Now I know I’ve mentioned it before.  Who is the better quarterback?  Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?  Which ever you choose you can’t lose.  They are among the best of not just this generation, but of all-time.  I’ve always leaned towards picking Peyton Manning rather than Tom Brady.  Reason being is that when I watch Peyton make his pre-snap adjustments he seems to always be one step ahead of the defense and it no only helps himself and his playmakers, but his offensive line as well to better protect him.  That’s no knock on Tom Brady who does it as well, but when you see Manning do it he already knows what you’re going to do and will even fool you into thinking that he doesn’t.  If that makes sense.  Either way I’ve had the luxury of seeing some great quarterbacks in my time.  John Elway, Dan Marino, Steve Young, Joe Montana (with Kansas City).  Those quarterbacks and others that played in that era I saw at the end of their careers, but they were still great nonetheless.  What I have seen in watching Peyton Manning since he first entered the league has proven to me that he is the greatest quarterback the NFL has ever seen.  He is able to do what he wants, even with decent pressure coming at him from the defense, but he is able to get rid of the ball in a timely manner to make a play at a crucial moment.  I’m willing to listen on any other quarterback being better, but I will find it hard to put anyone ahead of Peyton Manning.

Strangely enough it seems like not enough pundits are talking about the Seattle Seahawks.  If you haven’t heard they are pretty good.  The Houston Texans jumped all over them in the first half of their meeting Sunday.  But Seattle’s second half charge led by QB Russell Wilson who doesn’t have a reliable receiver to throw to with their big offseason acquisition, WR Percy Harvin out with a hip injury for the first half of the season.  The Seahawks real strength is in their defense though.  Even though they gave up some big plays early on they didn’t allow the Texans to do so in the second half and cause Texans QB Matt Schaub to make a boneheaded play to allow the Seahawks to tie the game with a pick-six score. Seattle would win it in overtime and prove that they are still a formidable team, even away from their friendly confines of Century Link Field.  They’ll to be more consistent on offense though because they will not be so lucky the next time they are down by two or more touchdowns.

The New England Patriots certainly aren’t the best team in the NFL.  But when you have Tom Brady as your quarterback you’re going to win some games you probably shouldn’t.  They were playing in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome against the Falcons.  Not an easy place to play.  Now the Patriots roster, mainly their receivers consist of some no-names right now with the injury to TE Rob Gronkowski and the free agent departure of WR Wes Welker, but the Patriots are a resilient group.  The Atlanta Falcons have been exposed this year on the defensive side of the ball and are in danger of falling flat at a time when they should be contending for a Super Bowl.  This game ended up much like the NFC Championship game last year in which the Falcons had a chance to win on the final drive of the game and couldn’t punch it in.  It couldn’t get any better for the Patriots as they play the Bengals, Saints and Dolphins in three of their next five games.  This was a huge victory for the Patriots and a disappointing defeat for the Falcons.  There’s still time for Atlanta, but they’ll to turn it around in a hurry if they want to stay in the race with the Saints going forward.