As most of us know, Tom Brady had a historic night on Monday Night Football this past week: 517 passing yards and 4 touchdowns, including one TD that went 99 yards. His career resume is astounding: 3 super bowls, 2 time league MVP, and a Comeback Player of the Year Award to top it all off. Without question, I think he has proved he is the best quarterback in the NFL today. But could he possibly be the best of All time?
Joe Montana. John Elway. Dan Marino. Peyton Manning. Brett Favre. Terry Bradshaw. Steve Young. All of these players are among the best all-time. All of them have done things that most players never do, whether it be winning MVP Awards, Super bowls, or Superbowl MVP Awards. For most, these are the guys they will argue are better than Tom Brady. For me, there is a simple metric. MVP awards and Super bowls are nearly equal on my scale, but winning multiple of both trumps anything else.
First up: Dan Marino. He had an amazing career in Miami with a lot of individual success. Unfortunately, he played in a league ruled by other people. Despite all the statistics he racked up, he only won one MVP and never did win a super bowl. His polar opposite was Terry Bradshaw. A mediocre quarterback at times, Bradshaw managed to slip in a league MVP during his 4 super bowls in 6 years because his supporting cast made amazing plays. His career 212:210 TD:Int ratio explains his worth better than his record.
Next: Brett Favre, the most statistically decorated player of all-time. Passing Yard and Passing Touchdown record. (As well as the Interception record) 3 time MVP, won a super bowl, but no MVP there. His 297 game iron man streak is his most impressive of all, but his postseason flubs undermine his greatness.
Peyton Manning: Same old story, just a different name. His career has followed a path very similar to Brett Favre's, with the only difference being a 4th MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. Those years of postseason mishaps hurt his resume' tremendously.
John Elway has been to more Super bowls than any QB ever. However, his record was 2-3. He makes a strong case for the Top 3, but those super bowl losses tell me he can't be the best. Steve Young went to three super bowls and was 3-0, but he was the backup in the first two. His versatility was great, but concussions prevented his longevity, and he just didn't start in the league long enough to be at the top of the top. For these two, its just another Loss in a big moment.
Now the one we have all been waiting for: Joe Montana. 4 time super bowl champion, 2-Time NFL MVP. The only player on this list (Besides Brady) with multiple Super bowls and Multiple MVP Awards. He always came up big in the clutch, and "Big Sky" Montana could really air it out with accuracy, unlike your average gunslinger. The only difference between Montana and Brady: Supporting cast. While Montana was winning super bowls, he had Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of All-Time, catching his passes. Tom Brady, on the other hand, had no pro bowlers in the receiving core for any of his 3 super bowl wins. This is what separates him from the others. For Brady, receivers brought stats. The wins were coming before the receivers ever showed up. You know what I think, so now I ask you: Is Tom Brady the best ever?
Joe Montana. John Elway. Dan Marino. Peyton Manning. Brett Favre. Terry Bradshaw. Steve Young. All of these players are among the best all-time. All of them have done things that most players never do, whether it be winning MVP Awards, Super bowls, or Superbowl MVP Awards. For most, these are the guys they will argue are better than Tom Brady. For me, there is a simple metric. MVP awards and Super bowls are nearly equal on my scale, but winning multiple of both trumps anything else.
First up: Dan Marino. He had an amazing career in Miami with a lot of individual success. Unfortunately, he played in a league ruled by other people. Despite all the statistics he racked up, he only won one MVP and never did win a super bowl. His polar opposite was Terry Bradshaw. A mediocre quarterback at times, Bradshaw managed to slip in a league MVP during his 4 super bowls in 6 years because his supporting cast made amazing plays. His career 212:210 TD:Int ratio explains his worth better than his record.
Next: Brett Favre, the most statistically decorated player of all-time. Passing Yard and Passing Touchdown record. (As well as the Interception record) 3 time MVP, won a super bowl, but no MVP there. His 297 game iron man streak is his most impressive of all, but his postseason flubs undermine his greatness.
Peyton Manning: Same old story, just a different name. His career has followed a path very similar to Brett Favre's, with the only difference being a 4th MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. Those years of postseason mishaps hurt his resume' tremendously.
John Elway has been to more Super bowls than any QB ever. However, his record was 2-3. He makes a strong case for the Top 3, but those super bowl losses tell me he can't be the best. Steve Young went to three super bowls and was 3-0, but he was the backup in the first two. His versatility was great, but concussions prevented his longevity, and he just didn't start in the league long enough to be at the top of the top. For these two, its just another Loss in a big moment.
Now the one we have all been waiting for: Joe Montana. 4 time super bowl champion, 2-Time NFL MVP. The only player on this list (Besides Brady) with multiple Super bowls and Multiple MVP Awards. He always came up big in the clutch, and "Big Sky" Montana could really air it out with accuracy, unlike your average gunslinger. The only difference between Montana and Brady: Supporting cast. While Montana was winning super bowls, he had Jerry Rice, the greatest receiver of All-Time, catching his passes. Tom Brady, on the other hand, had no pro bowlers in the receiving core for any of his 3 super bowl wins. This is what separates him from the others. For Brady, receivers brought stats. The wins were coming before the receivers ever showed up. You know what I think, so now I ask you: Is Tom Brady the best ever?
The Brady debate is a very interesting one. It seems that people go back and forth with whether or not he is the best current QB. Is Brady getting more hype this year with Peyton being injured?
ReplyDeletePeyton being injured does play somewhat of a role in this. But an MVP season followed by an opening performance of this magnitude begs for the question to be asked.
ReplyDelete