Post-game Power Points: Mavs 109, Knicks 102 (OT)

Monta Ellis struggles, then saves Mavs- Monta Ellis had arguably his worst game in a Dallas Maverick uniform.... Until it mattered most. Ellis was 1-9 from the field with just 2 points and 3 turnovers with 4:28 left in regulation. He had picked up his 5th foul with seven minutes left in the 4th quarter, but head coach Rick Carlisle kept him in the game.
And boy did that pay off. Monta Ellis hit a couple of free throws with 4:56 left in the 4th quarter and then hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Mavs a one-point edge. In overtime, Ellis missed a shot but saved the ball from going out of bounds and threw it in to Tyson Chandler, who gave the Mavs a two point lead that they would not relinquish.
Ellis finished with 8 points on 3-13 shooting, six assists, three steals, and a couple of rebounds.

Three point struggles continue- Though it was a tough win, it was very ugly from behind the arc for the Mavs. They finished 4-31 from three-point range, a putrid 12.9%.
When Dirk was asked about it, he could not provide a definite answer, just saying "I don't know."
The Mavs also struggled defending the three-point line, allowing the Knicks to shoot 50%, including former Maverick Jose Calderon going 7-9 from downtown.

Tyson Chandler explodes on his former team, Calderon does the same for the Knicks- Tyson Chandler definitely had this date circled on his calendar. He posted season-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (25) for a very impressive double-double. His impact goes beyond the stat lines though as he probably had two of the top five momentum-shifting plays, one being an alley-oop and the other being a punctuating dunk in overtime to give the Mavs the lead in the waning minute.
Jose Calderon wasn't too shabby for the Knicks either. Ironically on a night the Mavs were short-handed at the point guard position because of injuries to starter Jameer Nelson and former Knick Raymond Felton, Calderon exploded for 7 three-pointers and a team-high 21 points. Unlike Chandler though obviously, he came up on the losing end.

Dirk plays big in the second half- Dirk had four points at halftime, but finished with a game-high 30 points. He was an absolute monster in the second half and overtime, scoring clutch basket after clutch basket. He also put the game away effectively, scoring a basket with 43.9 seconds left in the game to give the Mavs a four-point lead. The Knicks started playing the foul game after that and never caught up.
Dirk finished with 30 points on 11-24 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals. He also played a season-high 39 minutes.

What's next?- The Mavs kick off their four game road trip on Friday at Toronto to face off against the Raptors at 6:30 p.m.

Post-game Power Points: Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks

Miami Heat 105, Dallas Mavericks 96

Lackluster first half on both ends- The defensive deficiencies have been somewhat of a problem all season and the first half of this game wasn’t much better. The Mavs allowed the Heat to shoot 60 percent from the field while they shot a measly 36.6 percent. Dirk had 16 points in the first half, but he was the only Maverick to break double digits as he got minimal help from his supporting cast.

At the other end, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng had 15 points each, with Mario Chalmers pitching in 10 points of his own. Deng especially had a very efficient first half as he made seven of his eight shot attempts.

Heat offense dictates- The Miami Heat scored all over the floor, but they especially dominated the closer they got to the rim. It wasn’t even the big men for the Heat that were scoring down low, actually it was their ability to shoot from the perimeter that brought Tyson Chandler and the Mavs big men to the perimeter and opened up easy lay in opportunities for the Heat guards to attack the rim.

Monta Ellis rocks the third quarter-  Monta Ellis sent the AAC in an uproar as he came out of the gate after halftime and scored 10 very quick points for the Mavs. He had two quick shots and then followed it up with back-to-back three pointers. Ellis finished with 14 points in the third and had 23 for the game.

However, the Mavs defensive struggles carried over from the first half as they allowed 28 points in the third period to scoring 23 of their own.

Aside from just giving up points, they were giving up shots that drained any momentum they had built, such as three pointers to Wade and Chalmers at different points in the period as the shot clock expired.

Tale of the two newcomers- The Miami Heat added Luol Deng to their arsenal on a two-year 19.9 million dollars deal. The Mavs added Chandler Parsons on a three-year 46 million dollar deal. The stat lines for each?

Deng went 13-17 for 30 points, including four from downtown. He added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Parsons went 1-9 for four points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and a turnover.

