Tom Brady was nowhere near the forefront of the quarterback conversation entering this 2011 NFL season.
Everyone was talking about Peyton Manning's neck injury and redemption for Michael Vick in Philadelphia. About Mark Sanchez's magazine covers, Cam Newton being the next big thing and how Aaron Rodgers is now the league's new golden boy. Even Tim Tebow was talked about more, and he's a third-stringer.
Funny what a 500+ yard passing performance will do to people's thought process.
Last night, Brady systematically dissected Miami's defense to the tune of 517 yards, the most in Monday Night Football history and the fifth-most all-time, in leading the Patriots to a 38-24 win over the Dolphins.
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| Photo by: Robert Mayer |
I heard questions posed like, "Who's better right now, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady?" And, "What QB would you take if you were starting a team, or had one game to win?" Things of that nature.
Usually, these types of questions are open for debate. There's no right or wrong answer, and everyone has an opinion. The funny thing is though, those questions actually do have a correct answer. It's not even something that should be open for debate. If your answer is anyone not named Tom Brady, you are in fact, wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong WRONG.
I know I catch a lot of slack on here for lovin' me some Brady and constantly blowing smoke up his proverbial behind, but the real question is, why am I one of the only people that's doing it? At this stage of his career, he should be worshipped by the masses as probably the greatest quarterback to ever play, and no doubt the best of this era. But is he? Nope.
Instead, he's still mentioned in the same breath as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Phillip Rivers. I'm sorry, but to say one of those names and Tom Brady's in the same sentence is basically a complete insult to Brady. You might as well just spit in his face while you're at it.
Don't get me wrong, all the guys I just mentioned are outstanding quarterbacks. Some of the very best in the business. But when you're categorizing the best QBs playing today, the best is Tom Brady, and everyone else falls into whatever categories are left. Period. He is flat out in a league of his own, and if you don't see that, you don't know anything about the sport of football.
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| Photo by: Mike Ehrmann |
33 games, 9,223 yards passing, 90 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 114.6 rating.
Now I dunno how many of you play video games, but I play Madden on a fairly regular basis. I'm pretty good at it, and even I don't put up those kind of ridiculous numbers.
Oh I know, all you Brady-haters out there think I shouldn't have just scratched 2008, cause heaven forbid we give the guy a year to heal up, right? But okay, I'll throw you a bone. Here are the totals since 2007 for the other QBs I mentioned earlier, and I left out their worst two seasons, hence accounting for the year Brady missed, plus the season I gave him to fully recover:
- Peyton Manning: 32 games, 8,540 yards passing, 64 touchdowns, 30 interceptions and a 98.9 rating.
- Drew Brees: 32 games, 9,876 yards passing, 71 touchdowns, 28 interceptions and a 106.1 rating.
- Aaron Rodgers: 32 games, 8,668 yards passing, 61 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and a 106.6 rating.
- Phillip Rivers: 33 games, 8,598 yards passing, 64 touchdowns, 22 interceptions and a 98.6 rating.
The numbers speak for themselves. I'd say this group of guys all deserve to be linked in a certain "greatness" category, just not the same one that Tom Brady's in. All you have to do is compare the numbers. Clearly he is the superior quarterback. CLEARLY.
Of course, the next argument I'll hear is how he's a "product of the Pats system" and blah blah blah (as if that same argument can't be made about the other guys I mentioned). But hey, keep tellin' yourselves that. Bill Belichick had a losing career record before Brady became his quarterback, so I wonder who really made the system.
Cleveland and St. Louis, among other teams, run the same type of offense, yet I'm pretty sure their QBs aren't torching the league year-in and year-out like Brady does. Besides, if you hate the guy so much that you'd be willing to base your argument on something so trivial, there's clearly something the matter with you, so there's really no point in me even attempting to convince you otherwise.
So what was the "emphatic message" that was sent last night? Well, for all the "team" this and "team" that New England players are famous for constantly spewing out, you don't think in the back of Brady's mind there's not a little "me" voice constantly hounding him? A voice that says things such as, "You're the greatest, now show them." And, "Don't forget, sixth round, pick #199." My guess would be last night it said, "Apparently, these people need to be reminded exactly who the best damn quarterback in the National Football League is."
