When drafted out of Michigan in the 6th rd with the 199th overall pick, he wasn’t seen as a starter, or even a 2nd stringer at a rapid speed. In Michigan, he was never given too much credit for his teams there either, even though he put up some modest numbers as a Wolverine as well. Throwing 35 TDs and 5351 YDs to 19 picks, as he seemingly was constantly was battling against Drew Henson for a starting slot. Other guys like Anthony Thomas and Tai Streets got more of the credit for the team’s success.
Now here we are 11 years later and Tom Brady is starting his 5th Super Bowl game, tying Denver Broncos prodigy, John Elway for the most all time. He will be matching up another time, for the 2nd time in 4 years against the battle hungry New York Giants who seem to be doing it again late in the year, all over again, giving hope to all and every wild card team that makes it to the post season.
Brady notched his 16th career postseason win which ties him with another extraordinary QB, maybe you have heard of named Joe Montana, also a record for him as well. At 6-4 and 230 lbs Tom Brady stands and looks the part of star QB for his New England Patriots. He has been nothing short of amazing in his career and now is looking down the barrel of Super Bowl win number 4 if he can help lead his Patriots past the ravenous Giants on Feb 5th. If he indeed wins his 4th Bowl, where does that put him in the list of all time greats?
Seriously?
I have never been a “championships mean everything” guy when judging players greatness, especially in football. I have seen too many incredible players not win them, which certainly were beyond belief when they played. Barry Sanders (15269 YD, 3rd all time) Cris Carter (1101 catches, 13899 YDs top 10 in both) and Dan Marino (the benchmarks for years; 61361 YDs, and 420 TDs)the list goes on and on. I have partiality to the numbers what does the player do on the field?
Of course there is that happy medium that needs to be found, and here we are, at the crossroads. Where does Brady land if they win this Bowl? Several factors come into play of course, his teammates, because as we all know QB is the leader of a team. We have seen Brady play with David Givens, David Patten, Deion Branch, and Troy Brown. As a reminder, they all faded away when leaving the New England Patriots. He makes players around him way better than they most likely are, and makes great players breathtaking, Randy Moss experimentation, 98 rcpt, 1493 YDs, and 23 TDs in a 16-0 perfect regular season, in oh ya…2007?
And who did they play that year again, the New York Giants, whose defense shut down the Patriots’ offensive machine that was scoring 37/game that year. If Brady wins #4, he will then have as many as Bradshaw and Montana. Is Brady better than either of them? Bradshaw threw for 51.9% completion in his career, really? Yes, really, I’ll take Brady any day. Montana? His TD passes are well short of Brady’s numbers, and he has more clutch game winning drives than “Joe Cool”. I understand it’s a different era, but we need something to determine it on. Personally, I think going forward Aaron Rodgers will be one of the top 5 we ever see in history, as discussed before. But as of right now, if Brady wins his 4th Super Bowl ring, I would have to say, he is the best to play the game at his position. For now.
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