he wasn't good vs. KC, credit the Rave3n D but Indy kept forcing TOs and putting Peyton inn good spots and he couldn't even lead them to a TD. That game should have been a blowout. He "outgunned" Brady in the title game as he had Wayne, Harrison, Clark, etc... vs. Brady w/ Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney to throw to. switch the weapons and Peyton wouldn't have had NE in the playoffs that year but for once in his career he stepped up that 2nd half in the comeback(a comeback needed largely b/c of how awful he was in the 1st half). He deserves credit for that comeback, one great half in 4 postseason games. Congrats! I don't care about #s, I care about making plays. Brady in a snowstorm made plays to win the Oak game and led one of the greatest drives in SB history to win the SB. the Rams once scored 9 offensive pts in a title game at home, in their SB win 2 years earlier they didn't light up the scoreboard either. NE's D played great for 3 qtrs. then melted in the 4th just like the Car SB, both NYG SBs and almost the Sea SB. My dumb argument doesn't just take into account one game, it takes his entire career into account. It's weight more heavily on postseason but the best of the best step up and clearly Peyton has stepped back in postseason.
How in the world is a pick in the first quarter of a 0-0 ballgame as bad as a pick 6 that ends your team's chance at a super bowl victory? If this is the type of logic that people use to support Manning over Brady then I completely get it now
did you also know that Peyton's TD at the end of the 3rd qtr in SB XLVIII was just as big as Brady's to Edelman in SB XLIX? at least Peyton added a 2 pt conversion, all Brady could do was watch the K add a PAT.
The Pats D held a team a team that averaged 35+ a game to 17 points. Brady scored a whopping 13 points in that SB. My point is you are using team performance to build a legacy for an individual. You call Brady the greatest based on 4 team wins in the SB, but if factors 100% outside his control changed while his performance was identical, then you wouldn't call him the greatest. That shows how dumb your argument is. If the Rams have a normal offensive performance in that game and Tom gets the same yards and points (<200 and 13 points), the Pats get absolutely blown out in that game and Brady is 3-3 in SBs and you are probably not placing him at the top of the heap. The problem is that people like you cannot separate the player from the team, which is why the argument is pointless. Brady has played worse in the playoffs than the regular season, just like Peyton. In fact, when Brady was at the absolute pinnacle of his career in terms of individual play (2007 and 2011 seasons, during which he won MVP), he "lost" to Eli Manning and Mark Sanchez in the playoffs, and submitted extremely disappointing individual performances in those postseasons. The difference? The rest of his team didn't cover him in those games. The other team played great and one player cannot compensate for that. You just fail to understand that, which is why it is pointless to argue. Until you can understand the game better and team v. individual, you are going to be like every other "hot take" guy out there who wants to make broad generalizations about a player that just fit some narrative. Greatest ever is subjective, and it's perfectly reasonable to feel that QBs from Brady's own era have played the position slightly better. Comparing over eras is too difficult, although it is fair to say that Montana's efficiency numbers really stood out compared to his peers whereas Brady is right in the pack with the the other top QBs in the game.
Games are 60 minutes long, first quarter points count just as much as 4th quarter points. Had the Seahawks run the ball with Lynch and won the game, Brady's first quarter INT would have been cited as a big factor in the Pats loss, by Brady himself, the media, and football fans. Factors completely outside of Brady's control made it "irrelevant".
again, an even better version of that O was held to 9 pts at home in their SB title year in the NFC championship game and in the SB scored 23. The NE D played great for 3 qtrs. then became the first D in SB history to blow a double digit lead- they blew a 14 pt lead. but the Rams didn't have a normal offensive output and he's 4-2 and if you want to talk what ifs- if his D doesn't blow the 2 SBs losses he could be 6-0 but he's 4-2. Not just like Peyton, prior to this postseason Brady was Peyton like in postseason for many years w/ the exception of one and dones. he was still getting his teams to title games- teams that had no business making it that far. Peyton lost to Sanchez in the playoffs too, also lost to Jay Fiedler too. Greatest ever is subjective, I said MY OPINION was he is the greatest ever. there is a claim for guys like Montana, Unitas, Marino, Graham but I believe Brady is the best I have ever seen. People forget how Montana was perceived most of his career. even while winning SBs he didn't get the credit he deserved or the credit he gets now. he was considered "overrated". he's very much like Brady but at some point the bashers will come to appreciate the greatness of Brady.
