Posted on 02/01/2008 4:38:28 PM PST by maddog55
Is Brady the best quarterback who ever played? NFL By John Powers The Boston Globe Published: February 1, 2008
PHOENIX, Arizona: Even now, after three rings and a season that is one victory shy of unprecedented perfection, the man shakes his head when you put him alongside Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and the other immortals in the signal-calling pantheon. "Those guys, as far as I'm concerned, are in a league of their own," Tom Brady said.
And yet, if the New England Patriots beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII on Sunday night, their quarterback will join Montana and Bradshaw as the only four-time winners of football's ultimate game. And since a victory also would cap a flawless season, Brady could well be considered the best who has ever played.
"If Tom wins this game and is part of a team which went undefeated in 19 games, then it strengthens his argument," said the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who won three Super Bowls and who lists Montana as his No. 1.
Comparing quarterbacks from different eras is an inexact science. Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers won their four titles in the 1970s, Montana and the San Francisco 49ers in the '80s. Since then, the NFL has added expansion teams, gone to free agency, adopted a salary cap and changed its scheduling to promote parity. Its players are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
He will be.
I was watching Super Bowl X the other day, and it occurred to me it would be funny as heck if Staubach and Bradshaw were suddenly replaced by Manning and Brady. I don’t think they would be used to the world of hurt that QBs lived in back then.
Yes, he just might be (he’s a long way from being done)
Howie Long, said Terry Bradshaw has come up with an idea to honor the greatest NFL quarterbacks.
“Terry said they’re going to start raising funds for a mini-Mount Rushmore,” Long said. “They’re looking for not a cliff, but a hillside that they can carve (Joe) Montana and (Tom) Brady and Bradshaw into. I don’t know if that would be visited as much as Rushmore.”
All in fun guy.. I just want a few beers, kick back and enjoy the game.
It’s amusing to read all of the ‘No’ responses.
Just today, Joe Theisman flatly stated that Tom Brady is the best quarterback to have ever played the game. He also noted Unitas and Montana, but said that Brady was better.
But then again, what does a quarterback like Theisman know? /s
Well if he gets Super Bowl number 4 he is certainly in the equation. Since I’m a bengals fan I’m partial to saying that Joe Montana is the best. It’s hard to tell. Sometimes a QB can benefit greatly from have a good running game so he does not have to rely so heavily on a passing game. Also, if he has a great defense then he gets a shortened field to work with. For example instead of having to drive 80 yards for TD he only has to drive 50 yards or so because his defense causes a 3 and out and they force a punt.
No.
Big Pats fan here.
The best quarterback that I have seen play in the last several years is Michael Vick.
Brady is terrific, but, not the greatest. Not yet anyhow.
It is definitely not Brett Favre. He chokes too often and goes brain dead in big games.
Its not Marino because he has zero championships.
Brady isn’t NOW, but he is a lot younger than Montana was when he won his fourth SB. So if the Pats keep going, Brady will be.
Right now, it is Montana...in 6 or 7 years? We’ll talk.
People with no memory think the last athlete they saw is the greatest. There are so many great quarterbacks of the past that none of us have seen play.
That about covers it.
But then again, what does a quarterback like Theisman know? /s
I’m not sure since he has lost all his regular commentating gigs for some reason.
Ditto.
As a Colts & Manning fan (season ticket holder) I absolutely HATE Brady and the Pats but.....I think he could be. Gotta give props where they’re due.
I was thoroughly unimpressed with Michael Vick. Not even in the top 100.
Not yet, but he’s on his way.
Brady has done more with less talent than all the others. Now that Brady finally has some great WR’s, Brady has really shown he belongs among the elites. If Brady had some receivers last year who could catch the ball when it lands on their numbers, Brady would have won another SB last year. I would put Brady at the top of the list of great QB’s.
To compare teams today to those of the 1980s, 70s, 60s, etc., can’t be done.
The teams of whatever era played the best athletics of that period. Comparisons can’t be made with any degree of logic or fairness.
The only possible exception in comparisons might be baseball when players like Ted Williams and Warren Spahn played on the battlefield rather than on the diamond. If their careers had not been cut short by war, who knows what records they might have set. I should also include the black players who were kept off the field by the Jim Crow laws.
JMO
Considering the wholly corrupt state of today’s NFL... no.
Winning superbowls doesn’t make one the best quarterback. If those recent Patriot teams were playing the Cowboys of the early to mid 90s, they would have been 0 for 4, and there would be no such discussion of this. Greatness over longevity determines who the best players are, Brady very well could be the greatest but time will tell.
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