Super Bowl 2012: Tom Brady Will Be Greatest QB Ever If Patriots Triumph

A lot of the pregame talk over the past two weeks has centered around whether Eli Manning will be the best quarterback in the family if the New York Giants win the Super Bowl.

The answer is no, and the question is dumb, mostly because the real question people should be asking is if Tom Brady will be the greatest quarterback in NFL history if he wins a fourth Super Bowl.

The answer is yes, and I'm about to tell you why.

First of all, only two other quarterbacks in NFL history have won four Super Bowls—Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw. Brady already has more passing yards than Bradshaw and will pass Montana next year.

Brady already has more career touchdown passes than either of them and is currently tied with John Elway for the fifth-most touchdown passes in NFL history.

He has won two Super Bowl MVP awards and two AP NFL MVP awards in his career, made the Pro Bowl seven times and has a 16-5 record in the playoffs.

His 2007 season is the greatest season by a quarterback in NFL history. That year, Brady set an NFL record with 50 touchdown passes to only eight interceptions, threw for 4,806 yards, completed 68.9 percent of his passes and led the Patriots to 18 straight wins before falling to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

This season, Brady's 5,235 passing yards actually broke Dan Marino's long-held record, though Drew Brees topped him with 5,476.

If Super Bowl titles weren't considered, my vote would go to Peyton Manning. Manning is a four-time AP NFL MVP, 11-time Pro Bowler, five-time First-Team All-Pro, has the third-most passing yards and touchdowns in NFL history and won a Super Bowl.

But if Brady wins a fourth Super Bowl, the three-championship advantage he has over Manning will be too many to ignore. Manning may look better on paper, but Brady's hand will be heavier with rings.

One last thing—I know one of the arguments will be that New England's defense was the reason they won the first three championships.

That's a misconception. In 2003 against the Carolina Panthers, Brady threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-29 win. In 2004 against the Eagles, he threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 win. In four Super Bowl appearances, Brady has only thrown one interception—he's certainly never been a burden.

Oh, and in 2001 and 2003 Brady led last-minute drives that ended in game-winning field goals by Adam Vinatieri. And you know if the Patriots win another title this year, it will likely because Brady leads them to victory.

So talk about the Mannings all you like. At this Super Bowl, the real question is whether or not Brady will solidify his place as the greatest of all time.

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