Is Tom that Terrific?
The discussion of whether or not the 2007-8 Patriots are the greatest team in history, or if Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in history is actually tiresome to me at this point. It stems partly from the amount of attention and discussion from the media, and partly because the scoreboard tells the story. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, they will have played a season which betters the 1972 Dolphins by two games. But the real story, I think, is that the team is exemplary in very few ways. The players excel in their positions and different players make significant contributions each week. But there is one way in which the team may be better than any other team over a seven year period. They just win.
Terry Bradshaw, and the Steelers of the 70’s, won 4 Super Bowls in six years, a mark still unmatched by these Patriots. However, Tom has done something that Bradshaw has not matched. As a starter, Tom Brady has started 126 games and won 100 of them. This is a 79.4% winning percentage. For their careers, Roger Staubach won 74.6% and Joe Montana won 71.3%. These two Super Bowl champion quarterbacks are second and third on the career winning percentage list behind Brady. Tom may not look flashy, he may not excel in moving his feet, and he may not throw like Peyton Manning, but the quarterback just wins.
It seems as though the true test of greatness on the field is the scoreboard. So yes, Tom is terrific.
