Radone said:
I have to say, I have a heck of a lot of respect for the way Brady carried himself throughout this whole tough season. No whining or complaining. Especially after that Denver loss. He was gracious in defeat and accepted responsibility for the loss. He admitted that as a team they didn't play well, but mostly that HE also hadn't played well.
Contrast that with the way Manning acted after the Steeler loss. Same old story: the O-line didn't play well, the receivers weren't open, the defense was bad, etc. No criticism of his own play. That may be why the Colts fold in big games - they don't have the same caliber of leader as Brady.
I used to think Manning would one day be on par with Brady in the hall of great quarterbacks. Now, I think that will never happen: Brady isn't as good a pure passer, but he's a much better leader. This doesn't mean I think Manning is a bad person, because he's always done a lot for charities in college and the pros. He's been very willing to give his time and energy to different charities and in Tennessee, he's still loved. But, as a football leader, he's not there.
I'm hoping that Palmer, who is compared to Manning as a passer, is more like Brady as a leader. From all I've read, he's always deflected praise from himself to his teammates and is very up-front in accepting blame for losses. I hope that is how he truly is and not just an act.
Thank you for your kind words about Brady. Yes he is the real thing. He has had to learn to take the bad with the good, so he is more polished now, but he has always accepted responsibilty for the mistakes and for poor play. He also always credits his teammates and his coaches when good things happen.
He is one of the guys, and has a good sense of humor, even when he has to laugh at himself (the infamous goat picture). He took less money from the Pats, though he could have held them for ransom, so the team would have more to spend on the other guys/positions. He wants to be in NE for the whole time he plays and he is willing to be part of the solution, and not part of any problems. He really reminds me of Bobby Orr.
He is still young and I think he has more SBs in him, and it will be fun to watch him.
I can't imagine what it must be like with Palmer, because to have your winner, and then to have him taken away, must be awful. But hopefully he will be able to come back quickly. If your team uses his absence to strengthen themselves, then when he comes back they may be able to take off and be a threat again. Good Luck. I think the stress of his injury would have stripped away any false front on his part. So if he isn't carrying on, and the press would love to expose it, then I think you can take him as the real deal. He seems to be thoughtful, and so he may take this experience to learn to really appreciate the good, and ignore the minor-league stuff.
Oh and Ficus you, as a Pats fan, can not complain ever about bad officiating, because you had the worst call in the history of NFL (remember Oakland in 2000) go your way.
Eperitos, of course I will object to bad calls. When they ignore infractions, and rules, or make up violations that aren't there, then I will not be silent. The Pats had a lucky break when they called that, but it was a legitimate call based on a real rule. There is a difference between that and calling infractions that don't exist, or ignoring those that do.
And bad calls don't only affect the Pats. It would be a very black day if the Colts had won after all those bad calls on Sunday. I realize that not everyone is a Steeler fan (I myself am not) but it would have been a travesty if they had been robbed by the refs.
, now if only I put money on the games 
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