For those who don’t know, along with my writing responsibilities at PerSources, one of my other duties is editing. I oversee most of the content that comes to you all before it goes out. I review the piece, edit the piece, and click publish.
Yesterday, to my surprise, I saw one of our own writers, Eric, had submitted a post to be reviewed. Many of you have since read his article on why Tom Brady is just a system QB. Some of his points had some merit, but I’m here to defend my guy. I’m here to counter Eric’s argument, because Tom Brady is the greatest to ever play the position.
Let’s start with the deep ball. I’m one of the people who believed that after tearing his ACL in 2008, Brady no longer had the ability to throw the ball deep. While it may have appeared that way, it was really because he didn’t have the players to run the deep route. His timing was off with guys like Brandon Lloyd, who were supposed to be his deep guys.
Over the past two seasons, I believe Tom Brady has flipped that narrative. Now that he has receivers who are able to get open deep, he throws the ball effectively. Last year, he was able to hook up with newly acquired WR Chris Hogan on multiple long balls. This came as a real surprise, because Hogan wasn’t really known as that type of receiver. Hogan led the league last season in yards per reception (18.4).
This season, Brandin Cooks is doing something similar, but his impact was expected. He currently leads the league in yards per reception (22.6).
By just looking at these simple stats there could still be some doubt, so we’ll look at Average Intended Air Yards (IAY) and Average Completed Air Yards (CAY). These next gen stats speak to Tom Brady’s passing ability this year at age 40. He has a CAY of 8.6 and a IAY of 11.2. This is ranked third and second in both statistical categories.
What I’ve never understood as a knock against Brady is his ability to check-down. Eric sited this issue as one of his reasons for him being “just a system QB.” I believe it speaks to a few things. Guys typically check-down when their other receivers aren’t open at the time of the read. That could speak to his WRs lack of separation. Why would a smart quarterback try and force a ball into tight coverage if there is an open option? Why is it a bad thing to check-down? A lot of QBs see a lot higher interception totals, because they aren’t able to check-down effectively. It’s a skill you’re supposed to learn as you mature in the NFL, however, QBs like Eli Manning, Jay Cutler, and Blake Bortles continue to a force balls where they don’t have to.
Now, in the rare case of Brady’s absence, the Patriots have had success. In the aforementioned 2008 season, Matt Cassel led New England to a 10-5 record as a starter. In most seasons, the team’s overall 11-5 record would be good enough to make the playoffs, however, this season was different. Miami also went 11-5 and held the tie breaker for the division win, and both wild cards were 11-5 or better as well.
Matt Cassel is the one people always point to. “If Cassel, of all people, can step in and run the offense effectively then it proves it’s just a system.” The disrespect Matt Cassel gets is overall well-deserved as a QB, but what people fail to see is that he had another season of success. It wasn’t all bad for him after he left New England. In 2010-11, Matt Cassel led the Kansas City Chiefs to another 10-5 season as the starter. And while he’s had a below .500 record overall in his career, think about all of the terrible teams he was a part of: Kansas City, Buffalo, Minnesota, Dallas, and Tennessee, not exactly a murderer’s row of successful NFL teams.
Let’s talk about the last part of Eric’s piece: the Super Bowls. His claim was that the only reason he had five Super Bowls was because of luck. Which, don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of luck involved. The interception in Super Bowl 49 and the comeback in Super Bowl 51 had a lot of strange decisions and lucky bounces for New England.
When having this conversation, I don’t know how we can look at those as luck, and not say that the league (or the Giants) are lucky for having beaten Brady and the Pats. We all know the story. The 18-0 Patriots meet the Giants in the Super Bowl. New England’s up 14-10. Asante Samuel let’s an interception go right through his hands. On the next play, Manning drops back, somehow avoids getting sacked, and then this…
Now, there is skill involved in every football play. Everything done on the field takes some semblance of ability. Whether it be, hand strength, hand-eye coordination, speed, it’s all there. Tyree’s catch had some of that. It wasn’t all luck. To say that Edelman’s was and then ignore this doesn’t make sense. There was both luck and skill involved in both of these plays, and it makes no sense to say the opposite. Either of these catches could have resulted in drops, and history would be changed. Not to mention, the defense had a chance to make a stop in both Giants’ losses, and they failed.
Tom Brady doesn’t deserve the disrespect that he’s been given over the years. NFL fans consistently come at him with the same claims. “He cheated in Deflategate” (never proven). “He’s been so lucky.” “He just throws short passes. Anyone could do it.” What it’s time to realize now is that he’s the greatest to ever play the position. There was a point where I could accept Joe Montana as an answer, but now it’s been decided.
He’s the only quarterback to win five Super Bowls. He’s a four-time Super Bowl MVP. He’s a two-time NFL MVP. He’s in the top five of nearly every statistical category. He holds the record for most playoff wins. He is one behind Manning and Favre for the most regular season wins. He is Tom Brady. He is the GOAT.