they count the same but the pressure is not the same. Please don't continue this nonsensical argument saying Brady's 1st qtr INT was the same as Manning's 4th qtr game ending INT. I beg you to move on/
It's a valid opinion to have, but I just don't watch Brady and see him as any better than the top guys in this era. He doesn't do anything on the field better than them. Rodgers is far more gifted and can make plays Brady couldn't even dream of (while putting up better numbers than Brady in the same era). Peyton is the better field general and no one runs an offense like him. It's even hard to differentiate Brady from guys like Brees and Ben at times. Without question, Brady has enjoyed the most team success and has achieved the most from that perspective. I just see what I see, and Brady doesn't separate himself from the pack. And that's just this era alone. Forget about comparing to guys who played 30+ years ago when the sport was completely different. I think Brady is one of the greatest ever, I just think he's overrated based on the Pats team success. The whole argument that this latest Pats SB victory somehow "settles" that Brady is the greatest ever, or better than Peyton, or any other thing you hear some fans discussing, is really just laughable to me.
It's the SB, there is intense pressure every second you are on the field. I'll give you that Manning's INT was far more damaging, given the circumstances.
The 2 INTs were nowhere near the same. One ended a game and all hopes for a SB title, the other was early in a game and probably prevented 3 pts. TOs are part of the game, ones that happen early you can overcome, ones that happen late sometimes you cannot overcome like SB XLIV. You are entitled to your opinion. I disagree, I see greatness when watching him play and have for a LONG time. I don't care about who is more gifted, who makes plays when they matter most? who gives their team the best chance to win? that answer is always Brady. He is the man most responsible for the Pats team success, w/o him BB is a DC somewhere today and NE never has a dynasty. He changed the career of BB and the Pats franchise. Brady vs. Manning was settled a long time ago. Peyton was getting closer to Brady but that INT for TD that cost his team a SB settled that debate. Brady has won more w/ less, I don't even think the 2 are comparable. You want some meaningless fantasy #s you take Manning, you want to win you take Brady.
He's definitely one of the 3 or 4 greatest, I don't think anyone could argue that. Based on his longevity, success and stats in the regular and postseason. He has also done it with with so many different WR's and offenses over the years it makes it even more impressive. However you also have to give credit to Belichick for the system he put in place. It seems like anyone can go up there and be plugged in and produce. I've been saying Brady's top 5 all-time for the last 3 years. Now he has to be in consideration for greatest ever. Although I'd still take Montana over Brady with the game on the line. Montana to Clark and Montana to Taylor, that's as clutch as it gets. Not just the catch but the drives to set these catches up. I'd put Brady in the convo along with Montana, Unitas, Graham, Elway and a few others. Rodgers could be in the convo by the time he's done. Manning, Marino and Favre would be right behind these guys. Also you have to take into account that all of these QB's (with the exception of Rodgers who's a little younger) played in eras where it wasn't a QB centric league the way it is today. Defenses could pummel QB's up until the mid 2000's. Brady has played the 2nd half of his career (say from 2006 -present) in this new QB focused and protected league. Rodgers has played his whole damn career in this pass happy, QB protected era that the league is in today. All of the other guys on this list were much tougher and took way more of a pounding than new guys like Rodgers.
Rodgers gets hurt a lot so you have to take that into consideration like it or not. His mobility is great but he causes a lot of his injuries by that
The headline is misleading. He says "nobody was better," but then goes on to put many other QBs (including Manning and Rodgers) on the same level as Brady - essentially saying "you can't say who the best is because they are all good in different ways." It's not as though Joe said "The best QB in the history of the game is Brady," but that's what the headline suggests he said.
Brady is top 5 but he wasn't the GOAT going into that game and the worst most boneheaded call by a HC in the history of the NFL to give the Pats another SB doesn't elevate him to the greatest. It just doesn't. _
It doesn't matter. At the end of the day Brady still got the ring. Now with that said he not the greatest of all time.
MMQB SI column on the interview: "VRENTAS: After his fourth title, where do you think Tom Brady stands among quarterbacks to ever have played the game? NAMATH: No one’s ever been better. No one’s ever been better than Tom Brady." Seems pretty crystal clear to me. Don't see any room for misunderstanding.