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| Photo by: Marc Serota |
I'm a Rodgers guy, but to be honest, it's hard for me to argue with you based on the stats you provided. Those numbers are insane.
ReplyDeleteThree of the four "other" quarterbacks you mentioned have all won the Super Bowl since the last time Brady won it, yet you failed to mention that little nugget of information. That alone is reason enough to mention them in the same sentence.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you totally. Despite what Anonymous says, Brady is hands down the best qb in the NFL. Everyone else is playing for second place.
ReplyDelete100% agree!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that those quarterbacks have won Super Bowls since the last time Brady has is completely irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteThis is a who's the best quarterback issue, not a Super Bowl one. But if you wanna turn it into that, all of those guys PUT TOGETHER have only won the same amount of Super Bowls as Brady has by himself - 3.
Also, friggin' Trent Dilfer and Mark Rypien have also been Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, so by your logic, they should be mentioned in the same sentence as well, right?
I rest my case.
While your apparent obsession with Brady is bordering on scary, I agree with pretty much everything you said. Lol The guys a legend. All-time great.
ReplyDeleteWhat is this, "I'm gonna scratch this season and that season" crap? If you're gonna knit-pick the season numbers you're counting or not counting, you could take ANY qbs best 3 season span and make a case for them being "great." Totally ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThis post is either total craziness or complete brilliance. I haven't decided which one yet. Lol
ReplyDeleteAnd the Brady lovefest on here continues. You need to just be his damn publicist or something.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Fletch. But it wouldn't be a comment from me without a couple of rebuttals:
ReplyDelete-Brady and Bellichick both fit each other's systems, so it's irrelevant that the Rams and Browns run the same offense. Neither team has a Brady OR a Bellichick.
-Not to take away from those 90 touchdown passes, but you should also break down how many of those came with a manageable lead. I'm not knocking Brady for throwing them, but it's unfair to say that Brady had 90 TDs while Brees only had 71 TDs but was taken out at the start of the 4th quarter because his coach is conservative. Aaron Rodgers would be in this boat also since his coach is both conservative and has a run-first scheme.
-You could also argue that both Brees and Manning are in systems that throw for the majority of their offense. Sounds like it would boost each QB's numbers, but it actually does the opposite since the opposing defense can either throw 7 guys in pass defensive or blitz regularly. Brady had 2 RBs combing for over 1500 yards. Brees leading 2 rushers last year didn't even get 1000 yards. Manning's leading rusher had less than 500 yards!
-Brady may have been out the entire 2008 season, but his backup went 11-5 and people complained about his lack of production.
Let's break it down: Cassel was 327 of 516 (63.4%) for 3639 yards, 21 TD, 11 INT.
Brady's numbers the following season: 371 of 565 (65%) for 4398 yards, 28 TDs, 13 INT.
Since it's the only time we've been able to see what another QB could do in his place, it's hard to say he's not replaceable with any other talented QB.
I hope I haven't opened up a can of worms. I just love a good discussion!
Numbers can be misleading at times, but they do have to play a factor when discussing the best quarterbacks in the league. Its a combination of both those AND postseason success - in no particular order - that determines who the best of the best REALLY are. In my opinion, the two best qbs over the last 30 years have been Joe Montana and Tom Brady. Numbers aside, just based strictly on observation, no other two quarterbacks over that time span have done what they did and/or do, better. Real good post btw. And a point to what Todd said - yes, Cassel went 11-5, but he went 11-5 with almost the exact same group of players that Brady went 16-0 with the previous year. Gigantic dropoff when it comes to football.
ReplyDeleteMatt - You're right, Brady and Cassel basically had the same team. But let's look at the defenses of the '07 and '08 teams.
ReplyDeleteYou can't exactly pin the 16-0 record on just the shoulders of Brady:
2007 Patriots Defense:
47 sacks
19 interceptions
12 fumble recoveries
6 touchdowns
2008 Patriots Defense:
31 sacks
14 interceptions
8 fumble recoveries
0 touchdowns
Is it safe to say that Brady went 16-0 with a little help from his defensive friends?