Statistically notable-

Luol Deng finished with 30 points on 13-18 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.

After 16 first half points for Dirk, he scored one more point the rest of the way and finished with 17 points on 6-15 shooting, six rebounds and three assists.

Notable quote- Mark Cuban said before the game: "I hated them before LeBron got there. He didn’t impact my feelings for them at all.''

Brady furthers legacy, Tops Manning in 16th battle

We all went into Sunday afternoon's game of Brady vs. Manning Part 16 thinking we would get another classic. Instead, it was the second biggest blowout of any game between the two ever.

This game alone does not prove or say that Tom Brady is better than Peyton Manning. No, that was known before the game. However this game brought up some points to prove further why Brady is a slightly better quarterback than Manning that was missed in the pre-game legacy check.

First of all, going into the game, I had thought that even though Brady was the slightly better quarterback, Manning would win the game 24-20 because he had the better team (the argument many Manning supporters use to say that Brady has had better teams, which as shown in my previous article is not true. Both were fairly equal, Brady having defense, Manning having offense).
Manning had arguably a top three offensive arsenal of all-time, and the second ranked defense in the NFL currently, with Von Miller and Demarcus Ware rushing the quarterback off the edges and Aqib Talib and T.J Ward anchoring the secondary. All Tom Brady had going for him was special teams and home-field. And that proved to be enough.

Brady was superb all day, with the exception of one throw early in the game where he missed Brandon LaFell for a touchdown. His lone interception came off a tipped ball and he had four touchdowns. He carved up the second ranked defense the same way he had carved up the Bengals early in October, who were at the time the top ranked defense in the NFL.

Manning struggled all day. He got tricked into throwing his first of two interception (the second was dropped by Welker and was not Manning's fault), when Rob Ninkovich dropped in a zone and Manning threw an errant pass that swung the momentum while the game was still close. Brady threw a touchdown to Brandon Lafell on the very next play. Manning couldn't even get all of his weapons involved, as Julius Thomas didn't have his first target/catch until the third quarter.

This game really just furthered the point why Brady is total is a better option than Manning. For Manning to truly be successful, he needs perfect conditions around him. He needs great weapons at his disposal and ideal weather conditions. For Brady, it isn't necessary.

As I said before, Manning is superior in stats to Brady because he played in the Indy dome for the first 12 years of his career. In Indy and in Denver, he has always had a better supporting cast than Brady, with the exception of 2007.

With the game time temperature being just under 40 degrees, Manning's loss put him at 8-12 all time when temperatures dip below 40. Brady? Oh, he's 32-4. Winds were gusting in Foxboro, yet Brady didn't miss a beat. But Manning seemed to be a little off, even with an amazing supporting cast.

If you want to be considered the best of all time, you have to be consistent. You can't say he's the greatest BUT temperatures need to be warm. BUT he needs guys around him. BUT it can't be the playoffs. No exceptions.

On game doesn't answer a questions, but it was more ammo to add for Brady's case, while Manning's case against Brady remains a weak one.

Kobe Brady? LeBron Manning? There are more similarities than you may think...

A comparison between the NFL and NBA...? Say whaaaaaat?

That may be the initial reaction, but when you look in at this Kobe-Lebron vs. Brady-Manning comparison, interestingly enough, it isn't that off.
Kobe Bryant is to Tom Brady as LeBron James is to Peyton Manning.

Let's take a look at some of the similarities:

1) 
Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are two of the most iconic players representing the NBA. 
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are two of the most iconic players representing the NFL. 

2)
Kobe Bryant had some draft day drama of being traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers. 
Tom Brady had his own version of draft day drama by falling to the sixth round and being picked 199 overall. 

3)
LeBron James was a highly touted prospect prior to entering the NBA and was picked number 1 overall. Also, there was plenty of talk of LeBron or one other player, Carmelo Anthony. 
Peyton Manning was also a highly touted prospect prior to entering the NFL and was also picked number 1 overall. There was also strong debate about whether the top pick should be Manning or one other player, Ryan Leaf. 

4)
Kobe Bryant has played his entire career on one team, winning numerous championships (5), and losing twice on the grandest stage in the NBA. 
Tom Brady has also played his entire career on one team, winning numerous championships (3), and losing twice on the grandest stage in the NFL. 

