Patriots vs. Dolphins: Tom Brady Already on Fast Track to Another MVP

On September 12, 2010, Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to a 38-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

On September 12, 2011, Brady led the Patriots to a 38-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

Coincidence?

Probably. But if this is the sign of a trend, then I think we can safely expect Brady to lead the Pats to the league's best record and ultimately win the Most Valuable Player award for himself.

Of course, many of us expected Brady to do just that even before he and the Pats set foot on the field for their 2011 opener. Brady is, after all, the reigning MVP, and he certainly looked the part on Monday night.

In the event that you somehow missed it, Brady had a typical Tom Brady game against the Dolphins. That is to say he was brilliant, completing 32 of his 48 passes for a team-record 517 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

That one interception, by the way, was a tipped ball that happened to be caught by Miami defensive end Jared Odrick. Not exactly Brady's fault.

Aside from the tipped pick, Brady was largely flawless. As per usual, Wes Welker was the primary beneficiary, as he caught eight passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns (one of which was for 99 yards). But it wasn’t all about Welker, of course, as seven other Patriots caught passes as well.

In the process, Miami's defense was made to look like a pee-wee squad. Pretty impressive when you consider the fact that the Dolphins played some of the best defense in the league last season. You never would have been able to tell by watching Brady pick them apart on Monday night.

What we learned, in a nutshell, is that Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL.

Check that. What we learned is that Brady is still the best quarterback in the NFL. He was an unstoppable force during the 2010 season, and he showed on Monday night that the many lockout-stricken months that passed between then and now did nothing to lessen his ability.

Needless to say, that's pretty great news for the Pats. Without Brady, they're probably an okay team. With him, they're arguably the best team in the NFL. Same formula as last year.

So, once again, it's probably safe to put the Pats down for the league's best record and Brady down for the MVP. After what happened on Monday night, there is no reason whatsoever to doubt such an eventuality.

At least, not until further notice.