Brady may very well be the best quarterback in the game, but Peyton Manning is the most important player to his team. New England would still be somewhat competitive without Brady. You saw this past weekend what happened to Indy without Peyton.
ReplyDeleteEthan - What part of it are you NOT understanding? Brady missed 2008 with an injury. Obviously, he didn't put up any numbers that season. I didn't use his 2009 numbers giving him that year to get back to form, so that's TWO SEASONS. With the other QBs I mentioned, I just didn't count their two worst years in the same time span. It's not like I did it to manipulate the numbers to make Brady look better or something. You can do the math yourself by looking at the stats at nfl.com if you want.
ReplyDeleteJustin - Obviously you're a Manning-backer, which means you're a Brady-hater, so I'm not even gonna waste my time arguing with you.
Todd - I knew you'd come to the discussion with at least some numbers and so forth to back your argument. Lol
The 2008 Patriots defense only gave up 5 more total touchdowns then the 2007 squad, so those numbers don't really tell the whole story.
And like Matt said, the 2008 team, which was still for the most part the same group that went 16-0 in 2007, lost 5 more games. The way I look at that is, coming off of a 16-0 season is definitely not the norm. In most cases, the team with the league's best record goes like 12-4 or 13-3. Let's just say in this case they were coming off of a 13-3 season. Losing 5 more games the following year would now make them an 8-8 team, so TOTALLY AVERAGE. The Patriots went 11-5 in 2008, but they were NO WHERE NEAR as good as their record would indicate. They got BLOWN OUT by Miami, San Diego and Pittsburgh that season. The primary reason that team wasn't as good was BECAUSE Tom Brady wasn't playing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying ONE GUY makes a team, cause every good quarterback that's ever played had to have a good supporting cast to succeed. However, certain guys can make a GOOD team GREAT. That's what Brady does.
As far as Belichick goes, I've ALWAYS thought he's gotten WAYYY too much credit for how good the Patriots are. If Drew Bledsoe had never gotten ko'd against the Jets back in 2001, Belichick woulda prolly been out of a job by 2003. Brady basically bailed him out.
His career record before Brady became his starting quarterback was 41-57. That's SIXTEEN GAMES under .500, so it's not like anyone considered him a genius prior to Brady showin' up.
Let's not act like Belichick is Bill Walsh, or some other gifted coach that developed a revolutionary new offense of something, cause he didn't, and isn't going to.
The 2008 squad was still loaded on both sides of the ball, so with Cassel, who's gone on to be a Pro-Bowl QB with K.C. I might add, they managed to muster an 11-5 campaign under Belichick's "brilliant" tutelage.
If Brady went down this Sunday and was out for the remainder of the season, THIS TEAM would go 5-11. I'd be willing to bet ANYTHING on it. With Brady playing, they're lookin' at 12-4 or 13-3.
That's sums up how much I think of Belichick's coaching ability. Lol
I'm man enough to admit I can't stand Brady. I hate everything about him. I hate that he's won 3 Super Bowls. I hate that he makes playing a tough position look so easy. I hate that he's good looking. I hate that he's married to a model. I even hate his damn hair. But, I'm also man enough to admit the guys a helluva quarterback. I enjoyed reading the post, but I still hate him. :)
ReplyDeleteTo Kris- You always talk about people that are "Brady-haters" as you put it, and how you won't bother trying to convince them differently cause it's a waste of time or whatever. Yet, you're a Brady-lover, so the same rule applies to you in reverse. There's no convincing you any differently in the other direction, so you calling people out because of their alliance to anyone NOT named Brady is like the teapot calling the kettle black. I'm not trying to be an ass, just saying.
ReplyDeleteneed to change the name of this site from the bleacher briefings to the brady briefings, since half the posts you put up are brady related. obsessed much?
ReplyDeleteReally wish this had been posted by early Tuesday. Would have mentioned it during the TBrady segment of the show. Completely agree with you 100 percent. Very well done young man.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteI found it extremely odd that everyone had Rodgers the clearcut front runner for league MVP going into the season, considering the unreal season Brady had last season. How could he possibly not be considered the front runner going into this year?!