5)
LeBron James has played on two different teams in his career, taking both to championship games (2007 with Cleveland Cavaliers, 2010-2014 with Miami Heat).
Peyton Manning has also played for two different teams in his career, also taking both to championship games (2006 and 2009 with Indianapolis Colts, 2013 with Denver Broncos).

6)
Kobe Bryant is currently playing on a roster devoid of too much superstar talent, and one of his biggest weapons was just lost for the season to injury in Julius Randle. 
Tom Brady is also playing on a roster that many consider to be devoid of a lot of superstar talent, and he too lost a key weapon for the year to injury in Stevan Ridley. 

7)
LeBron James has played with a plethora of weapons in his career (Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, etc) and has a star-studded roster right now as well (Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, etc). 
Peyton Manning has also played with a plethora of weapons throughout his career (Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, etc) and has a star-studded roster right now as well (Demaryius Thomas, Emannuel Sanders, etc)

8)
Kobe Bryant played a good portion of his career with a legendary coach in Phil Jackson, and won all of his rings with him. 
Tom Brady has played his entire career with a legendary coach in Bill Belichick and also won all of his championship rings with him. 

9)
LeBron James has played for five different head coaches and won his rings with a coach on the rise (Erik Spoelstra). 
Peyton Manning has played for four different head coaches and won his lone ring with a rising head coach at the time (Tony Dungy). 

10)
Kobe Bryant has been widely documented to looking up to, and copying, the player considered to be the greatest ever at his position in Michael Jordan. Most people say Kobe is "the closest thing to Jordan." Along with that, Kobe is currently one ring shy of matching Jordan (6).
Tom Brady's childhood idol was Joe Montana, and Montana is widely considered the greatest quarterback to ever play. Brady is also currently one ring shy of matching Joe Montana's total (4).

11)
LeBron James gets somewhat criticized for showing up relatively small in big games, even though he has won a championship. 
Peyton Manning gets faulted for showing up small in the playoffs and Super Bowls and he too has won a ring. 

12)
Kobe Bryant is known for showing up big in big moments, such as the playoffs and the Finals. 
Tom Brady is known for his big-game performances, including the playoffs and Super Bowls. 

13)
LeBron James leads Kobe Bryant by three regular season MVPs (4-1).
Peyton Manning leads Tom Brady by three regular season MVPs (5-2).

14)
Kobe Bryant is considered to have that extreme killer instinct inside of him that comes out on the court, unmatched by anybody in his sport. 
Tom Brady is also considered to have a ruthless killer instinct that is on display on the field, unmatched by anybody in his sport.

15)
LeBron James is playing his sport at the highest level of anybody currently in the NBA. 
Peyton Manning is playing the quarterback position at the highest level of anybody in the NFL. 

16)
Kobe Bryant is considered to have a better, more legendary career compared to LeBron James as of now. 
Tom Brady is considered to have a better, more legendary career compared to Peyton Manning as of now. 

It's always fun to compare greatness amongst the greatest in the game, but it's pretty interesting to compare athletes in two sports and see so many similarities! At the end of the day, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady are all the best at what they do and we are blessed to be able to witness it.

Post-game Power Points: Utah Jazz 102 Dallas Mavericks 120

Mavs thump Utah Jazz 120-102 in scoring outburst

Big D changes nickname to LOB City for the first half- Was this a regular season game or the All-Star game? It sure seemed like an All-Star game the way they Mavs came out of the gate with Dirk kicking off the scoring. Then, very quickly, Tyson Chandler was the beneficiary of lob passes from Jameer Nelson and Chandler Parsons on two possessions that had a Dirk three-pointer sandwiched in-between. Then midway through the 1^st quarter, Nelson chunked a pass from half-court towards the rim and Tyson Chandler went up and finished it. In fitting fashion, the first quarter ended with Devin Harris throwing up an alley-oop to Al-Farouq Aminu.

