QBs have a unique relationship

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – They’ve been linked for almost 10 seasons now – squaring off in so many contests, including two AFC Championship games – and known as perhaps the two best quarterbacks in the National Football League.

In fact, Tom Brady’s first professional start was against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. And he won big.

“It was his third year when I was a rookie, and my first start came against the Colts,” Brady said. “I remember he came over to our side of the field (before the game) and (Brady said) ‘Hey, Peyton Manning’ (and Manning said) ‘No bleep.’ … It was pretty brief. He was on his probably 100th throw two hours before the game. It was a pretty quick meeting.

“We ended up winning that game . . . I think the great thing about playing the Colts is you really see where you are as a team.”

Indeed, the Patriots, 0-2 at the time, won 44-13 over the previously 2-0 Colts and Brady completed 13-of-23 passes for 168 yards. The rivalry has certainly expanded since, and the two teams meet again in Indianapolis on Sunday night.

“You know, I try to forget that game,” Manning said. “Thanks for bringing that up . . . (I was) probably out there just throwing before the game like I usually do. Sometimes you get out there a little bit early and just try to get a feel for the turf, and I remember Tom being out there and I’m sure I was talking to (Drew) Bledsoe as well (unlikely since Bledsoe was hospitalized at the time). That was the first time I met Tom. Obviously he’s been doing unbelievable things since.”

Actually, the link between the two got even closer in the last year-plus. Prior to last season, Manning had knee surgery and suffered a staph infection that slowed his first-half progress as the Colts were below .500 after seven games. Last year Brady had major surgery, also suffered an infection, and sought Manning’s advice.

“That is a true story,” Brady said. “He had staph infection too and I was trying to find out the exact staph that he had so I could figure out the treatment. I called him up and said ‘Tell me about your knee, and what you went through caring about it and all that.’ He provided a little bit of insight. He was very encouraging. He always has been. He’s just that kind of guy, a very classy guy.”

Manning said he tried to help but didn’t think he did much.

“The thing is, I couldn’t really relate to the injury that Tom had,” he said. “Mine was unique. It wasn’t an ACL reconstructive surgery like Tom had or Carson Palmer had. That was probably more of a similar case.

“Obviously there was talk about the infection and that’s kind of where he did call me talking about the infection that I had and I guess there were some similarities there. I kind of told him some of the things that I was doing to treat it and kind of what I was dealing with there. But I really cannot say that my injury was similar to his. I mean, his was a major, major – months and months of recovery. Mine was not that much time of recovery.”

What else do two of the league’s best talk about?

“We’ll talk about games, we’ll talk about players, we’ll talk about strategy,” Brady said. “Talk about how he prepares, how I prepare, certain teams we play. It kind of runs the gamut with a lot of things. He’s got great knowledge of the game and he really studies it and understands it and understands what he does well and what the team does well.

“He’s been in the same system like I have for a long time, which is a great advantage for the quarterbacks, not having to change the terminology, the reads . . . that’s a great thing for a QB.

“I always keep up on Peyton. We talk from time to time. I have a lot of respect for him as a player, the role model that he is, the way he carries himself, the way he leads his team and the way he’s a representative of the league.”

Manning said they talk about once or twice in the offseason, usually at a charity event.

”I mean, pretty normal things,” he said. “I enjoy talking to other quarterbacks, guys that I see, whether it’s (Donovan) McNabb or Jake Delhomme, or Palmer. Of course, Eli (Manning) and I enjoy spending time together, the time that we have together. I think quarterbacks naturally are going to talk some football. It’s fun to talk football with a guy like Tom because he’s so impressive when it comes to football.”

But a Brady-Manning matchup can’t really be viewed as Brady vs. Manning by the numbers, both say, although they quarterback the top two passing offenses in the league – Indy at No. 1 averaging 315 yards through the air per game, and New England next at 295.

“The matchups for the quarterbacks, it’s probably for everybody else than it is for us,” Brady said. “It’s more for the defensive guys. I’m always watching, certainly, and you know it’s going to come down to a few plays . . . You know they’re going to move the ball. He’s not going to go out there and throw for 75 yards.”

Neither is Brady. The NFL’s best will be on stage, the theatre will likely be unmatched.