ReplyDeleteOh how I just love to wake up to such a spirited discussion.
ReplyDeleteKyle - At least you're honest. Lol
Brandon - The difference in myself and the "Brady-haters" is that I actually can give other guys credit for being good players even if I personnally don't care for them. Most Brady-haters can't. Guys like Kyle for example, are the exception to that rule.
"Anonymous" - I'm not obsessed in the least. Tom Brady has been mentioned in a TOTAL of ELEVEN posts on this site. 11 out of nearly 190 overall. By comparison, Peyton Manning has been mentioned in THIRTEEN. If you want proof, all you gotta do is go to the keyword search and enter their names (this post won't show yet, so add one to each guys total since they're both mentioned in this post). It'll pull up every post they've been in. So I guess I should change the name of the site to The Manning Briefings now, since by your logic that would make way more sense. Based on your comment, two things are apparent:
1. You obviously are a Brady-hater.
2. You have absolutely NO FRIGGIN' IDEA what you're talking about.
But hey, the two almost always go hand-in-hand.
Billy - I couldn't agree more my friend.
Thanks to everyone else who left complements and took the time to read the post as well. Much appreciated.
Very entertaining post! I liked reading the comments also. I love a good debate! =]
ReplyDeleteSpirited conversation you guys have going on here. :) In my opinion, Manning at least deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Brady, but Brady is still the superior qb. Rodgers hasn't been playing long enough to be in their league, and Rivers hasn't really done anything. As for Brees, he's like the wild-card. If people include him in the same league as Brady and Manning, I have no problem with it, but I personally, don't. Not yet anyway.
ReplyDeleteBrady blows.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Morgan.
ReplyDeleteIt's also strange to me that you can't like both QBs - I don't have a problem with either one.
Do the Colts and Patriots have such a heated rivalry that their fans hate each other? I'll answer that myself - NOPE.
As a St Louis Cardinals homer, I can't stand the Cubs, but I can certainly recognize great talent like Sammy Sosa or Kerry Wood (I know neither of those guys are relevant, but name one Cubs player who is...). Why can't Pats and Colts fans do the same?
I like that Manning can turn nothing into something with hard work. I also like that Brady commands excellence from his teammates. Without questions, both guys are future Hall Of Famers.
Jessica - Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteMorgan - My only knock on Manning is his poor playoff record. That's the only reason I wouldn't put him in the same category as Brady. Playoffs aside, Manning is top-five best ever. I can't disregard his playoff record though. But hey, that's just me.
B.J. - Brady blows. Right. Says the guy NAMED "BJ." How fitting.
Todd - I don't think it's so much the Patriot-Colt fans hate each other as much as it is that Manning has been tabbed the "good guy," while Brady is the "villain" (for SOME REASON). For the most part, you don't hear many people (outside of the Boston area) knocking Manning. But, pretty much everyone outside that area can't stand Brady, and in most instances, don't even bother to give a reason as to WHY they can't. They just hate him FOR THE SAKE OF HATING HIM.
Quick story: I was at the mall today, rockin' a Patriots t-shirt of course, and in Hat World, I overheard two guys talkin' football. They ended up on the subject of Brady's 500 yard game, and one dude said, "Man, Brady racked me up tons of fantasy points this weekend," and the other guy said, "Man, I can't stand his ass." The other dude came back with, "Why?" and the guys reasoning was, "I just can't stand him." So, I whipped out one of my Bleacher Briefings business cards, handed it to the guy and said, "Here, you should check this out." It was probably the "B.J." dude that commented. Lol But yeah, my point being, people hate Brady JUST to hate him.
Oh, I'm a Cubs fan btw, and even I can admit basically no Cubs player (besides Ernie Banks) has ever been relevant. Lol
As a Vols fan, you would expect me to say Peyton is the best QB to ever play the game... HOWEVER, I am a realist and look at the results... the numbers... the Super Bowl wins. Tom Brady is, hands down, the best QB to ever play the game. What many people don't realize is that it doesn't matter WHO you put at RB, WR, or TE for the Pats. He's going to give them the same results because he will find the open receiver, throw them a catch-able ball, and they will play their ASS off for him because they know this (MAN!). Hell, he could make ME a star catching passes at TE!