Contributions from EVERYBODY- The Mavs had their usual superstar in Dirk Nowitzki dominate, but the entire roster was insanely on fire. Chandler Parsons started off struggling, going 2-for-8 with his lone two shots being attacks at the rim. But he got on track really quick and finished 8-for-16 and 21 points. Mavs had a total of seven players in double digits including Nowitzki (21), Parsons (21), Aminu (16), Monta Ellis (14), Tyson Chandler (13), Devin Harris (12), and Brandan Wright (14).  These Dallas Mavericks are an offensive juggernaut and can score with anybody in the league.

Lineup experiments continue- Coach Rick Carlisle played every guy possible in this game and had some interesting combinations. The intriguing lineup of the night was when he went small with newly signed J.J Barrea, Devin Harris, Richard Jefferson, Dirk Nowitzki, and Brandan Wright. The scoring was through the roof with the smaller lineup.

Minute management- Maybe it was the fact that it was the Utah Jazz and the Mavs were up by 30 in the first half, but Carlisle was Popovich-esque in managing minutes for all the players. No player hit 30 minutes for the game, as Monta Ellis led the team in playng time with 29:22.

Dallas hits the road to face the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday November 1^st at the Smoothie King Center.

The War of 1812: Legacy Check

Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?
It's the question that leads to some heated debates. It's a question, that after hours of debating, seemingly goes unanswered.

It's also a very tricky question to answer, especially with both quarterbacks playing at an extremely high level in the twilight of their respective careers. On Sunday, they go head-to-head for the 16th time, with Tom Brady leading the series 10-5. Let's take a look at who has a better legacy thus far:

First of all, I want to make sure it's clear what the question is that I'm about to address: Who's legacy is better at this point, as of October 30, 2014. My definition of legacy is the following: What is the impact you had while playing and how will people look back on your career?

With that being said, to determine who's career has been better, I'm going to use the help of Peyton Manning's former coach and Hall of Fame teammate: Tony Dungy (currently with NBC as an analyst) and Marshall Faulk (currently with NFL Network as an analyst).
Tony Dungy was on the Dan Patrick show just three weeks ago and when asked about who's career he would want right now, he said, "I'd definitely want Tom Brady's career...Right now I'd definitely say Brady's in the lead"
Last year, in the midst of Peyton Manning's best season as a pro, Marshall Faulk was asked the question of who was better all-time. He replied, "As much as I love Peyton Manning and what he can do, I'm riding with Tom Brady." Many analysts around him were shocked he wasn't going with the homer pick in Peyton but he said he's just doing his job being an analyst.
These are two individuals with close ties to Peyton Manning and are now two of his biggest fans in the media. Yet providing an objective take, they both took Brady.

Contrary to many Tom Brady supporters, I don't believe the reason Brady is ahead of Manning is his Super Bowl rings. It certainly helps him, but that doesn't catapult him over. And Manning supporters always want to bring up Manning's supremacy in statistics, which I don't consider fair either, because it ignores many factors (i.e. playing in a dome for 11 years vs. Boston). The way to determine the legacy is a combination of everything. From supporting cast, regular season, postseason, super bowls, and stats. Factor in all of those things, and you get your answer. Let's take a look

Regular Season winning success

Tom Brady has been dominant in the regular season, and followed that with a stellar postseason. In the regular season, Tom Brady has never in his career posted less than nine wins in a season, and that only happened once in 2002. Aside from that, Brady has had double digit wins in every season, including an undefeated regular season in 2007.
Manning has been just as impressive as Brady in regards to winning in the regular season. Unlike Brady though, Manning has had two seasons where his team posted losing records, his first as a rookie in 1998 when the team went 3-13, and the second in 2001 when he lead his team to 6-10. Aside from those two early hiccups, every season has been double digits for Manning.

Stats

When comparing career stats by the numbers between the two quarterbacks, it is actually pretty surprising how close it actually is, because it seems like Peyton Manning runs away with the numbers.
But for Manning's career, he averages 271.7 yards per game versus Tom Brady's 254.8 yards per game. Those numbers come with Manning's attempts per game average being at 35.2 versus Tom Brady being at 34. With Tom Brady's 7.5 yards per attempt, if you add another attempt to match Manning's, Brady would be just 10 yards shy of Manning per game.
Peyton Manning's career touchdown percentage is at 5.7%, with Brady checking in at a 5.5% career touchdown percentage. Though Manning has the slightest edge over Brady in that, Brady has the edge with interceptions. Tom Brady has a career interception average of 2.0% while Manning is at 2.6%.

