch of the 2013 AFC Championship, a game in which New England head coach Bill Belichick chastised Denver WR Wes Welker for a dirty hit that knocked out CB Aqib Talib, clearing the way for the Broncos to rack up 400 passing yards in a 26-16 win. Talib would then sign with the Broncos and joke about the hit with Welker. Last season’s matchup in New England came down to special teams, as a muffed punt set up a game-winning FG for the Patriots, completing the biggest comeback in franchise history. Denver dirty hit alert: this will be New England TE Rob Gronkowski’s first game against the player who tore his ACL last year, former Cleveland SS T.J. Ward. Denver can stop the run while New England struggles in that department; look for RB Ronnie Hillman to eat up the extra DB packages New England will utilize.
Oakland at Seattle: The Raiders last won in Seattle in 1998, when the Seahawks were in the AFC Western. The Raiders put up 41 points against Seattle’s Week 4 preseason squad, but have scored more than 14 points only once this season. Oakland is the worst rushing team in the league, and they will be going against Seattle’s top-five run defense, though the Seahawks have slipped without ILB Bobby Wagner. Oakland starts rookie QB Derek Carr; rookie QBs are 1-5 in Seattle since Pete Carroll took over as head coach in 2010; Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton has the only win, while none of the six rookie passers gained more than 170 yards passing. Seattle’s offense has gotten off to slow starts over the last three weeks, with zero first half TDs. 3
Baltimore at Pittsburgh: The Ravens bullied the Steelers in their Week 2 matchup, and Pittsburgh isn’t a whole lot better defensively. But Baltimore is in a bad spot facing Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger without starting CB Jimmy Smith (foot). Roethlisberger destroyed Indianapolis’ pass defense once CB Vontae Davis was unavailable, and no one has figured out Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown out yet; the Steelers are going to be able to throw the ball on Sunday night. Both of Baltimore QB Joe Flacco’s Week 2 TD passes went to TE Owen Daniels, and he isn’t 100 percent. Expect Baltimore to keep it on the ground as much as possible against Pittsburgh’s bottom-ten run defense.
Indianapolis at New York Giants: The Giants are coming off a bye week, but they still aren’t all that healthy yet. New York RB Rashad Jennings still isn’t back from his knee injury, so rookie RB Andre Williams will start again. Indianapolis’ defense is good enough to hold Cincinnati under 200 yards in a shutout, but bad enough to allow 639 yards and 51 points at Pittsburgh. New York’s offense is good enough to hang 45 points in Washington, but bad enough to get shut out in Philadelphia. New York will have major issues defending Indianapolis’ backs and TEs, who have accounted for 16 of QB Andrew Luck’s 22 TD passes.
This week marks the 16th meeting between QBs Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and the winner of this AFC Championship rematch will be the first team in the AFC to seven wins. (PC: Patriots.com)