NFL Schedule 2012: Tom Brady and Quarterbacks with the Most to Prove in 2012

For one quarterback, the 2011 season ended with glory.

For pretty much all of the rest of them, it ended with gut-wrenching disappointment, and since the last time they set foot on the field, they have been desperate to get back out on the gridiron and erase the bad taste.

For them, training camp couldn't come any sooner. The only thing worse than losing is waiting until it's time to prove they can still win.

With the 2012 season still many months away, here are some of the signal-callers with the most to prove in the upcoming season.

Tom Brady

Suddenly, nobody cares about his three Super Bowls in four years. All anyone can talk about is whether or not he's done.

Brady won it all in 2002 in his first season as a starter after taking over for an injured Drew Bledsoe, and two more Lombardi Trophies in three years later, he was considered one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Since then, though, he's been so close—twice—and yet he hasn't been able to get the job done.

Instead, he's been shown up by Eli Manning.

Brady used to be considered the most clutch quarterback in the NFL. Now that he hasn't won it all in seven years—despite leading one of the best teams in NFL history to the Super Bowl in 2008—he's been upstaged by Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and even Aaron Rodgers.

And given Brady's ultra-competitiveness, there is nothing that drives him crazier than falling out of the conversation about who is the best of the best.

After suffering a season-ending injury in the first game of 2008 season—the season after his first Super Bowl loss to Manning and the Giants—Brady returned to the field with a stronger-than-ever obsession with winning. It was never more evident than it was in an interview he gave to SI's Peter King in 2009. Brady infamously said: 

"

People say, "What will you do if you don't play football?" Why would I even think of doing anything else? What would I do instead of run out in front of 80,000 people and command 52 guys and be around guys I consider brothers and be one of the real gladiators? Why would I ever want to do anything else? It's so hard to think of anything that would match what I do: Fly to the moon? Jump out of planes? Bungee-jump off cliffs? None of that s--- matters to me. I want to play this game I love, be with my wife and son and enjoy life. 

"

Coming off yet another Super Bowl loss, look for the New England quarterback to return to the field with the same fervor in 2012.

Eli Manning

And speaking of those Super Bowls…

The younger Manning is quickly threatening to become the new Tom Brady. After winning his second Super Bowl in four years—both times with a Giants team that was expected to be one-and-done in the playoffs—Manning has become a surefire Hall of Fame candidate and one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the game.

Back in 2008, in Super Bowl XLII, the Giants were down 14-10 and started a drive on their own 17-yard line with 2:39 left to play. In the best play of the entire year—maybe even one of the best in NFL history—Manning connected with David Tyrie for a one-handed catch that the receiver cradled against his helmet for a 32-yard gain that set up the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left.

In an eerily similar play in Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants were down 17-15 with 3:46 remaining and took over on their 12-yard line. Again, in the play of the game, Manning connected with Mario Manningham deep along the left sideline for a 38-yard gain after Manningham miraculously managed to make the catch in-bounds. The play set up the game-winning touchdown that capped off a nine-play, 88-yard drive.

Now Manning needs just one more Super Bowl to match Tom Brady's total and two more to match Terry Bradshaw's and Joe Montana's four championships each. If he wins one more, he will rank among the best quarterbacks of all time.

So is he, or is he not? We'll soon find out. 

Mark Sanchez

The Jets acquired Tim Tebow in March and insisted he'll serve as the backup to Mark Sanchez.

That is, unless Sanchez utterly fails at the beginning of the 2012 season.

Though the Jets signed their alleged top quarterback to an extension in March, they shortly thereafter made a trade for one of the most popular signal-callers in the game less than a month later, and they certainly won't let him decay him on the bench if the Jets struggle out of the gates and the fanbase begins clamoring for a change.

Last season, Sanchez led the Jets to an 8-8 record and they missed the playoffs for the first time since he took over the starting role. Tebow, meanwhile, stepped in as a starter for the struggling Denver Broncos in Week 7 against the Dolphins and led them to an improbable overtime victory and an eventual playoff berth.

The Jets' brass can talk all it wants about how Sanchez is their man, but if he fails at the outset, he will be replaced by Tebow, just like Kyle Orton was in Denver.

If that's not pressure, nothing is.