Tom Brady: What More Must the Patriots QB Accomplish to Be the Greatest Ever?

Being the first QB to win three Super Bowls before his 28th birthday, everyone knows that Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the game today. The question is: What does Brady now need to accomplish to be the greatest of all time?

On top of his Super Bowl victories, Brady owns over 25 NFL records as a QB. The most impressive of which is his record for the most touchdown passes in the regular season (with 50).

Obviously, Brady has been a part of some pretty amazing teams over the course of his career. The thing that sets him apart from other QBs in the NFL is his ability to win games even without top receiving targets around him.

Sure, Aaron Hernandez and Wes Welker are talented players, but Brady has never had the luxury of having four top wideouts like the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers have.

Despite being voted the top player in the NFL by his peers, it seems that Brady's legacy has always stood in the shadow of another QB with the fans. The Brady versus Manning debate has always stirred controversy, and Brady's current competition with Aaron Rodgers seems to sway in favor of the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

But why? Brady has won the most Super Bowls among active QBs and has the best winning percentage of any starting quarterback of all time (115-33, .777). Why is this not enough to grant Brady the crown of the best QB of all time?

The NFL has truly evolved into a league of quarterbacks. If your team does not have a franchise play-caller, it is nothing. Brady is every bit a franchise quarterback as Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan, but his age has caused him to take a backseat to some of these younger stars. That doesn't mean, though, that he is in any way inferior to ANY of those QBs.

Though Brady could realistically earn the most wins of any QB in history, the ultimate measure of a team is whether they win the Super Bowl. Brady has won three Super Bowls as a starting quarterback, one fewer than Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most all time by a starting quarterback.

That being said, it won't be Brett Favre's passing yard record or passing touchdowns record that Brady must measure his career up to. Ultimately, Brady has been able to be nearly the most victorious QB of any in NFL history. How he becomes the greatest of all time is to get rid of the "nearly."

By winning a fourth Super Bowl, Brady would cement his name with Bradshaw and Montana while tying with the two for the most among any QB in NFL history. The way Brady would be set apart from these two men is by not only being the youngest of the three, but the most efficient by losing the fewest playoff games of the group (Montana's playoff record is 16-7, Brady is 14-4 as of right now).

Obviously, if Brady was to win two more Super Bowls, he would be the greatest of all time, bar-none, but to get his name in the group with the likes of Montana and Bradshaw, he really only needs one more.

At this point in the season, Brady's passer rating is 109.5 with 1,874 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. With his New England Patriots currently owning the AFC East with a 4-1 record, Brady could be well on his way to another playoff berth and potentially another Super Bowl championship.

Am I saying Brady will accomplish these tasks and become the greatest of all time? No.

Is it possible? Absolutely.

Thanks for reading.

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