Two of the best meet again

Every now and then, a football game comes along that promises to define the rest of the season. One such this year is tonight’s game at 5:15: Indianapolis (7-0) at New England (5-1).

That’s Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady -- two passers for the ages, two of the greatest performers ever to meet on an NFL field.

If in other years Brady’s coach, Bill Belichick, has usually outguessed Manning, that might not happen this time. For Belichick can’t afford to show his full hand this time.

He’ll doubtless see Manning again this year, in the playoffs.

And he’d rather not give him practice time against Belichick’s favorite new anti-Manning defenses, whatever they might be.

Instead, win or lose this one, Belichick can be expected to put in the day polishing his base defenses.

Fast start

It should be noted that Manning hasn’t been much troubled by any NFL defenses this year.

Off to the fastest start of the season, he is, above all else, a highly disciplined quarterback, as he regularly demonstrates -- most recently in Colorado last week when he repeatedly brought the Colts from behind to outscore the Denver Broncos, 34-31.

In the process, he compiled one of the more impressive stat lines of the season: 32 of 39 for 345 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 129.2

Along the way that day, Manning distanced himself from the NFL passers who have made Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey famous.

Though Reggie Wayne isn’t Manning’s favorite or best receiver, he threw to Wayne repeatedly -- three times for touchdowns -- simply because that kept Bailey out of sight, on the other side of the field.

Over the years, other passers, full of themselves, have enjoyed challenging Bailey, figuring they could outplay him. Not Manning.

Many of those watching Manning think he’s out there picking on the other team’s “other” cornerback -- this time Darrent Williams, a second-year Denver pro. But it wasn’t that at all. He was just avoiding Bailey.

Manning’s way

A Colts two-point conversion play in Denver was typical of Manning’s disciplined approach.

That time, lined up with three receivers on the right and only Wayne on the left, Manning carefully perused the right side before rejecting it.

Wayne had meantime run a four-yard square-out pattern and, as Manning turned to him, Wayne doubled back to the inside of the field.

Manning’s pass reached him there, hitting him, as usual, in the chest.

It was a well- and thoroughly designed play, and Manning executed it with precision.

Brady throws it

Brady and Belichick were at it again Monday night, when, pleasing their fans and distressing others, they executed a typical extreme makeover of offensive strategy.

Against a Vikings team with a ferocious run defense and a simplistic pass defense, the Patriots opted not to run at all.

Coming out in a five-receiver, shotgun spread formation, Brady looked things over and threw the ball -- up and down the field -- all night long, even in the fourth quarter, when he was well ahead.

No other team has the creativity or the nerve to adopt such a one-dimensional, one-sided strategy -- especially with three first-year wide receivers, and a blocking line featuring a rookie at right tackle and a practice-squad player at right guard.

The Patriots could only adopt such a strategy, of course, because of Brady’s uncommon talent.

He reads the field like a computer and throws like a surgeon, though performing continually in great pressure.

Most quarterbacks don’t relish that kind of pressure, preferring, instead, to simply hand off often.

The impression the viewer gets is that Brady would throw on every down if they’d let him.

The top two

In the NFL again this year, Manning and Brady are getting better results than any two other quarterbacks -- though they’re drastically different types.

Manning, when back to pass, doesn’t move around fluidly or gracefully or with much athleticism.

Brady, magnificently mobile, is one of the league’s finest in-the-pocket scramblers.

Against a rush, he knows how to readjust himself, how to keep buying time.

Manning, moreover, works with a better cast of receivers, by far better than New England’s.

Nonetheless, Brady has taught himself to get along with raw, new, improving receivers nearly every year of his seven New England years.

Belichick believes there’s no need for expensive experienced receiving talent, and maybe, with the quarterback he has, that’s right.

So as Brady keeps winning, he continues as the one well-paid Patriot (with an income of about $10 million).

Put it all together and some of us think of Brady as the foremost NFL quarterback since Joe Namath.

Possibly since Johnny Unitas and Norm Van Brocklin long ago.

Midseason firings wrong

The Baltimore Ravens won the other day after their head coach, Brian Billick, fired an offensive coordinator and took over the signal-calling.

But winning didn’t make Billick right.

With a season underway, it’s almost always improper for a team that has lost a game, or several games, to fire an assistant coach.

For that’s the same as telling the world that the guy was responsible for the defeats.

The contrary may have been true. Who on the outside really knows?

Even if the assistant is wrong for the job, that’s the fault of the head coach.

If the assistant was good enough to hire, he is good enough to keep -- for the duration of the season -- if the alternative is the public disgrace of disemployment.

To maintain otherwise is as ill-natured as it is ill-conceived.