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Tom Brady Stokes Flame Of Peyton Manning Rivalry

BOSTON (CBS) -- Putting aside the ethical question about whether it's right or wrong for the public to read through somebody's private emails (it's wrong), the fact is that a ton of Tom Brady's emails were made public this week.

While the emails touched on a number of topics, it is one message in particular that should have some relevance with regard to the upcoming season.

A childhood friend of Brady's sent the quarterback a link to a story about the rivalry between him and Peyton Manning. (We believe it was this one.)

Brady's response and overall thoughts on the rivalry were rather succinct.

"Thanks popa," Brady replied. "I've got another 7 or 8 years. He has 2. That's the final chapter. Game on."

It's certainly not the most inflammatory statement of all time, but it's the type of comment that Brady almost never makes publicly, so as not to provide any bulletin-board material for the other team.

The Patriots defeated Manning's Broncos on Nov. 2, the day after Brady sent the email. Brady threw four touchdowns and the Pats rolled to a 43-21 victory. Brady and the Patriots, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl, with Brady being named Super Bowl MVP. Manning and the Broncos were eliminated at home in the divisional round, with Manning throwing for just 211 yards.

The Patriots visit the Broncos in Week 12 this year.

For the record, if Brady makes it through the seven or eight years he predicts, he'll still be playing at 45. That would be some final chapter.

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