Peyton Manning's career quarterback rating stands at a 97.9 right now, while Brady is at a 96.4.
Both quarterbacks also have a plethora of astounding records, far too many to individually list each record Brady and Manning hold. A few significant ones include Manning holding the single season record for touchdown passes with 55, breaking Tom Brady's previous record of 50. Tom Brady holds the record for the highest winning percentage ever for any starting quarterback in NFL history, in which Peyton Manning checks in at third place behind Brady and Joe Montana.
Peyton Manning also has an NFL record FIVE regular season Most Valuable Player awards, to Tom Brady's two.
Tom Brady is the only player in NFL history to be a unanimous decision for MVP (2010), a season in which he set a record for pass attempts without an interception (335).

Again, each quarterback has plenty of records and statistics but in the big picture, Manning and Brady are fairly close in those categories.
*Note: Peyton Manning has the record for most touchdowns in a career and is second in passing yards all-time. However, when considering those marks, it is important to take into account that Tom Brady has played 46 fewer games than Manning as Manning started out from week 1 in 1998 and Tom Brady started his career in week 3 (against Manning) in 2001. If Brady's averages were to be added to his current career totals for 46 games, Brady would be a very close to Manning in career touchdowns (about 40 less) and passing yards (about 4,000 less). 

Supporting Cast

Each player has had different advantages in supporting cast through the years. Peyton Manning has had an offensive arsenal that has been unmatched. He walked into the league with Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk taking handoffs from him and Future Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison catching his first NFL pass for a touchdown. After Faulk left, Manning gained Edgerrin James, who was 1st team All-Pro in 1999 and was the NFL rushing champion in 1999 and 2000. Through his career in Indianapolis, Manning had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark, all consistently great. Peyton Manning definitely elevated the play of all of them, but Clark went on to being a productive player for Joe Flacco in Baltimore and Reggie Wayne is still making plays for Andrew Luck in Indy. When Manning switched over to the Denver Broncos, he embraced the arguably greatest arsenal off all time. He had/has Demaryius Thomas, who was the number one receiver for Tim Tebow and was making plays. He had Eric Decker, who was productive for Denver before and is now a number one receiver for the New York Jets. When Manning lost Decker, the Broncos gave him and upgrade in Emmanuel Sanders, who was a top receiving option is Pittsburgh before. As if all of that wasn't enough, Manning also has had Tom Brady's favorite target Wes Welker at his disposal for the past two years. In Indianapolis, Manning always had a stellar offensive line, but in Denver, he has had arguably the top pass protecting offensive line in the entire league.

