NFL the anti-history league

I do not care for the NFL, and I rarely watch the games. It is a league that exists primarily for gamblers, and the parity that the NFL loves makes it impossible to get consistently good teams. It is a league designed to follow players not teams. Not my cup of tea. But, I have to admit I watched the end of the Colts v Patriots because I like Peyton Manning. After all who does not like a 6’5” quarterback with a laser, rocket arm.
While I am glad that Peyton Manning finally beat Tom Brady and the Patriots the very idea that these two quarterbacks are considered equals demonstrates what I hate most about the NFL. The NFL has no since of history, fairness, nor does it care about quality in its players. Tom Brady is a star that people compare to Peyton Manning and I do not know why. Everyone says Brady and Manning are both Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Let us look.

Player #1 – Completed 61% of his passes, 53 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 84.4. He never led the league in any statistical category.
Player #2 – Completed 59% of his passes, 37 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 81.9. He led the league in completions twice, yards twice, and QB rating four times.
Player #3 – Completed 62% of his passes, 57 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 88.5. He never led the league in any statistical category.
Player #4 – Completed 52% of his passes, 2 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 70.9. He led the league in touchdown passes twice and yards per attempt twice.
Player #5 – Completed 57% of his passes, 63 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 81.8. He led the league in yards per attempt twice, and OB rating once.
Player #6 – Completed 64% of his passes, 114 more touchdowns than interceptions, and a lifetime QB rating of 93.5. He led the league in attempts once, yards twice, completions twice, yards per attempt once, touchdowns once, and QB rating once.

Now, can you name who these players are? Can you find Tom Brady, who every pundit today says is a sure fire Hall of Famer? I will give you a hint; one person listed is already in the Hall of Fame. Give up. Here you go.

Player #1 – Brad Johnson of the Minnesota Vikings.
Player #2 – Ken Anderson who played for the Bengals in the 80’s.
Player #3 – Tom Brady
Player #4 – Terry Bradshaw who played for the Steelers in the 70’s and 80’s.
Player #5 – Boomer Esiason who played for the Bengals in the 90’s.
Player #6 – Peyton Manning

That is right. Sure fire Hall of Famer Tom Brady has roughly the same statistics as Brad Johnson, a nobody. Brad Johnson even has a Superbowl ring, but he will not make the Hall of Fame. Yet, Brady will be in on the first ballot. Why? Worst yet is the inclusion of Terry Bradshaw as a great quarterback in the Hall of Fame. He has the worst stats in the group. Ken Anderson and Boomer each have comparable stats to Brady, and actually led the league in a quarterback category at least once, and neither is in the Hall of Fame. Why? And then we come to Peyton Manning. His stats blow everyone else away. He is light years ahead of Brady, and everyone else on the list. Other than media attention, why is the worst player on the list make the Hall of Fame and the better players get left out? If anyone can explain this to me, I am willing to listen, but I doubt anyone can make sense of the NFL and their sad lack of history.