The NFL media spent all of last week focused on Colts quarterback Peyton Manning after he threw for an NFL-record 49 touchdowns this season, raunning the league's most dangerous offense and racking up 4,557 yards in the process. There is no doubt that Manning is a great quarterback, but the Patriots' resounding 20-3 win over the Colts indicates that perhaps the attention was misplaced.
As great as Manning may have been this year, he is not the best signal-caller in the league. That honor belongs to a man who beat him Sunday. A man who already owns two Super Bowl rings and will have his third shortly. A man who gets little to zero media attention: Two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady.
Brady stays under the radar, receiving less praise because of all the skill and talent around him. And that's just fine for him. He is 7-0 in his career as a playoff starter, but no one seems to care about that statistic. He does not put up big numbers. Somehow he didn't even make the Pro Bowl. He has done it in the past and certainly has the ability to do that, but he doesn't seem to care. Brady does one thing: win.
Unlike every other position, a quarterback is not judged solely by statistics. Quarterbacks have so many other responsibilities: calling audibles, managing the game, making reads and leading the offense.
At the same time, looking at a quarterback's win-loss record brings his team into play, as it is impossible to detach the supporting cast from the quarterback in this regard. And Brady is on one of the greatest teams in NFL history. As such, objective evaluations are tough. But there is no denying Tom Brady's brilliance.
He won't wow you with flashy plays like Michael Vick. He does not make plays with his feet like Donovan McNabb. At one point early in his career, Brady may have even gotten more media attention for dating actress Tara Reid than he did for his on-field play.
Brady methodically moves his team down the field, using the skill players around him to make plays. Four times this season, he threw for less than 200 yards, including a 76-yard effort in a Week 5 win. He eclipsed 300 yards just twice, as the Patriots finished in the bottom third of the league in pass attempts. But that should not matter. The Pats went 14-2, largely because Brady would not let his team lose, doing whatever it took to get the W.
Unlike the other three playoff quarterbacks left, Brady was not a first-round pick. In fact, every single team passed over him multiple times in the 2000 draft, as he was the seventh quarterback taken when the Patriots selected him with the 33rd pick in the sixth round.
The Michigan alum was selected as a backup to Drew Bledsoe and, in his second season, took over for Bledsoe when he was hurt in Week 2 of the 2001 season. Brady has started every game for the Patriots since, holding onto the job even when Bledsoe returned.
The numbers in his three full seasons as starter are eerily similar. He has completed 62.1, 60.2 and 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,764, 3,620 and 3,692 yards, keeping a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in all three seasons. He is the model for consistency.
The scary thing is what happens with him in the playoffs. He will never lose the game for his team, throwing just three interceptions in seven playoff games. He makes quick reads and great decisions. He may be averaging just over 200 yards per playoff game in his career, but he has never lost in January -- the most impressive statistic possible. And he has two Super Bowl MVPs on his mantle.
Aided by a great defense and outstanding coaching, Brady and the Patriots will win their third Super Bowl in four years on Feb. 5. The credit will go to newly acquired Corey Dillon, to coach Bill Belichick's brilliant defensive schemes, to outstanding coordinators and to iron-man Troy Brown. Brady could even win another MVP and still stay under the radar.
But Brady's name has been omitted from the list of great quarterbacks for too long. It's an outrage, considering he should be atop any such list.
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