Kiz: After the Wells report introduced us to a dude who called himself “The Deflator,” it’s hard to reach any reasonable conclusions except that: 1) Tom Brady throws the best doctored ball since Gaylord Perry, and 2) Tom is terrific, but he’s a lousy liar. By contrast, the worst things I’ve known Peyton Manning to do are those cringe-worthy Papa John’s commercials. But should integrity issues be part of the argument about who’s the better quarterback?
Hooch: Not only is the Papa John’s acting cringe-worthy, Peyton is wearing a football jersey tucked into his jeans. As for integrity, I suppose it’s part of the discussion when debating these two larger-than-life personas. But when it comes down to who’s the better quarterback, we need to focus on the on-field stuff — skill, leadership, big-game performances, championships and statistics. But here’s the catch: Many will now wonder how many of Brady’s big-game performances/championships/statistics were inflated by deflated balls over the years.
Kiz: Brady deserves to be suspended. I’d punish him with two games without pay. But if that’s the penalty for gaining a slight edge in winning his fourth Super Bowl ring, then it was cheating well done. I would rather have Manning as my neighbor. But I imagine 70 percent of NFL fans would still rather have Brady as their QB.
Hooch: I’d rather have Brady as my neighbor — and I’d gladly be the pool boy for The quarterback ring thing is weird. Yes, he earns his championships. But let’s look at it this way: A quarterback can control so much of a game, but he had no control over, say, a late-in-game interception by his teammate. If Seattle hands off the ball at the goal line, Brady has three title rings. But Seattle passes the ball, Malcolm Butler intercepts the ball, and Brady now has four. Same could be said about a game-winning field goal. Obviously, Brady got his team in field-goal range in the final drives of his first two Super Bowls, but if kicker Adam Vinatieri isn’t a machine, maybe today we’re comparing Brady to Ben Roethlisberger.
Kiz: While it’s simplistic to reduce the argument about this generation’s best QB to the number of rings won or the number of times busted for cheating, I do think Deflategate does nicely frame the Brady vs. Manning debate. Manning is so obsessed with doing the right thing in the right way, that when it goes all wrong in the playoffs, he has trouble dealing with trouble. Brady doesn’t care about your love or the stinkin’ rules. He just wants to find a way to win.
Hooch: Yeah, Deflategate definitely makes the pretty boy into a bad boy, of sorts. But here’s something to wonder: Is Tom Brady the rogue quarterbacking ball deflator? Just like Perry wasn’t the only doctorate of ball doctoring from a previous baseball generation, here’s thinking that numerous quarterbacks have tinkered with a pigskin over the years. In a weird way, for as good a winner as he is, Brady is as bad a cheater, since he’s the only one to get caught.
