I agree that Peyton is one of the best I have seen as well.  Certainly, no offense to Brady and Brees, the best of his generation.  Based on sheer talent he was unrivaled.  Brady backers have the ring argument, plus Brady is damn good and I'll even say almost as good as Peyton.  If Peyton had 3 rings there would be no debate as he is clearly the more talented guy.  Rings are undoubtedly important but the argument is flawed as well.  By that standard any QB to ever win a SB is better than a guy who never won it.  Is Trent Dilfer or Jeff Hostetler better than Dan Marino or Dan Fouts?  Don't think so. 

Also, perhaps the dumbest comment is saying Roethlisberger is better than Peyton because he has two rings.  I guess having one of the top defenses in the league every year doesn't help you win.  I guess James Harrison's 100yd Int Return didn't affect the outcome of the SB.  If you really believe Ben is better than Peyton you are either A) Pitt/Ben fan , B)Peyton/Colts Hater or C)A Moron.  Peyton's one problem was that he was cursed with poor to mediocre defenses and management that believed it was better to send their team to the playoffs rusty after clinching the #1 seed.  After a couple of flops you'd think they would learn their lesson but they didn't.  Ask the Packers fans how resting their guys worked out.

All Peyton ever needed was a solid defense behind him.  If he had that, he'd already have 3-6 rings easily.  The Colts were always cupcakes on D, and even the year they won the superbowl they had one of the worst run defenses in Nfl history.  ironically, that defense pulled a rabbit out of the hat and played far above their regular season level, or once again Peyton doesn't get the Superbowl win.  I'm hoping if he leaves Indy, he goes to a team with a solid D and gets a couple more rings.  He's a mastermind offensive coordinator and a master QB rolled into one.  I hope we get a few more years at least. 

In what way is Ben Rothlisberger better than Peyton Manning?!?

Didn't the Patriots get caught cheating by recording the other teams' practices?

Old Eli must not see much football in the AFC since that conference has two QB's better than Peyton...Big Ben and even Brady.  Some would include Rivers but I would not.

I guess Eli must only be watching the games played inside the dome or against AFC South opponents. 

In the 90's I had the privilage of sitting down with Sid Gillman and we talked about the greatest QB ever.  Mr. Gillman said it best.  You can not compare one QB with another QB from a different era. Here is a man who starting coaching with the Rams in the mid-50's, was the "father" of the Chargers, a man that Bill Walsh said he received much of his "West Coast Offense", stating we can not compare QBs from different eras. I agree. By the way, he told me Bill Walsh called him and asked about what he thought of Steve Young, then an unwanted QB in Tampa.  Coach Gilliam had Steve when he was with the LA Express of the USFL. Coach Walsh was thinking of trading with Tampa Bay in order to acquire Young but Walsh wanted Gillman's opinion. Sid told me he told Walsh to "get him if he could". Walsh gave Tampa a 2nd and 4th round picks for Young, who Tampa considered a "bust".

Being a huge Colts fan, yes, I think that Peyton Manning is an incredible QB....and also one of the best I have ever seen!  But I also respect Brady as one of the best as well.  I am not going to sit here and defend my position on either one, or become a homer and think that my QB is the best.  As stated in an earlier comment, your supporting cast helps tremendously.  And Brady hasn't won 3 Super Bowls by himself, in most of those, the Patriots Defense have been much more superior than this years unit!  And I want to believe that Peyton would have won his game against the Saints if Freeney did not have an ankle issue that kept him in check during the second half!  
All I'm saying is that it will be a sad day in the NFL when we cannot look at Brady and Manning and talk about that awesome rivalry...These are truly one of the greatest times for two QBs in the NFL! 

Every great quarterback needs a good supporting cast. Some just get luckier than others with who is placed around them. With that being said, each quarterback still needs to get those cast members the ball and Brady has done it with precision for going on twelve years now and 4 Superbowl appearances with 3 winning Superbowls later. So, yea he is one of the greatest.