Tom Brady is undeniably a winner.
Even Brady’s biggest critics concede that #12 is one of the all-time greats when it comes to winning football games. Granted, they would rather tell you that he’s a system quarterback, or that he owes his success exclusively to Bill Belichick’s genius.
If you need a quarterback to drive the length of the field with the season on the line, however, Brady’s name should always be near the top of the list, regardless of who you ask. He has proven time and time again over his illustrious nineteen-year career that he can rise to the occasion when the game (or season) is on the line.
By this point, football fans are sick and tired of hearing about how the former sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan made his rise to the top of the league. It is widely overlooked that the attitude and approach to the game that Brady brought with him into the league is exactly what has propelled him to greatness.
You can go down the line with any of Brady’s teammates throughout his entire career and they will tell you that no one puts more time and effort into game-preparation on a week-to-week basis. But that’s not what other people want to spend time talking about. Why would they?
People want to talk about Aaron Rodgers’ uncanny ability to launch the ball down-field from any angle imaginable. Or, more recently, Patrick Mahomes’ ability to fit a ball into the smallest of windows; the NFL’s Offensive MVP can do so right-handed, left-handed or side-armed and was an absolute terror to opposing defenses all year long. But Mahomes, just 23 years-old, has a long way to go before he gets thrusted into the same conversation as Brady, Rodgers, Drew Brees or Peyton Manning.
Longevity and consistency. Television personality, Max Kellerman, has been trying to forecast the inevitable cliff that Brady (and the Patriots dynasty) will fall off for several years now.
Brady and company just captured their third Super Bowl in five years. Much to the dismay to Kellerman and everyone else outside of New England, he’s coming back for at least one more year to do it all over again. At 41 years of age, Brady has found ways to transform his playing style to optimize the efficiency with which his offense runs from year-to-year.
The consistency that Brady brings into every season is unparalleled. His passion for the game of football burns more than perhaps any athlete we have ever seen.
In nineteen seasons in the league, Brady has now won as many Super Bowls (6) as any player in NFL history has played in.
Brady has amassed a regular season record of 207-60, good for a winning percentage of .775, both of which are all-time records.
Perhaps even more impressively, Brady’s postseason record is now 30-10 (6-3 in Super Bowls), which equates to a .750 winning percentage.
He has nearly as many playoff wins (30) as Rodgers and Brees have combined playoff appearances (31)
It’s not the gaudy statistics that make Tom Brady the greatest quarterback of all-time. Despite ranking top-4 in all-time passing yards, completions and touchdowns, Brady’s legacy will be remembered for his laser-focus approach to the game and clutch performances.
It’s the reason he will go down as the greatest to ever do it.