Is Tom Brady the best ever? Depends on how you define best? Best records with team accomplishments he is at the top of whatever lists there are or will be.
But best QB as in player? Or is he a product of the system and Belicheat?
The first thing you have to look at is how his team has fared w/o him. They were 3-1 w/o him this year. Thats a .750 winning %. The year he tore his knee up and Matt Cassel played the team went 11-5. And that was a young Matt Cassel. Not the veteran experienced QB that Garret couldnt win anything with. These two examples by themselves refute any best ever talk. No amount of stats, numbers or any other arguments can refute this.
Now, look at the Cowboys last year w/o Romo. Im not comparing Romo to Brady so save your howls and cries. But Romo last year being out devastated his team. When Brady is out his team just keeps on winning.
Brady has played with a great OL his entire career. We have seen how average he looks when pressured. It doesnt happen often but when it does he is very pedestrian. When he gets real pressure he is no Aaron Fraudgers, Romo, Staubach, Tarkenton, etc. Brady is very dependent on his system and executing it. When pressured he has struggled historically.
Brady has had the unique privilege and advantage of playing in a pathetically weak division so that lends itself to an easier track to a better record for post season seeding which means playing at home. We have seen how average he is playing on the road in the playoffs.
Often its brought up about how many no name receivers and different receivers he's played with and he makes them all look good. But is that all Brady? Or is it the system? Or is it Belicheat? Obviously its a combination, but to think its all Brady is naive and just trying to pad ones argument for a specific agenda.
His longevity is brought up to pad the best ever argument. Certainly a factor but once again his OL has kept him from taking a beating that so many other QB's have taken. The era he has played in doesnt allow for QB's getting hit and roughed up as QB's historically have over the decades. But its also a credit to his work ethic and taking care of his body which we hear about all the time.
When talking about Brady its imperative to take the cheating into consideration. The systematic cheating in NE early on in his career made it much easier for him to know what the defense was doing so as a young QB he didnt have to learn a lot of the game the hard way as it allowed him to keep from making typical young QB mistakes in his development. No team in the history of sports has been recognized for having a culture of cheating like NE has. Since cheating gives an unfair advantage then its safe to assume he has had numerous advantages that other QB's havent had.
Brady has played for the best coach in the NFL and in his era. Nobody else comes close to Belicheat. Brady is out and Belicheat's teams just keep winning. I would make the argument that no other top QB in league history has played with an advantage like this. During the Brady era the NFL has lacked for quality coaches. Instead we see the Marvin Lewis types. The Jason Garrett's, Chuck Pagano's, and Jeff Fisher's.
Super Bowls are a biggie when it comes to Brady. Yet he has lost TWO Super Bowls to E-Lie Frickin Manning, His last Super Bowl win was a gift from Pete Carroll and company with the biggest blunder in Super Bowl history. Seattle snatched defeat from the jaws of victory giving the Pats the biggest gift in Super Bowl history. Brady should be 3-3, thats .500%, in Super Bowls. The first 3 he won all came on late long field goals to win IIRC. Sure he got the team in place for the kick but the kicker was huge in those long field goals. So Brady isnt quite the Super Bowl stud that some make him out to be.
Tom Cry Brady the best ever? For best when it comes to team records and accomplishments, he's in the discussion. But best as in individual player? Nah, not even close.
