The Greatest Quarterback Ever: Tom Brady

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Tom Brady (pictured above) fresh off of his seventh Super Bowl Victory

Football is the great equalizer, where every person can prove his mettle through battle. When people think of the greats, it is probably the quarterbacks that come to mind. They are the leaders who rely on players and are in turn relied upon, to make the pass, pitch, handoff, or sneak. One man has been in the spotlight for quite some time now and has been constant in his drive to be the best.

It could be argued that Peyton Manning is the best quarterback, as along with many achievements, he holds the record for the most pro bowl nominations with 14. The same could be said for Drew Brees who holds a staggering 561 touchdowns. Brett Farve has 186 regular-season wins. Joe Montana has won the Super Bowl four times. But there is someone else who has tied Manning’s record and surpassed the other quarterbacks’ achievements. This man holds almost every major quarterback record including Super Bowl MVPs, combined passing yards, touchdowns, total wins, regular-season wins, playoff wins, Super Bowl wins, and everything in between. If you are a Manning fan or Brees fan, the show is over. Tom Brady recently carried the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl win in his first season with them, claiming a title only.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers last went to the Super Bowl for their first and only time in 2003. They returned home victorious after a dominant win, 48-21 against the Oakland Raiders. After that, they did not qualify for the playoffs for three years and then returned to lose their next Wild-Card playoff game in 2005. This happened again in 2007. The Buccaneers have not since competed in the playoffs until this year. Coming into the playoffs off a wildcard this year, they beat the Washington Football Team, the New Orleans Saints, and with a victory against the Green Bay Packers, headed to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history. In the Superbowl, contrary to the belief it would be a close game, was nothing of the sort. The Buccaneer’s offense pulled away extending their lead to a dominant twenty-two points while their defense hopelessly tied up Mahomes containing the score to 9 points.

This win was only more impressive as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for the duration of the playoffs, whereas an away team, they never played in their own stadium. This serves as a big disadvantage as the home team has a crowd cheering for them as well as the field itself is familiar. For the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl was played in the away team’s stadium giving the Buccaneers an advantage. 

Tom Brady has played football since he was a kid, watching the 1980 greats like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. In high school, he was a powerful player in both football and baseball. He was picked up by the Montreal Expos major league baseball team but decided instead to attend the University of Michigan for football where he did not start until junior year. He had a good season, leading his team to victory in the Orange Bowl, but was not particularly incredible or outstanding in his position. A sixth-round pick for the New England Patriots, Tom Brady did not play the first season, coming into the game only after Drew Bledsoe, the starting quarterback was injured in the second game of the 2001 season. 

With Bledsoe out, Brady became the starting quarterback and had an amazing season, upsetting the Rams in the Super Bowl and was dubbed MVP. Brady battled back to the Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2004 and 2005 winning both to a stunning three Super Bowl trophies in four years. In 2007, the Patriots became the first team in history to have a 16-0 record, having not lost a single game in the regular season. The season sadly ended with a Super Bowl upset by the New York Giants. Four years later, they had a Super Bowl rematch, yet they lost once more. In 2015, the Patriots escaped another Super Bowl defeat after a fourth-quarter crucial interception on the one-yard line by Patriot cornerback, Malcolm Butler. Brady was back again in 2017 with another Super Bowl victory, this time against the Falcons. Next year, Tom Brady had his best Super Bowl game based on statistics and was virtually flawless in his game. The same could not be said about the Patriot’s defense failing to make stops against the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense, thus losing the game by 8 points. Brady came back the next season with a vengeance, crushing the Rams for his sixth Super Bowl title, breaking the previous record of five. Brady got his seventh Super Bowl win with the Bucs against the Chiefs. Maybe even more astounding than his lengthy winning records are his consistency, going to the Super Bowl 10 times out of his 21 seasons. 

It is important to address the Deflategate scandal where Tom Brady was accused of deflating the footballs during the Super Bowl. Now while the mass media believes this to be real, there is no direct evidence of the ball deflations and while there was a four-game ban on Tom Brady, it went to the courts where it was repealed after the prosecution could not show any condemning evidence. Now while the case failed to be appealed, so Tom Brady did sit out four games in 2016, however, the NFL has been much more cautious to charge allegations without definitive proof.

On top of all of his NFL achievements, Tom Brady is a well-respected and kind guy. He has numerous charities that help kids and just recently has started raising a hundred million dollars for charities helping supply food to kids impacted by Covid. Teammates credit him for being an easygoing guy who brings out the best in everyone.

Interestingly, in the AFC championship in 2018, the Patriots with Tom Brady clinched a tight win (37-31) from the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime. After the game, Patrick Mahomes sat in the locker room when in walked Brady. Together they went over the game with Brady telling the Kansas City quarterback to never give up and that he was an incredible player. While Brady may have grown up watching Joe Montana, Mahomes grew up watching Brady and said in an interview that he aspires to be just like him. These great quarterbacks have great mutual respect for each other. Now, three years later, Brady showed the young football star that he was not to be messed with.

Tom Brady has dedicated the past quarter-century to the art of football. He is a football veteran playing very well despite his age. Brady has delivered again and again both on and off the field. Whenever he chooses to leave the NFL, he will leave behind an incredible legacy unmatched and unparallel to all.

(Image Courtesy of reportdoor.com)