New England Patriots: Tom Brady Is Top 5 All Time

Nov 18, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots won 59-24. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

In 2010 NFL Films produced a ‘Top 100 Greatest Players” list. Obviously it contained the top 100 players of all time in their respective opinion. Well recently this was re-aired on NFL Network, and I was absolutely stunned at where they ranked Patriot quarterback Tom Brady. They had him ranked at number 21! That is beyond ridiculous. Here are just a few guys that they have ranked ahead of Brady: Ray Lewis, Peyton Manning, Reggie White, Anthony Munoz. All four of those guys are very, very good football players. But they are not even close to the level that Tom Brady is at. One major thing that sticks out to me is that three of those guys I just mentioned are not quarterbacks. Quarterback is hands down the most important position on the football field. The fact that Ray Lewis is even close to Brady is depressing to me. Ray Lewis is probably the best linebacker of all time, but I think the top 20 quarterbacks of all time should still be ranked ahead of him. Quarterback is the hardest position to play, as well as the most significant. In general, if you don’t have a good quarterback, then you won’t be winning anything anytime soon. Reggie White, Ray Lewis and Anthony Munoz may be the best at their positions, but they aren’t quarterbacks and they shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as Tom Brady.

Now lets take a look at Brady’s postseason career stats. Notice I am not including regular season because, in most people’s opinions the playoffs are what count when it comes to a quarterback. Brady has thrown for 5,949 yards, 62 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in the postseason  His passer rating is 87.3  and he has also ran for 3 touchdowns. Those statistics may not blow you away, but this one will. 17. Brady has 17 career playoff wins. That is pretty damn impressive. It is also the most by anybody in NFL history, believe it or not it is more than the great Joe Montana was able to win. Brady has also appeared in five Super Bowls, winning three of them and he has two Super Bowl MVP’s.

But there’s more.

The best thing that Brady does is not his laser sharp accuracy, it isn’t his incredible decision making, and it isn’t even his ability to marry a supermodel. The thing that makes Brady so great is how he makes everybody around him a better player. Think of the weapons that he had around him when he won his three Super Bowls. Troy Brown, David Patten, Antowain Smith, Deion Branch. All of these guys are really not that great of players. However, they were privileged to work with one of the best players to every grace this earth. Brady transformed Brown and Branch into a 1,000 yard receivers. He turned Patten into a 700 and 800 yard receiver. Before Patten had gotten to New England his biggest year was 38 catches for 546 yards. Then, he gets to Brady-land and he amasses 112 catches for 1573 yards in his first two years. Coincidence? I don’t think so. You can even throw in Reche Caldwell, and the man who must not be named Wes Welker. Before Caldwell had gotten to New England his best year had him catching 28 catches for 352 yards. He then goes to the Patriots and racks up 61 catches for 760 yards. I don’t think I need to get into the statistics with Welker, as we know what Brady did for him. Although I would like to add in Welker’s defense, that he had no good quarterback in Miami. In any case, Brady made all of these players very good, and if it weren’t for him I don’t think anybody would even recognize those other players.

Now I get to the last reason why Brady should be in the top five of all time. Being clutch. If there was a Mount Rushmore of clutch players, then Brady’s face would be front and center (along with Joe Montana). The clutch moments he has had in his career are mind blowing. In his first real season in the NFL, he sends his team down the field with only around 1:30 remaining in the game to win the freaking Super Bowl. It does not get much more clutch than that. Then Brady did it again two years later against the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl. He has done this time and time again as he has 37 game winning drives in his career. This guy just does not get rattles no matter what the situation is. If you need a drive to win the game, then there is not doubt in my mind that Tom Brady should be your number one choice (okay Montana is up there as well).

Once again, I find it shameful that Tom Brady is ranked 21 on this list and I seriously hope it is changed in the near future. Brady is at least one of the top five players of all time if not higher. When a man accomplishes all of the things that I have listed, there shouldn’t even be any thought as to whether he is in the top five or not. The fact that Peyton Manning is ranked 13 slots ahead of him makes it even worse. Manning is the definition of a regular season quarterback. Brady is not. He performs in the playoffs as well as the regular season. I hope that this list is changed soon because as of right now, it is a disgrace to the NFL.