ReplyDeleteThe argument you will here from Peyton Manning fans (which is generally the case) is that he is the ultimate student of the game and essentially their offensive coordinator. Know one doubts Manning's knowledge and technique. Probably why there's a Manning Passing Academy that any and every 4/5 star high school QB takes part in. It is s detriment to Brady that his coach is Bill Belichek; he is a great coach which means you don't need Brady calling all the plays and audibles. He simply performs like the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Plus, he's money in the big games when the pressure is really on (Romo, take notes).
But I think what I like best about Brady is that he came from NOWHERE when you think about it. A what, 6th, 7th round pick the Pats used on a back-up QB to Drew Bledsoe. We all know the story. He was a good college QB, but not great. He wasn't a Heisman runner-up (who got screwed) like Manning. He doesn't have the historic name and pedigree... but what he does have are the Rings... 3 to be exact. In the end, isn't THAT what it's all about and how a QB's career should be judged? That's really the only thing that separates Brady from Marino.
In closing, this is a debate that simply can't be won because it's a manner of opinion. But if you took EVERYONE'S opinion and took an average, it would be hard pressed to find a QB that would rate higher than Tom Brady. As the "kids" say it these days: he is beast.
Damn Boyett, what did you do, cheat off my notes? Lol
ReplyDeleteI agree mostly with Chris' assessment here. For the other Kris, I think some people hate him because he consistently beats their team - the same reason people hate Derek Jeter or hated Michael Jordan. They can't come up with a logical reason as to why they hate Brady, but they know it's because their team's QB isn't as good.
ReplyDeleteI would say that Manning can ALSO make a player out of a nobody. The best instance is Brandon Stokely tearing up the 2004 season with Peyton at the helm (68 grabs – 1077 yards – 10TDs) but that season accounted for 22% of his career receptions, 25% of his receiving yards and 29% of his career TDs. Or Austin Collie. Or Blair White. Or Jacob Tamme, for God's sake.
(end of rant)
All this Brady is the best quarterback ever crap needs to stop, cause he's not. He's not even the best quarterback of this generation. Manning was great even in college. Guy was born great. Brady didn't do jack at Michigan. He's a system quarterback. Cassel proved in '08 that anyone can produce in that offense. If they stuck Mallett in as the starter starting this weekend even he would put up numbers.
ReplyDeleteLove Tom Brady! Best quarterback ever!
ReplyDeleteAdam B. - The whole, "he's a system quarterback" argument is just ignorant. ALL QBs are a product of SOME COACHES "SYSTEM," so what does that even mean?
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Brady WAS ALSO GOOD in college. However, Michigan wanted Drew Henson to play since he was so highly recruited, so him playing came at Brady's expense.
I really don't understand exactly how you, or anyone else for that matter that's always knockin' Brady, judge greatness.
If you say Manning is the best, you're obviously just basing your opinion on numbers alone, cause ONE Super Bowl win doesn't qualify you as the best ever.
Brady not only has MULTIPLE Super Bowl wins, but lofty numbers as well.
I will NEVER understand how anyone can even ATTEMPT to argue that Manning is better.
Brady's won more head-to-head matchups, has a higher career rating, has won more Super Bowls and has a far superior playoff record in general.
What am I missing? Is everybody stupid around here?
Another 400 plus yard performance out of Brady today. He's a man playing amongst boys at this point. Might as well just engrave the MVP trophy with his name now.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to yalls boy this week? Four picks against the Bills. LMAO Best quarterback in the league my ass.
ReplyDeleteAdam B. - At no point in this post did I say Brady was above ever having an off game.
ReplyDeleteNot to try and make excuses for him, but three of those four picks weren't even his fault. They came off tips or receivers running the wrong routes.
And since you love Peyton so much, he has three career four interception games, and a SIX interception game under his belt as well. Guess those don't count though, right?