Bringing Brady Down to Earth

I have a huge problem with all of the talk this week that Tom Brady is on the verge of the Hall of Fame. The conventional wisdom says that all Brady has to do is win on Sunday and he gets a lifetime pass to hang out in Joe Montana's poolhouse. Over the last few years we've seen the spread of the ridiculous idea that QB greatness should be judged on Super Bowl victories alone. That's why everyone is unfairly knocking Peyton Manning and, retroactively, Dan Marino.

But here's the problem: the NFL isn't the NBA, where one great player can elevate his team to a title. Here are the reasons (in order) that the Pats have been so dominant in the past few years: (1) they have a great defense, (2) creative and innovative coaching and (3) an efficient, mistake-free offense. Brady may be New England's best player, but you can't argue that he's put the team on his back or anything. Not with guys like Bruschi, Brown, McGinest and Vinatieri playing such huge roles in the past four years.

Any NFL player will tell you that winning a Super Bowl is a complete team effort, not a personal vindication for the guy playing under center. That's why you never see anyone kneeling in front of Jeff Hostetler, Mark Rypien, Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer and kissing their Super Bowl rings. Furthermore, Brady's Super Bowl MVP trophies don't carry much weight when you consider that flash-in-the-pans like Dexter Jackson, Desmond Howard and Larry Brown also won the honor.

Tom Brady is a terrific player so it's a shame that he's being praised so highly to the point that he's now overrated. It would be nice if everyone could just enjoy his career in the present and not be so quick to judge his place in history. Might it be constructive to see how he plays beyond his fourth year as a starter?