Belichick says Peyton’s best QB he’s ever faced

In his career, Bill Belichick is 12-10 against Peyton Manning. (Getty Images)

Bill Belichick has been coaching in the NFL since 1976, when he was a special teams assistant with the Detroit Lions. In that time he's faced countless quarterbacks, some of whom ended up in the Hall of Fame.

But this Sunday's opponent, Peyton Manning, tops the list as far as the Patriots coach is concerned.

"I mean, he's great, he's obviously a great quarterback," Belichick said Wednesday. "The best quarterback I've coached against. ... "Not to take anything away from the Montanas, Marinos and Elways or whoever is up there with those guys, but (Manning) is tough."

Belichick's comments come a day after he talked up Manning who, like Tom Brady, will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

"He's very smart," the Patriots coach said Tuesday. "He has a great understanding of concepts and timing, game management, clock management, situational football -- third down, red area -- great utilization of the field from sideline-to-sideline and attacking the deep part of the field, very accurate, great decision-maker, quick release. ... I don't think there are any weaknesses in his game."

Belichick has faced Manning 22 times as either a coach or coordinator and he's come out on top on 12 occasions. With Brady under center, Belichick's record improves to 10-5. And here's one more reason the Pats might have an advantage this week: As CBSSports.com's John Breech pointed out, Manning is 8-11 when the temperature falls below 40 degrees at kickoff. And he's 3-8 against the Patriots during the regular season.

Sunday's forecast for Foxboro calls for a 30 percent chance of snow.

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Redskins QB Robert Griffin III (ankle) nearing return



Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said Tuesday that Robert Griffin III is nearing a return to action. "I think Robert is very, very, very close and we just have to decide if he's ready," Gruden said. "Physically I think he'll be ready to go. Doctors are feeling pretty good about it, they still want to feel around this week until we make the final determination. I just want to make sure he feels good in the pocket."Griffin dislocated his ankle in the team's Week 2 game versus Jacksonville. There was some level of confidence in backup Kirk Cousins. That, however, has subsided. In relief, Cousins threw almost as many interceptions (nine) as touchdowns (10). Washington lost each of the four games he played in full. Cousins was benched in favor of Colt McCoy at halftime of the team's Week 7 game. McCoy got the start in Week 8 and played admirably. In spite of that, it appears the team will gladly turn back to Griffin as soon as he's physically ready to go.



This is good news for everyone in Washington as RGIII is easily the most talented QB on the Redskins' roster. His health has been an issue and was the source of many fantasy stories and headaches last season. If Griffin returns for Week 9, he'll have his work cut out for him. The 'Skins Week 9 opponent, Minnesota, gives up the second-fewest fantasy points in the league to quarterbacks.The biggest beneficiaries from this news are WRs Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, along with TE Jordan Reed. Griffin being under center bumps up their value significantly. While we wouldn't recommend starting Griffin this week, his skill players should be used as they normally would, with a little added confidence.