If Tom Brady can lead this New England Patriots team to a Super Bowl run, he could solidify himself as the ultimate sports GOAT.
In New England Patriots nation, Tom Brady is a living legend. No one has ever captivated the region in quite the way Brady has, and that is saying something from one of the best sports areas in the world.
Now at 41 years old, Tom Brady has seemingly done everything you can do in the sport of football. Between records and championships, he has seemingly solidified himself as the best quarterback to ever play the game. However, you can’t help but look at the bigger picture.
Across American professional sports few rival the success and level of consistency Tom Brady has. Throughout his 17 years as the starting quarterback for the Patriots he has accumulated countless personal achievements to go along with his eight Super Bowl trips and 5 Lombardi trophies, but everyone already knows that.
This week, however, Tom Brady could lead the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl which may be his greatest accomplishment to date and would propel him in my opinion to the most accomplished athlete of all time.
Outside of Tom, this team isn’t that talented
It isn’t a secret that this New England Patriots team doesn’t have the greatest personnel. If you made a list of the top 10 players in the Patriots-Chargers game, only 3 New England players would make it (Tom Brady, Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty).
The reason this team gets disrespected so much is that they have very few “name” players. Julian Edelman, Sony Michel, and JC Jackson have played very well this season but still have not been very eye-catching to national media.
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I noticeably left out Gronk from that above discussion because honestly, he has just been a large traffic cone this season. He catches your attention and blocks you from getting by him, but other than that has been very ineffective as an offensive weapon due to his nagging injuries.
The loss of such an effective pass catcher has really mattered. Also, the loss of a reliable Danny Amendola and amazing deep threat in Brandin Cooks means that the pass catchers the Patriots have extremely downgraded from last years Super Bowl team.
Tom Brady at 41 years old with limited talent around him still found a way to produce though. Yes, his numbers were slightly down, but that is even more impressive because it was still a great season. He totaled 31 total touchdowns on the season to go along with just 11 interceptions and throwing for over 4,000 yards. Those interception numbers are a little high, but over half of those were dropped balls by the receiver.
You can’t deny how much TB12 has meant to the team, especially in a year like this. With the lack of playmakers and changing cast of characters, he was a “Miracle in Miami” away from leading the Patriots to the 1 seed and having home-field throughout the playoffs.
Outside of Andrew Luck, no quarterback is even close to as important to his team’s success and Tom Brady. It has never been more evident that Tom can work with whatever he is given, and continually have success. That is why he is considered the GOAT of quarterbacks. There is however a greater title on the line Sunday: The Most Accomplished Athlete Ever.
Why Tom can pass the other “GOATS”
I’m aware how it is nearly impossible to correctly compare legends from different sports to one another, but I plan on taking the challenge on.
The only two other players that can come close to Tom’s success are the NHL’s Wayne Gretzky and the NBA’s Michael Jordan. Both, however, are getting to the point where they can’t compare to TB12.
Wayne Gretzky didn’t earn his nickname “the great one” for no reason. In his over two-decades-long career, he accounted for 15 All-Star appearances, 4 Stanley Cup Trophies and a ridiculous 9 MVP selections. The issue with Gretzky lies in his extreme lack of postseason shortcomings.
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For being in the league for over 20 years, he only made 6 trips to the finals and as mentioned before, won 4. He was known for playoff shortcomings and failing to be able to lead his team to the promise land.
The other issue with Gretzky is he played in an NHL that helped to score. With multiple rule changes and better equipment for goalies, scoring is way down in hockey from the ’80s. It is hard to call Gretzky the best because even though he did succeed at an astronomical level, he played with the rules catered most towards him and in an easier era of his sport compared to the other two. His records are undeniable, but going beyond the numbers it is clear Gretzky can’t match up to Tom.
Then we get into a man who transcended a generation of the sport in which he played: Michael Jordan. The issue with Jordan is that his pop culture status, as well as exciting play, tainted the image of who he actually was.
MJ was a dynamic scorer that inside the key could knock down anything. He was explosive to the rim as well and could finish around the basket like no one that came before him. Also on the defensive end, he was transcendent with his ability to lock down multiple decisions and not let players get past him.
The main issue with Michael Jordan was his success directly correlates with the pieces around him. Just like Brady, Jordan had one of the best coaches of all time in Phil Jackson. However, Michael Jordan also had Scottie Pippen.
Jordan won all 6 of his titles alongside Pippen, who in his own right is one of the top 50 basketball players of all time. With having 4 other guys on the court, MJ knew he could always rely on one to put out a great performance.
Tom Brady has not only won for a longer period but has done it with a revolving door of characters. Besides that one great year with Randy Moss, Brady has never had an elite wideout that he could trust to get the ball to. Football is the hardest sport to win in due to all the changing parts, but Brady is the one constant has almost accumulated two decades of excellence.
If Tom Brady can win with a team that is this week all around, he can surpass all the other greats and be known as the best athlete of his generation.