With Tom Brady, he was winning super bowls early with the likes of David Patten, who was a journeyman receiver for SEVEN different teams. He also was throwing to Troy Brown, who has one Pro Bowl under his belt, as a special teamer. Brady had Deion Branch for three years before he left for Seattle after his Super Bowl MVP and was irrelevant up in the northwest until he came back to New England. His starting tight end was Jermaine Wiggins, who was more of a blocking tight end and really didn't strike fear in the hearts of too many defensive coordinators. In 2006, Brady was throwing to a cast that featured Reche Caldwell as his primary target and Troy Brown, Jabar Gaffney, and Doug Gabriel rounded out the rest. After 2006, Brady's arsenal vastly improved with the addition of Randy Moss and Wes Welker, and with those weapons, Brady showed he is fully capable of putting up the numbers if given the weapons as he threw for a then-NFL record 50 touchdowns. Brady only had Moss for two seasons, 2007 and 2009 as Moss was traded away in the 3rd week of 2010. That was the year Brady changed from a vertical offense to working the middle of the field with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Starting in late 2011, Gronkowski's injuries started piling up and Brady took the Patriots to the Super Bowl that year with Gronk being not fully healthy. In 2012, Gronkowski only played the first 11 games before breaking his arm. 2013 was probably the most frustrating season for Tom Brady, in regards to his arsenal. To start the season he lost 84.1% of his receptions from the previous season with Gronkowski not coming back till week 6, Welker going to Denver, Hernandez going to jail, Danny Woodhead going to San Diego, and Brandon Llyod walking away. Defensively, the Patriots lost leaders like Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo within the first five weeks of the season, yet Brady carried them to the AFC Championship game throwing to Julian Edelman (a quarterback in college), where he fell short to Peyton Manning. In 2014, Brady faced a new challenge, losing his top offensive lineman Logan Mankins the week before the season and had a terrible offensive line for the start of the season. His receivers feature Edelman, Gronkowski, and Brandon LaFell, who has been buried on the Carolina Panthers depth chart up until this point.
The advantage Brady did have early in his career over Manning was much better defenses during his Super Bowl years. However Brady is also the only quarterback to take the 31st ranked defense to the Super Bowl in 2011, the lowest ranked defense to ever reach the grand stage. Also, Brady's stellar defenses are also a big reason why his stats are slightly edged out by Manning, because Brady played a ball control offense while Manning was forced to air it out. Another very key thing to keep in mind while comparing stats is that Manning played in a dome from 1998-2009, which is a lot easier conditions to throw the ball in compared to the northern inclement weather Brady starts to face in Boston from October till the end of the season. Also, ever since Brady has dealt with mediocre defenses since 2007, he has averaged 36 touchdowns a year compared to his 26 he was averaging early in his career when he had good defenses. In 2014, Manning is now playing with his all-time great offensive arsenal to go along a defense that is top 5 in the league.
So, Brady early on had the defense, while Manning had the offense so they were pretty equal. But lately, Brady hasn't had the defense and also has no where near Manning's offensive arsenal. So judging the bigger picture of the whole career, Manning has been blessed with the better cast.
Aside from the field, Brady has had the advantage over Manning when it comes to the sideline. Brady has played his entire career with one coach, Bill Belichick. Manning played with Jim Mora, Tony Dungy, Jim Caldwell and now John Fox. Though Belichick is considered one of the greatest ever, it isn't a monumental advantage. The biggest advantage for Brady is the consistency. But when it comes to coaching, Belichick was 36-44 before Brady. He truly tasted success with Brady so an argument could be made on who makes the other better, but that's for another day. What can't be denied is that Belichick is an all-time great and Brady has played with him his entire career, so on consistency alone, it is an advantage for Brady that Manning didn't have.

Playoffs

Here is where Brady's legacy starts to pull away from Manning. Winning is definitely a team effort, but it is undeniable that the quarterback position has a large part in the outcome of a football game. As the legendary Bill Parcells said, "Quarterbacks, like coaches, are judged by their jewelry." The problem with Manning's postseason narrative is that unlike the regular season success, supporting casts, or stats, it isn't even remotely close to Tom Brady's. It is actually nearly the opposite.
Tom Brady has played three less seasons than Manning, yet Tom Brady has played in three more playoff games than him. Brady is 18-8 in the playoffs, giving him the most wins of any starting quarterback in NFL history. Peyton Manning has a losing record, 11-12, which gives the most losses by any quarterback in NFL history.

Peyton Manning has been one-and-done EIGHT times in his career. Tom Brady on the flip side has been one-and-done just twice and been in EIGHT conference championship games.
The playoffs are where the competition reaches the highest points, and Manning has put up some real stinkers, such as his 41-0 loss to the Jets in 2002 and his four interceptions agains the Patriots in 2003. Manning has also put on clinics, such as his game against Kansas City in 2003 divisional round, but the bad far outweighs the good for him in the bigger picture. For Brady, he has a couple of stinkers, such as a 33-14 loss to Baltimore in 2009, but his good, such as six touchdowns against Denver in 2011 and a perfect game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007, outweighs the bad. In this category, Brady has a huge edge.

Super Bowls

The Super Bowl category also largely favors Brady over Peyton Manning.
Brady has won three Super Bowls to Manning's one.
Brady's Super Bowl record is 3-2 to Manning being 1-2.
Brady is a two-time Super Bowl MVP to Manning's one.
Brady has two career interceptions in his five Super Bowl games. Manning has two interceptions returned for touchdowns in his three career games, and four interceptions total.
When you think of the first Super Bowl Tom Brady lost, the primary thing most people point to is the lucky helmet catch. In his second loss, a lot of people point to the Wes Welker drop. Brady is not brought up as the main culprit in either.
With Peyton Manning's two losses, the first one everybody points to Peyton Manning. Down by seven and driving, Manning threw an interception returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. In his second Super Bowl, Manning's record breaking offense didn't put up a point against Seattle until the third quarter and ended up scoring a grand total of EIGHT points.
Even in the lone Super Bowl Manning won, through that postseason, he threw more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (3). In the Super Bowl, he went up against an inept Rex Grossman, who aided Manning in throwing as many touchdowns to the Colts as Manning did (1).

