Peyton Manning has become the second player in the history of the National Football League to throw for 500 touchdowns, joining Brett Favre in that elite club.
Which raises this question: whose 500 touchdown passes mean more, or are better?
Manning is a precision quarterback. He’s very cerebral. He’s had great receivers and played in a dome for much of his career. He can make all the throws, but his success comes from timing and brains.
Favre could never be described as cerebral. He played by instinct, the kind of guy who drew up plays in the dirt and hoped his teammates bought in. He had a rifle for an arm. Three defensive backs on Antonio Freeman? Never worry. Here it comes.
The two were very different quarterbacks on very different teams with very different rules.
During Favre’s career it was almost OK for a defensive back to tackle a wide receiver at the line of scrimmage. Now a defensive back can barely breathe on a receiver without drawing a penalty. That one is on the league.
There are two telling statistics in this debate.
One is that Favre was sacked 250 times more than Manning. Fave averaged 27 sacks per year, while Manning averages only 16 per season. Manning throws it away. Favre stood there and took it.
The other statistic is consecutive games. Favre is the all-time leader with 321, an incredible figure for anyone, much less a quarterback. Nobody among active players, including Manning, is even close.
The last thing is the big game.
Who do you take in one game? The single game that you have to win. The one the whole world is watching.
There can be no doubt that the answer is Brett Favre.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
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Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
