(Ed Note: This question is a part of this week's The Nickel. Be sure to check out the full flavor here).
Is the Peyton Manning/Tom Brady era of the NFL over?
GAMBLE: The Bridge ain’t over, but the Brady-Manning era has two collapsed lungs and congenital heart failure. Before tonight’s loss, the Pats were 67-0 at home under the Killer B’s when leading at halftime. That’s an omen we can’t ignore. Manning has no more than a bullet of big dawg ballin’ left, and how much longer can New England smoke screen its way to a Super Bowl ? It’s been a great run, but moving forward, if you can’t prance and throw like Dean Chance, you won’t be QBing your team to a Super Bowl dance.
BOADU: Not even close. They both have at least three years left in them. Yeah, it’s great watching RGIII and Russell Wilson run and pass, but if you can make the right decision and be accurate, who the hell needs mobility? I mean, Manning and Brady will both finish top 5 MVP voting this year. We shouldn’t ask if the era is over, but will it ever stop.
B.SCOTT: Not over, but damn close. What we’ve seen in the Brady-Manning shortcomings in recent years is that the window of opportunity is always there, so long as the team stays healthy. But it’s a fine line between joy and pain. We’ll always remember Brady (and Drew Brees) being in the way of Peyton Manning, Eli (and Joe Flacco) in the way of Brady and this great QB discussion we can have long after they’re gone.
MAURICE: This is no time to be prisoner of the moment. Brady still instills fear every time he straps up and Manning just made one of the most inspiring comebacks we’ve ever seen outside of Minny. Indy gave up too soon on Archie’s oldest. I’m not making that same mistake.
DJ DUNSON: This one is simple: No. Quarterbacks age like pitching aces and we were we asking the same question about Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense all season. Brady has been owned by the Ravens defense in recent years but he’ll be back along with Darth Hoodie. Manning will be even healthier and returning all of his weapons. Let’s not forget, they’re both younger than Ray-Ray and they’ve both got another Super Bowl ring on their bucket list.
