Devil and the deep blue sea

[BoSoxGal]

And Tom Brady is now officially the greatest quarterback who ever played the game - although I will still always love Joe Montana best.

[Joe Guy]

It was God's will that the Patriots won. He made sure that they had eaten more food supplements than the Seahawks.

[Long Run]

As opposed to the kind of supplements that amp up the Seahawks?

[Long Run]

Autocorrect!

[dgs49]

Tom Brady's wonderfulness would not even be on the table had the opposing coach not shat the bed. 2 crucial INT's does not make for "greatness."

[BoSoxGal]

Joe Montana called him possibly the best quarterback in the history of the game BEFORE the Super Bowl, dgs. It's a fairly accepted fact that he is.

Haters gotta hate I guess.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Dave - it's a team game. Brady's greatness would not be an issue were he stuck as the Cleveland Browns' QB either. His effectiveness would be zero if he didn't have protection by an offensive line and alert receivers/tight ends doing their jobs. It would be meaningless if the defense did not stand up when it counted and prevent another team from scoring more points than Brady and the offense could put up.

If what you are saying is merely that the media would not be trumpeting his performance had Seattle not had a brain fart in the final minute but instead would be idolizing the come-back skills of Mr. Wilson - you're probably correct. But that's just story-line and not much to do with relative brilliance at QB. Had NE lost, then Mr. Brady's story-line might have been the two bonehead interceptions - diminished skills indeed perhaps (he might be in Cleveland next year, we could only wish).

Fact is, in discussing the merits of a QB, I'd take Mr. Montana's assessment over yours or mine any day

[Guinevere]

The key is that Tommy *overcame* those two interceptions. His stat line for the day:

37/50, 358 yards, 2 INT, 4 TDs

(completions a record, TD passes a record, Superbowl wins a record (tied), Superbowl MVPs a record (tied), most Superbowl appearances, etc. etc. etc.). All of which was done in the salary-cap/parity-required era -- which distinguishes his accomplishments from those of Montana and Bradshaw.

Anyone who knows anything about the game, which obvs does not include a pseudo-lawyer from Pittsburgh, knows that Brady's place in the Pantheon is secured, and whether he is the greatest is a serious question.

[Guinevere]

Sorry Meade, TB12 isn't going anywhere -- he just renegotiated his contract (for at least the third time) so the Pats would have more salary cap space --- he's a lifer.

[Long Run]

And, you have to put the two interceptions in context. He was going up against the best defense in the league, and perhaps the best secondary in recent memory, AND he was being asked to control the game with passing, which he did for much of the game. Like Meade says, it is hard to rate quarterbacks (or other players) against each other since their team plays such a large part in their careers, but Brady clearly is in the top few of all time.

[Guinevere]

Not just great, but classy too (I was secretly hoping he would do this):

http://www.examiner.com/article/tom-bra ... olm-butler

The Detroit News reported earlier today (Feb. 2,2015) that Super Bowl XLIX gameday MVP Tom Brady handed the keys of his rightfully won 2015 Chevrolet Colorado to teammate and hero of the game Malcolm Butler, a cornerback for the New England Patriots. It's almost tradition for the Most Valuable Player of the NFL Superbowl to receive some type of car from General Motors. In recent years, Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens was rewarded with a shiny new Corvette for leading the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory in 2013. But this time, Tom Brady always the class act, threw the keys of his 2015 Chevrolet Colorado to the real MVP of the fourth quarter, 24 year old Malcolm Butler.

[TPFKA@W]

Yee Gawds, if someone gave me a Chevy I would give it away too. ( Especially if I was a gazillionaire with a fleet policy in the first place.)

[oldr_n_wsr]

Even though he plays for the hated Pats (yes us jealous Jet fans are going to hate the Pats) Tom Brady is one of gthe best QB's I have ever seen. And I have been watching football since the first champinship game. I have seen the 70' greats, the 80's greats, the 90's greats and this centuries greats (Brady is an 00 and 10's great) and one of those is TB.

a Patriot hater can hate, but he also can give respect where it is due. TB and the Pats have earned this Jets fan respect (and his envy)

Guin, you going to the parade tomorrow?

[TPFKA@W]

It is a lovely gesture, but given the salary of these players, a classier move would have been to give it someone in great need, or raffle it for a charity, quietly and without fanfare.

[Long Run]

Uhm, players like Brady make amazing pay, but undrafted rookies like Malcolm Butler probably are closer to the league minimum of $420,000. This sounds like a lot, but when you start with nothing, and have maybe a 4-6 year career, pay almost half of your salary in taxes, and in the first year have to buy a car, maybe help out your family, pay rent and living expenses, etc., this truck may well double his true disposable income for this year. Brady certainly understood this, and did a good and classy thing, which has pretty much defined his career.

[TPFKA@W]

Yes, how does one manage to eat on $420,000 a year? Slave labor, that's what it is. Call me cynical if you like but given the recent flap it seems like a well orchestrated effort to make Tom look nicer and seem of a better character than the earlier alleged activities might indicate.

[Guinevere]

This has nothing to do with image -- and frankly -- you don't know what you're talking about. The smearing of Tom Brady that went along with the crap about the so-called deflated calls is totally unsubstantiated. If you live up here you know he is a good guy, who works hard, has his head on straight, and gives back to the community. He's been doing that, in a very low key way, ever since he started playing here.

[TPFKA@W]

I still maintain that it would have amounted to more, gesture wise, if it had been directed at someone more needy than an under-privileged NFL player, and had been done quietly.

[Big RR]

By doing it quietly, Butler wouldn't have gotten the share of the publicity that he deserved, but rarely gets as a defense player and a rookie. That well may have been worth more than the car to him.

[TPFKA@W]

Then in one of Brady's many opportunities to speak with the press he could have praised his team mate generously. Many ways, many opportunities to do it without involving the car, and I still speak for my gut that it was a PR move.