EXCLUSIVE: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Ex-Falcons HC Mike Smith picks which QB he would have picked to lead his team

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning spent almost a decade and a half as rivals in the AFC.

Brady and the New England Patriots would often battle Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (and later the Denver Broncos) for the top seed in the AFC. The two megastars dueled 17 times on the field between 2001 and 2015.

Brady's team emerged victorious on 11 occasions, while Manning recorded six wins over his arch-rival. However, the latter leads the playoff battle 3-2. Their last game against each other was during the 2015 playoffs, when Manning's Broncos beat Brady's Patriots in the AFC Championship game and advanced to Super Bowl 50.

Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith was asked one of the most hotly debated NFL-related questions of all time by host Reggie Roberts: Whom would he pick between Peyton Manning or Tom Brady if he could sign one quarterback to lead his offense?

Here's what Smith said on the latest episode of Sportskeeda's BallFather podcast:

"If we could have signed either one of them, I would have been really happy. Yeah. Hey, every fan would be really happy. You're talking about, you know, the greatest quarterback of all time and probably the second-greatest quarterback of all time. There's no doubt about it."

Despite his affection for both quarterbacks, Smith picked Brady.

Why Mike Smith would have picked Tom Brady over Peyton Manning

Smith explained his decision:

"You know, with the record that Tom Brady has put up, he probably would have to be the choice. I mean, people in Atlanta would say, hey, would you want, a five-time Super Bowl or six-time Super Bowl winner or a one-time Super Bowl winner?"

Despite picking the now seven-time Super Bowl champion, Smith credited Manning for changing the way quarterbacks operate in the NFL:

"Peyton Manning is been so great for the NFL. I think he changed the way that the game was being called and played with his ability. Once they saw that, you could give the quarterback the ability to call the ballgame at the line of scrimmage and give them the freedom to make those changes."

He continued:

"It made being a defensive coach a whole lot harder once they started doing that. When they were allowing those guys to check it out, get it in a different place. Now every play has an opportunity to get checked off at the line of scrimmage with all the quarterbacks. And really, Peyton Manning was the first one that mastered that. "

Watch the latest episode of the BallFather Podcast below:

The Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning debate was once at the epicenter of the NFL and started when the two quarterbacks first battled in 2001. Manning, a five-time league MVP, broke almost every quarterback record in the book before Brady claimed them all post the former Broncos star's retirement.

The Buccaneers quarterback is still breaking his old rival's record, but the debate about which quarterback was better continues to rage on.