Tom Brady Retiring

No Brady, probably no Gronk. No Antonio Brown. Suddenly, Tampa Bay is in major rebuilding mode.

 

Goat for sure

 

That is, unless Rogers & Adams arrive there for next season…

 

Brady was an amazing QB, that's for sure. Fun to watch.

 

He has certainly compiled an enviable record - difficult (if not impossible) to match.

 

Absolutely great, but he didn't play during the Johnny Unitas era. He never faced a team whose stated goal was to knock him out of the game like happened to Roger Staubach.

No doubt he was great, but he played in an era when QB's are protected. Greatest of his era; absolutely. Had he played a couple of decades earlier I sincerely doubt he would have played into his 40's. If he had played with Johnny U's broken noses, Dan Pastorini's fractured ribs, Roger's concussions...how long would he have lasted & how good would he have been. I don't mean to disparage him or his accomplishments in any way, but he definitely played in a tutu comparatively. It is really difficult to compare players across eras with different rules & different circumstances.

 

Good dude as a man too. Humble and does good things personally for the community.

 

Rogers wants to go Rockies or further West and win. Denver (really best bet) and Seattle (assuming Wilson bails) fit that bill. If AZ throws out Murray and Kingsbury they would become a target. Way outlier is Dallas if a deal is done with Payton for the 2023 season. (Dak has done nothing to show he can put the team on his back and win one that counts.)

 

Viper, you've (unfortunately) nailed it. Dak is a good QB - but not yet a great QB. But he's being paid as though he were great. No team would take on a good QB at a great QB pricetag - thus, the Cowboys are stuck with his contract (and you could say similar things about Zeke). Jerry has tied the team to mediocrity for the duration of the contracts (plus the time it will take to find and develop the next QB).

 

I hate TB since he never played for a team I like but have to vote for him as GOAT. Most NFL championships (or tied if you count Otto Graham in the AAFC + NFL). That might be a fair comparison since Cleveland joined the NFL and promptly won the NFL championship their first season in the league and two more within the next five years.

 

If I'm comparing Johnny U in such a way as to make a real argument, I'd use a decade comparison, though it was an amazing 11 year window until his elbow injury. He did some amazing things in that window. I actually put him above Montana in my mind, though, at the time of his peak, everyone thought Joe was the best.

But longevity for Brady makes him incomparable. Tom Brady has more championships and appearances, almost double Johnny U (if my count is correct), than any other QB for a wide margin. Most yards, completions, and TDs.

It's just too hard to get a real comparison. He was too good for too long. If Tom ends his career 5 or 6 years ago, then I don't think he makes it to the very top, he's just in the argument.

But no one was as good for as long.

Change the argument from GOAT to "which peak QB would you choose for one game?" and then you have a discussion. Otherwise, not in my opinion is there even an argument.

 

Brady is the man. Love that dude.
Makes everyone around him better on the field, and seems like a good guy off.
He has everyone's respect around the league and he earned it. Top 10 best ever all sports.
???

 

GOAT fur shure... best I've ever seen the watching the NFL for 60 years...

 

What do you know, sports journalists jump the gun again...

 

"What do you know, sports journalists jump the gun again"

Not by much . . .

Tom Brady officially announces retirement from NFL - CNN

 

One of the best

 

No...but absolutely one of the best

 

Yes the goat

 

Do you mind sharing your thoughts/argument on this^^^^^, Steve?
Thanks

 

in the mid 90s, free agency and salary cap sent the NFL to mediocrity. Brady and the Patriots figured out how to be the best in a watered-down league. Had salary cap not happened and the Cowboys could kept their team intact, who knows how many they would have won. I just do not think Brady was better than those amazing QBs who had to play against incredible teams not hampered by the salary cap.

 

That was incredibly concise.
Thanks, Steve. Appreciate your perspective.

 

And my response to that is QB's like Aikman was also the beneficiary of the best talent at every position money could buy. Makes it a bit easier to be successful. Also, if it were so much easier now why is Brady so much more dominant than any other QB over this 22 year career?

 

I answered that...he was the best of mediocrity

 

Wrong. That is such an aggy argument (e.g., "UT's 1969 national championship doesn't count because it was in the era before scholarship limits"), as if aggy couldn't have similarly run their program. The Patriots had to deal with salary cap issues just like everyone else, and one could in fact argue that it is more difficult to win consistently in a "watered-down" league with more parity. The facts are that by any measure of a great QB, Brady's stats are better than anyone else's - and it ain't even close.

 

Hey WJ..
Not sure why you disagreed with my above post. Looks like you and I are on the same side of the argument.
All i did was thank Steve for his response and say I was impressed with the concise nature of it.
Not sure what there is to disagree with.
If you read my posts...even in this thread..you will see I am a very outspoken fan of Brady and what he has done.

 

Not disagreeing with you - disagreeing with the "watered down" post