Tom Brady has made his 10th Super Bowl with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and many are finally acknowledging that he is the greatest quarterback of all time because of this. He is in pursuit of what would be his 7th Super Bowl victory, furthering the reason to be considered the greatest ever to play the sport.
The very fact that Tom Brady has gone to a new team and took them to a Super Bowl at age 43 has been the deciding factor to many that he is the greatest. I’m here to tell you that the debate has already been over for years. You just haven’t realized it. How can we tell it’s over? The reasoning is very simple, and, when I tell you why, everything will make sense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) looks on prior to an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.
(Photo Courtesy of Associated Press/Kevin Sabitus)
Have you ever heard a “GOAT” debate between Drew Brees and Peyton Manning? Between Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers? Brett Favre and John Elway? Have you witnessed a debate for the greatest of all time without including the name of Tom Brady in the past 5 years? I thought not.
We see some names that are used often to oppose him, such as Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning. Although, at times, a rational argument can be had for some of them, you see they cannot make their full argument without mentioning Tom Brady at some point. My question is, if you don’t think he is the greatest of all time then why mention Brady’s name at all? It could only mean that he is and you are just in denial.
I absolutely accept that there are people who truly believe Tom Brady is not the greatest. However, it seems much of the population who feel this way can’t explain it without mentioning Brady at least once. You can tell the argument is over simply because the debate has evolved into Tom Brady vs the field.
How has it gotten to this point? There are several reasons. Tom Brady has the perfect blend of winnings, statistics, longevity and leadership. These factors all complement each other for Brady to form an impenetrable argument for him.
We will first touch on his accomplishment of winning games. This is the most popular argument used when debating Tom Brady as the greatest of all time. It is a fact that Tom Brady is the winningest quarterback and football player in the history of the sport. Across 19 seasons starting, he has never had a season without finishing above .500 or better. He has 229 regular season wins, a 30-10 postseason record, 13 conference championship appearances, and 10 Super Bowl appearances. On top of that, he has won 6 Super Bowls and was crowned MVP in 4 of them.
Statistics alone are not a strong enough argument to make for Brady, but they are an extremely powerful complement to his winnings, longevity, and leadership. Brady’s career longevity is another aspect that further fortifies this debate. The reasoning is often used for Tom Brady as it is hard to argue against 19 strong seasons starting in the National Football League. Furthermore, he has made the playoffs for 18 of those 19 seasons and finished with a winning record in every one of them.
Over the past 3 seasons since turning 40, Tom Brady has become the oldest player to win MVP along with an All-Pro selection and an additional Pro Bowl selection at age 41. He has also guided his team to two Super Bowls, including a Super Bowl victory, and an additional playoff appearance as well. In this span, he has led his team to a 36-12 regular season record. In other words, not only is he still playing in the league at age 43, he’s thriving.
Adding to his success in his 40’s, he joined a new offensive system at Tampa Bay at age 43 and has put up astronomical numbers in his first season with his new team. In the 2020 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady has thrown for 40 touchdown passes with just 12 interceptions and has passed for well over 4,500 yards. He finished with a passer rating of 102.2, and has led his team to an 11-5 record. To accomplish a season like this at age 43 is unheard of in of itself, let alone transitioning to a new system without a preseason or OTA’s making it even more impressive. This is especially true when the franchise he transitioned to hasn’t been able to win more than 7 games in the past 3 seasons, hasn’t made the playoffs in 13 years, and hasn’t been to the Super Bowl since 2002.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a losing culture for most of their existence. As a matter of fact they are the most losing franchise in sports history. In recent seasons they have had talent, but they consistently played undisciplined football and the teams were poorly coached. Their offensive line was putrid and drew lots of penalties. After Tom Brady came in, they snapped their 13-year playoff drought and they are now looking at a possible Super Bowl championship. Their new found success is also due to improving their offensive line with additional players acquired through the draft and the team playing much cleaner football than in past years. There have still been isolated indications of dysfunction at times, but the team was able to string together 11 regular season wins, and defeat Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl.
Brady managed to change the culture of a losing franchise almost overnight. This is a clear example of his strong leadership and ability to guide his team to become a competitive force in the NFL. However, evidence of his strong leadership has been apparent over the entirety of his tenure with the New England Patriots as well.
A phrase that has been heavily used over the past two decades during Tom Brady’s days in New England has been that he can “do more with less”. It’s no exaggeration that the roster on the offensive side of the ball has been an endless carousel of pass catchers cycling in and out of the team year in and year out. Brady has had to quickly adjust to new faces in his offense regularly. Names such as Julian Edelman, David Givens, Danny Amendola, Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Chris Hogan, Aaron Hernandez, Ben Watson, Philip Dorsett, and Brandon LaFell are just a few of the different pass catchers Brady has had to adjust to over the years. Despite an ever-changing offense, Brady has made the playoffs in 17 of his 18 seasons starting and made the conference championship or better in 13 of his 17 playoff appearances.
In the instances Brady has had superstar talent to throw to, such as Randy Moss, Brandin Cooks, and Rob Gronkowski (when healthy), the team was extremely difficult to beat. Examples of this would include the 2007 Patriots finishing 16-0 along with a Super Bowl appearance, the 2017 Patriots at 13-3 and a Super Bowl appearance, and the 2014 Patriots at 12-4 ending with a Super Bowl victory.
Tom Brady’s status as the greatest of all time is forged in steel and will be for as long as the debate comes down to Brady vs the field. His wins, statistics, longevity, and leadership complement each other for an impenetrable argument in his favor that will not be easily disputed for a very long time.
Some day, we may come across a quarterback who will present a strong opposing argument to unseat Tom Brady as the greatest to ever play the position. Until that day comes, Tom Brady will continue to reign as the GOAT in the NFL.