Everybody in this country has heard of the Massachusetts golden boy, the man who has recaptured the hearts of New England football fans. The man that everybody said to have sparked a revival in the New England Patriots, Peyton Manning's bitter rival as they compete for the honor of the best quarterback in the NFL. But others have gone so far as to say that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, at the end of their careers will be two of the best quarterbacks ever. But is Tom Brady really that good, sure he won three Super Bowls in his first four seasons as a starter. But what about the year they were commanding the Colts in the Conference title game and still ended up losing. The year that they lost to the Denver Broncos of all teams in the divisional round, and then had to watch Roelithsberger command the Steelers as they beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Do I even need to mention the year that everybody said that they had the best team in the league. The critics were right they had a perfect regular season but no Super Bowl.



Could Brady have done it without a coach like Bill Belichick? If he had a coach of the caliber of Tom Coughlin would he have been successful in the NFL. Probably not, he would still be riding the pine for Kevin O'Connell watching him play. Bill Belichick is arguably the best coach in the history of football because of how well he can develop players. He made Tom Brady into a Megastar, and if he had been coaching hockey for the Penguins he would have made Sid the Kid as good as he is now. Tom Brady's success is dependent on the variable of Bill Belichick. Giving Tom some credit he did start winning once Weis and Crenel left New England. He is a good player but without Belichick he is not amazing.


Another reason that Brady looks so good is because he has a rival the caliber of Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning has rewritten the record books and then watch as Brady rewrote them again. Manning threw for 49 touchdowns passes eclipsing Dan Marino's old record. But then Brady struck back in his historic 07 ' 08 campaign throwing for fifty. The number is staggering fifty touchdowns in a span of seventeen weeks. Those aren't counting the touchdowns that Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney ran for either. Again we are overlooking two big variables by the names of Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Welker led the league in catches as he and TJ Houshmandzadeh of the Bengals caught 112 passes. Once again that is an outstanding number for a guy who struggled in Miami one season before. Randy Moss also had a huge season after a series of fluke seasons; he caught 98 passes and caught 23 touchdowns to set a new NFL record. If Brady had not had those weapons then the Patriots wouldn't have been the only team in NFL history to go 16 ' 0 in the regular season. Even Stephen Gostowski the kicker set an NFL record.


It all comes down to that Tom Brady has not won a Super Bowl since Super Bowl thirty-nine and this season the Steelers just won Super Bowl forty-three. He didn't win against the Denver Broncos in 2004 ' 2005, he didn't win against the Colts in 2005 ' 2006, and he sure didn't win against the Giants in 2007 ' 2008. Then adding insult to injury he injured himself in the first week of the 2008 ' 2009 season and missed the rest of the season. He could be slated to miss the 2009 ' 2010 season and the Pats would have to turn over the keys to Matt Cassel. As he enters his tenth season with the rising stars of the NFL with the names of Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan; I ask is he really that good?