[Assani Fisher]

[ QUOTE ]
Assani, I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this re: the "supporting casts," but have you looked at it from the other perspective, which is that having Manning makes those other guys look so good? You really think Stokley was as good as his big year under Manning? Having the ball be where only you can reach it, or hitting you right in the chest 40 yards down field is a big advantage as far as putting up stats goes.

Do you also think that Brady hasn't had a much better supporting cast on D? Do you also agree that pretty much everybody has worse stats in the playoffs because the average level of competition is so much higher? Do you also agree that coaching and play calling will have a huge impact on your playoff success? All these things being true, it sure seems like stats are the most controlled variable of the bunch.

James

[/ QUOTE ]Lots of good points here, and I totally agree that Manning makes those guys look better and vice versa. But just watching Marvin Harrison run routes, you can tell that hes special with or without Manning. I agree that STokely isn't great, but for a #3 hes not bad. And yes Brady's D has been much better except for two big years: Lsat year indy had a really good D, and in the Pats first SB their D was just average that year.

In theory I would agree that players' performances should go down in the playoffs since they're playing better competition. However, in reality the all time greats actually perform better in the postseason. I won't go ahead and bring up the "C" word, but you can make of it what you will.

Stats are not the most controlled because stats are influced by Manning's advantage(better surrounding offensive talent) but not by Brady's(better defense).