Tom Brady, Getting The Job Done With No Superstars

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is having an MVP season in 2010.  Through 15 games, he has thrown for 3,701 yards, 34 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in leading the Patriots to a 13-2 record, best in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The amazing thing about Brady is he is doing it yet again without any superstars.

When the 2010 season began, Brady had at least one superstar, wide receiver Randy Moss.  However, he was traded early in the season due to a lack of production and his pending free agent status.  Brady did not miss a beat and the Patriots have the best offense in the NFL, averaging 31.9 points per game. 

Brady's offensive weapons include a rookie wide receiver, Brandon Tate, two rookie tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and a running back tandem of Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis, a perennial backup, and Danny Woodhead, who was cut by the New York Jets in the preseason.  Wide receiver Wes Welker is a superstar, but is coming off a knee injury and is not on pace to reach 1,000 receiving yards.

In fact, Brady has not had weapons in his career that have reached benchmarks, such as 1,000 receiving yards. Before 2007, Brady has had one 1,000 yard receiver in his career, Troy Brown in 2001. He has only had 1,200 yard running back in his career, Corey Dillon in 2004, putting the offense on Brady's shoulders. However, despite these shortcomings, Brady has accumulated a 110-32 record in his career, 4 Super Bowl appearances, and 3 Super Bowl wins. 

Brady utilizes the players that he has, whether it's a running back catching a screen pass, a tight end making catches across the middle of the field, or a wide receiver making a short catch that moves the chains.  In a 3rd and 6 situations, Brady gets 7.  He just gets the job done.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine told me that Matt Ryan is good, because he wins despite "only" having Roddy White.  Well, before 2007, Tom Brady did not have a Roddy White caliber receiver to throw to and he won all 3 Super Bowls before 2007.  Brady is proving yet again this year that winning is possible without a great supporting cast, and that is what makes Brady great.