Two Super Bowl Cadillac rides later and Tom Brady still can’t get a fair shake from the mainstream sports media. We’re not talking Joe Six-Pack and his 50 watt talk show in Cheboygan here, these are legitimate NFL commentators. Last January ESPN’s Chris Mortensen called Brady one of the “six or seven best quarterback’s in the NFL.” Earlier this year Dan Marino said that if he had to pick a quarterback to win one game for him it would be Peyton Manning. Seems appropriate, coming from a guy who has as many Super Bowl rings as I do.
The criticisms of Brady are generally threefold: He’s the product of a system, he benefits from the Patriots defense and he doesn’t put up big numbers. But hey, I get it. He’s a young guy with a meteoric rise to star status who appears on every magazine cover at the Hannaford checkout line. You might as well paint a target the size of John Madden’s nugget on his back. We expect this from the average sports fan. We shouldn’t get it from broadcast professionals.
The first knock on Brady is that he benefits from the Patriots defense. This is of course true. It is as true now as it was when the 49ers were ranked second and first in Joe Montana’s first two SuperBowl winning seasons. Brett Favre had the top ranked Packers defense in his Super Bowl winning year. All of Troy Aikman’s defenses were top five in his Super Bowl seasons. Brady’s defense was sixth in 2001 and first last year. Quarterbacks who win consistently have great defenses, if we’re breaking new ground here, please stop me.
Detractors also claim that Brady is the “product of a system.” The answer, again: of course he is. If an NFL quarterback is not in an offense that plays to his strengths, it is safe to assume that their coaching staff is not doing their job. Look to Atlanta for example. Mike Vick in the West Coast offense? What next? Drew Bledsoe running the option?
Brady’s tangible strengths are his ability to make the hot read and to deliver the ball to spots underneath and between coverage. Also, the Patriots are generally playing with a lead, so the need to take risks and throw the ball downfield is lessened.
Statistically, Brady’s passer rating has been adversely affected by the lack of a stud running back. Let’s forgot for a moment that the quarterback rating is about the dopiest stat in sports. His yards-per-completion are not gaudy because of the way that Charlie Weiss used the swing pass and wide receiver screen as short gainers because they lacked a guy who could run consistently between the tackles. Thus, one out of the four factors that go into determining QB rating puts Brady at a disadvantage numbers wise.
Brady’s arm underneath may be his best physical attribute. He throws the seventeen-yard-out pattern to the wide side of the field better than anyone in the league. Scouts agree that this is the toughest and most essential throw in football.
The Patriots offense is obviously not going to allow Brady to put up Culpepper-like numbers. But Brady takes care of the football as well as anyone in the league, despite his lack of a game breaking wide receiver at his disposal. Also, when the Patriots are not as solid defensively and have to play from behind, he has put up the gaudy numbers, as evidenced by the 2002 season where he lead the league in touchdown passes for a team that missed the playoffs. Unlike baseball, where the right numbers taken in context can tell you all that you need to know, football is different. Unfortunately, there is not a Bill James of football statistics and we must delve into non-quantifiable areas of analysis.
Keep in mind that Brady has done this without a big time running back (prior to Corey Dillon’s arrival) or a star receiver. Troy Brown has been his safety blanket, but he’s a classic overachiever, a great football player, but not your Randy Moss or T.O. type target. This year looked to be more promising with the development of Deion Branch and David Givens. Branch and Brown have been injured for much of the season and Brady has had to rely on Givens and Daniel Graham as his prime targets. However in true Brady fashion he has managed to spread the ball around to greyhound Bethel Johnson and linebacker/tight-end Mike Vrabel. Brady is fifth in the league in touchdown passes on a team that has played from behind extensively in one game.
Brady is often lauded for his ability to “not make mistakes.” This is code for “he does just enough to win.” The implication being that Brady doesn’t as much win games as he does keep the Patriots in them. Is there any anyone who thinks that it was Adam Vinatieri who won those Super Bowls? It was Brady’s decision making, his ability to step up in the pocket, and his clock management that put them in a position to win those games.
When Brady does make a bad decision (see the pick against Carolina or the pick in this year’s home opener) he invariably makes up for it on the next drive. He doesn’t raise his palms in the air, slap his helmet or throw any of the Peyton Manning-like temper tantrums. Brady could have easily thrown Daniel Graham under the bus for breaking off his route into the zone in the home opener, but he didn’t. He made the throw, it was his fault. It’s tough to imagine Brady calling #4 an “idiot kicker” isn’t it?
With one more Super Bowl winning drive and Teddy, Bill, Bobby and Larry will need to make some room. But this ride is just beginning. When the Panthers took the lead in last year’s Super Bowl, Carolina wideout Muhsin Muhammad turned to his counterpart Steve Smith on the sideline and said, “It ain’t over…not with that dude at quarterback.” He was right. Not by a longshot.
Aaron Venskus can be
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