THE DEBATE: WHO'S THE BETTER QB?

In San Diego, we hear it's "Drew, Who?"
In the Big Easy, they call it, "The Big Breesy" now.
But the question remains, WHO DA MAN? Who got away with the better deal, the San Diego Chargers? They refused to offer Brees franchise money after his shoulder got injured in the last game of the season and the squeaky-clean Philip Rivers was christianed the "new man" in San Diego.
Or did the Saints get the better end of the deal? Brees is just in the midst of having a season like no other Saints quarterback and very few QBs have had in league history.
But the debate rages on. So, really, now, who is the better QB?
Oh, we could use stories, or we could use the argument of "who makes his team better?"
Better yet, we could say, who's Most Valuable to his team? His city? But we need to compare the X's and O's. The only way to do it short of having both of them swing it out behind Grandma's house is to compare common oppenents. This year both quarterbacks have had to throw against the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers. Below is a comparison.

Philip Rivers has 331 attempts and 215 completions, that's 65 percent. Rivers has amassed 2440 yards at 7.37 yards per clip. He's longest throw is 57 yards and he has 15 TDs and only 6 picks. He's thrown 29 balls for more than 20 yards and three for more than 40. Passer rating: 94.5.

Drew Christopher Brees has 413 attempts and 275 completions, that's 66.6 percent. Brees has amassed 3463 yards at 8.38 yards per clip. He's longest throw is 86 yards and he has 19 TDs and 10 picks. He's thrown 49 balls for more than 20 yards and 13 for more than 40. Passer rating: 97.8.

Rivers has handed the ball off to the might LaDainian Tomlison 229 times (LT has churned out 1146 yards including 21 touchdowns).
Brees has handed the ball off to Reggie Bush(109) and Duece McAllister (155) 264 times. (Bush and McAllister combined have 985 yards and 10 touchdowns).

In the Saints' biggest deficit was when they were down 35-7 to the Baltimore Ravens.

COMMON OPPONENTS:
Baltimore Ravens
Rivers passed for 145 (13-23), 8 first downs and one interception, which was returned 24 yards. The Ravens held the Chargers to 2 of 13 on 3rd down and 1 of 3 on 4th down. He was sacked one for 11 yards. It must be noted that the Chargers led the entire game, mostly 13-7, until the last 34 seconds. LT rushed for 98 yards on 26 carries.

Brees passed for 368 (24 -46), 13 first downs and 3 interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. The Ravens held the Saints to 6 of 14 on 3rd down and 2 of 4 on 4th down. He was sacked twice for 15 yards. It must be noted that the Saints were down 35-7 at one point in the third quarter. Saints rushd for 35 yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Rivers passed for 222 yards (24-37), 13 first downs and one interception. The Steelers held the Chargers to 9 of 16 on 3rd down. He was sacked 4 times for 20 yards. Chargers won 23-13 in Week 4. LT rushed for 98 yards on 26 carries. In the 2nd half, San Diego ditched the conservative "Martyball" philosophy and let their young quarterback loose. Rivers was 4-for-7 for 5 yards in the first quarter. He was 20-of-30 for 237 yards in the last three.

Brees passed for 393 yards (31-47), 19 first downs and no interceptions. The Steelers held the Saints to 10 of 16 on 3rd down. Brees was sacked once for 5 yards. Saints led 24-17 before Pittsburgh's Willie Parker zigged and zagged on two long touchdown runs of 72 and 76 yards. Saints rushd for 124 yards.



Cinncinati Bengals
Rivers passed for 324 (24-36) 17 first downs and no interceptions. The Bengals held the Chargers to 9 of 14 on 3rd down in losing one of the largest leads in NFL history. Rivers was sacked 3 times for 14 yards. San Diego was down 28-7 at the half. Rivers, who led the Chargers to 42 second-half points, had the decisive play with 2:29 to go. He lofted a soft toss in the endzone after scrambling to his left with two defenders 'bout to pop him. LT ran for 107 yards.

Brees passed for 504 yards (37-52), 25 first downs and 3 interceptions, two of which were in the end zone and one returned for 7. The Bengals held the Saints to 6 of 12 on 3rd down. Brees was sacked twice for 6 yards. Brees lost his leader receiver, Marques Colston, on the first offensive series and had to spread the ball around. Game was tied 10-10 early in the fourth until Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer played pitch-and-catch and an interception return made it 31-16 for the ballgame.
So, who's the best? You be the judge. Rivers had mighty trouble with the pesky Raiders last week. Young Breesy is, as they say in N.Y. BALLLINNNN (shoot the hoop) . We'll see how they act this week as the debate rages on.