Tom Brady: NFL's Best?

Tom Brady is currently a four-time Pro Bowler, NFL MVP, three-time Super Bowl Champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP, and holds the record for the most touchdowns thrown in a season at 50. Some might say this man is immortal.

During the first game of the 2008 season, the New England Patriots opened up against the Kansas City Chiefs, and Brady suffered a blow to his left knee which resulted in a season ending ACL and MCL injury. Matt Cassel entered the game and led the team to an impressive 11-5 record.

But let's jump back to the 2001 season. Drew Bledsoe gets seriously hurt by a Mo Lewis crushing hit, and Tom Brady walks in and leads the team to an 11-5 season and a Super Bowl upset win against the, "Greatest Show on Turf", the St. Louis Rams.

From that point on Brady had risen into a superstar and led his team to back-to-back Super Bowl ins from '03-'04.

Now here is the big question, is Tom Brady the best quarterback of our decade and the best the NFL has to offer? Who is there to compete with him? Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger? In my opinion, those are the only two quarterbacks who can even be brought up in this discussion. Sorry to the other non-invitees.

Isn't football all about winning? I believe so. Every quarterback's objective is to be a field manager and led to the team to a victory. Brady, Manning, and Roethlisberger are very good at doing that. But how often have Manning and Roethlisberger executed the objective that well to lead their team to a title appearance?

Manning has once, and Roethlisberger has twice. Tom Brady has done it four times this decade alone, and has won three of those title appearances. So wouldn't that make him the more efficient quarterback? I guess so. You can always factor in the team surrounding the player, but it's safe to say that Manning and Roethlisberger have had either good weapons or a great defense around them.

Brady's only had a great defense around him in the '01, '03, and '04 Super Bowls, but he had, I guess you can say, average at best weapons on offense with a decent running game. But Brady made those weapons rise from average to great. When those players left New England, for example, Deion Branch and David Givens, they didn't fare too well away from the arm of Brady.

Manning has had led probably the most efficient and explosive offenses of our decade on a consistent basis, but with All-Pro talent in the likes of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James, Brandon Stokley, and Dallas Clark. Roethlisberger has had a pretty good running game (Bettis, Staley, and Parker), and above average receivers, and he's always had a "steel curtain" defense. But Manning and Roethlisberger combined Super Bowl wins only match Brady's amount at three.

In order to be a great, or even an elite quarterback, you have to put up some pretty big numbers, right? Manning has always been known for great offensive numbers, so you would think he leads in almost every category. Well you're right, he does. Manning has a career 94.7 QB Rating, and Brady has a 92.9 and Roethlisberger has a 89.4, all very solid and respectable ratings. But this is expected out of Manning, as he has always had a stacked offense attack, as I mentioned before.

The 2007 season was the first season that Brady actually had some pretty good receivers around him, and like Manning, Brady put up a record-breaking season with 50 touchdown passes and an amazing 117.2 QB Rating. Manning's career high is a 121.1, which was posted in the '04 season.

By now you all can probably see that these quarterbacks all possess great attributes, but in the NFL, which is a business, winning is everything. Brady has proved to be a winner; he has been called a winner by NFL analyst after analyst. He has had three Super Bowl game winning drives, and he has done that with all clutch, but average receivers.

Deciding who is the better NFL quarterback cannot be decided by the numbers, but to me, it is decided by what each player is given around them, and you should all notice that Brady makes players great.

Tom Brady is the best the NFL has to offer and I believe that he will prove all people wrong who doubt him about his recovering left knee. This season will be a huge comeback season for Brady, and I am expecting a season much like the '07 one.

You can read more and follow Tony Santorsa's work at www.BostonsSportsHub.blogspot.com and you can also follow his work and opinions on Twitter.com; follow him @ TonySantorsa.