Tom Brady vs. Tom Brady: All Homerism Aside

Tom Brady has been compared against just about everyone.  He’s been pitted against Peyton Manning in about a million different ways.  He’s been matched against Ben Roethlisberger as of late.  He’s even been measured against his own boyhood hero Joe Montana, with proper reverence of course. 

I figured it’s about time Tom Brady was compared against an entirely different quarterback: himself. 

To me, a natural break in Tom Brady’s career thus far is readily apparent, allowing me to cleanly split it into two segments.  I’ll forgo his rookie 2000 season spent on the bench and his 2008 season almost spent on IR for obvious reasons. 

For the remainder of this article, I will speak of Tom Brady from 2001-2004 and Tom Brady from 2005-2007 as two distinct quarterbacks, referring to them as the young Tom Brady and the prime Tom Brady respectively.

Let us first compare their regular season passing statistics.

The young Tom Brady completed 61.6% of his passes and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.  He averaged 3,480 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions per season with a quarterback rating of 87.5.

The prime Tom Brady completed 64.7% of his passes and averaged 7.7 yards per attempt.  He averaged 4,148 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions per season with a quarterback rating of 99.7.

Obviously the prime Tom Brady is the clear winner here, winning out in every category mentioned here.

Next let us compare their regular season victories.

The young Tom Brady produced two 14 win regular seasons out of four and an overall winning percentage of .750, which included setting a record for consecutive victories in back-to-back seasons.  He took his team to the playoffs in three out of four seasons.

The prime Tom Brady produced the league’s first and only 16 win regular season and an overall winning percentage of .792.  He took his team to the playoffs in all three of his seasons.

This one is closer, but the prime Tom Brady wins this category as well.

Next let us compare their postseason victories.

The young Tom Brady led his team to a perfect nine for nine in the playoffs, leading his team to three Super Bowl Championships in four seasons.

The prime Tom Brady led his team to a 5-3 record in the playoffs, leading his team to a Super Bowl berth but no championship in three seasons.

This one goes to the young Tom Brady in a landslide.

Finally, let us compare their postseason passing statistics.

The young Tom Brady completed 62.5 percent of his passes and averaged 6.4 yards per attempt.  He averaged 217 yards, 1.2 touchdowns and 0.3 interceptions per game with a quarterback rating of 88.9.

The prime Tom Brady completed 62.5 percent of his passes and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt.  He averaged 250 yards, 1.9 touchdowns and 1.1 interceptions per game with a quarterback rating of 87.2.

This one is harder to judge since they each do some things better than the other.  The young Tom Brady boasts an 11:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and an astonishing interception rate of less than 1 percent. 

On the other hand the prime Tom Brady boasts more yards per attempt and more yards per game.  The young Tom Brady holds the overall advantage in terms of quarterback rating 88.9 to 87.2 though, so I’m going to give him the victory in this area. 

Yards per attempt is the single passing statistic that correlates most with winning, but the young Tom Brady’s touchdown-to-interception ratio and interception rate are too impressive to pass up.  Besides, it was the young Tom Brady whose team actually won in the playoffs.

So each quarterback takes two of the four categories, and each takes one rather convincingly with the other being much closer.  Who is the better quarterback?

Those who prefer to go by passing statistics will undoubtedly choose the prime Tom Brady.

Those who prefer to go by championships will undoubtedly choose the young Tom Brady.

Others will ask the question of who played the more important role for their team and displayed the greater value, making the most of their surroundings.

Did the young Tom Brady whose defenses toppled the great Rams and Colts offenses in the playoffs en route to three championships have more help along the way, or did the prime Tom Brady who had Randy Moss and Wes Welker catching passes from him and three Pro Bowl offensive linemen blocking for him? 

The young Tom Brady came through when his team needed him, leading two game winning field goal drives in two of his Super Bowl appearances, while the prime Tom Brady came up empty with the game on the line in his three playoff losses, including key interceptions in two of the three games. 

On the other hand, the prime Tom Brady won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2007 and placed third in balloting for the same award in 2005, earning a first all-pro team and a second all-pro team selection along the way. 

The young Tom Brady did win Super Bowl MVP awards in 2001 and 2003, but he never won the league’s MVP award and never made the first or second all-pro teams.

So rather than attempt to answer this question, I’ll simply ask you: who is the better quarterback?