Conclusion

Brady and Manning are pretty equal when it comes to regular season success. 

Statistically, Manning edges out Brady by a little bit. 

Manning also has had the better supporting cast for the totality of his career. Early on Brady had the defense, while Manning had the offense. More recently, Brady hasn't had that much of a defense and his offense hasn't been surrounded by those kind of weapons either. 

The playoffs and Super Bowl are not even close. Brady dominates in those two categories. He has been historically good, while Manning has almost been historically bad. 

So in conclusion, Brady gets the edge in legacy so far. Again, that's in legacy. This is NOT an analysis which player plays the quarterback position at a higher level or is more accurate, etc. It is judging the entire picture. So as Tony Dungy said, Brady has had the better career so far. But another quote from Dungy in that same interview that is very important is, "your career is not over, until it's over." With that being said, Manning still has time to change this narrative, and is seemingly on the fast track to doing that. In fact, I was one to say that had Manning beat Seattle in the Super Bowl last year, he would have had a stronger legacy than Brady and his one less Super Bowl would be made up by his strong other areas. That win would have gave him a winning record in the playoffs and super bowls. However, it didn't happen. 

Therefore, at this point, Tom Brady reigns over Peyton Manning as the quarterback with the stronger legacy and better career.

The 16th battle of the War of 1812 will take place Sunday November 2nd, 2014 at 3:25 p.m.

Rapid Reaction: Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks 108, Memphis Grizzlies 103     

     For it being the last time the Dallas home crowd would get to see their team in the preseason, Mavs put on quite a show. All of the starters were in double digits (Nelson 11, Ellis 14, Parsons 11, Dirk 10, Chandler 14), as well as Al-Farouq Aminu (10) and Richard Jefferson (13). Mavs proved today that they have the potential to be an offensive juggernaut and keep pace with anybody in the league.

Starting lineup unveiled, impressive- For the first time, the Dallas Mavericks had all of their projected starters available and healthy at home. Jameer Nelson ran the point, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons manned the wings, Dirk posted up at power forward and Tyson Chandler was the anchor in the middle. They played very impressively together and built a lead the Mavs would not relinquish.

Dirk Management- An interesting little nugget came in the second quarter with seven minutes remaining. All of the starters were in the game, except for Dirk who was replaced by Al-Farouq Aminu. Aminu had a solid effort, as did the others around him. This could be a sign as the Mavs try to manage Nowitzki’s minutes in his 17^th season to allow him to have fresh legs throughout the season.

Name of the Day: Chandler- Both Chandler’s had quite a game, often times feeding off each other. Chandler Parsons had three big 3-pointers and five assists. Of those five assists, one was an alley-oop to Tyson Chandler and another was an inside feed to Tyson. Tyson Chandler also had a few electrifying slams of his own and a solid defensive effort.

Gal Mekel shows up, Point Guard intrigue goes up- Gal Mekel played early, and played well. He was also a part of a small lineup that featured him and fellow point guard Devin Harris both on the floor at the same time, with Mekel seeming to play more of a shooting guard role. With Raymond Felton recovering from a high ankle sprain and Mekel play at a high level, it will be interesting which makes the roster, if both don’t. Jameer Nelson and Devin Harris are virtually locks for the final roster.

Richard Jefferson ELECTRIFYING- Plenty of players had exciting plays, but nobody sent the crowd in frenzy the way Jefferson did. He played aggressive and attacked the rim early, hit a three pointer, and then finished with a monstrous dunk on fast break that led to the AAC erupting.

Fun Fact: The Dallas mavericks had 57 points at the half and only four of them came from Dirk Nowitzki. That tells you how scary deep and good this Mavs roster is, offensively at least.