Brady No Longer Great in The Playoffs?

Ian Logue

Aug 18, 2010 at 9:41pm ET

If at first you don't succeed, why not try a different tactic.

Patriots fans, Brady is no longer a playoff calibur quarterback.

Yes, you've read that correctly, and go tell your friends what you've heard, because the numbers back up this argument. I heard it on the radio and it must be true, so it's time to start the movement to running that pesky 2-Time Super Bowl MVP out of town.

And I'm jumping on board. I'm throwing out my three Super Bowl Championship T-Shirts because I've been wearing the same ones now for six years, and that's just not good enough any more. There hasn't been a "hat and T-Shirt game" that's given me a new one with a Lombardi trophy on it in so long that it's getting to the point where apparently the loyalty - just like the T-Shirt - should be fading along with it.

Not really - but that appears to be the reaction that is attempting to be created.

The ongoing Tom Brady contract situation has caused plenty of controversy over the past few months, with it first being reported by national media outlets who tried to suggest a rift between the Patriots signal caller and owner Robert Kraft. Following those stories local media members also jumped on board, up until recently when news came out from ESPN's Adam Schefter that both Brady and New England were making progress toward a deal. Shortly after that came a golf outing between Brady and Kraft - which further quieted the discussion.

Well, since that vehicle of negativity has sailed, it appears another has been placed in the water.

It may be time to move on from Tom Brady, after the Patriots signal caller is now just a mere 4-4 in his last eight playoff games.

Michael Felger of 98.5 The Sports Hub spent Wednesday afternoon focusing on New England's playoff struggles in recent years, continually harping on the fact that Brady is a mere 4-4 in his last eight playoff games. While most fans called in trying to point out that he was coming back from reconstructive knee surgery, Felger was pointing out the highs from last season and saying that, "the knee didn't seem to be bothering him then."

Although no mention of the broken ribs or the broken finger, or other things that could have played a factor in what was still a season that plenty of other QB's could only dream of having.

In other words, if you can't win the argument one way, why not see if you can spin the story another. Why not see if you can't potentially get a following of Brady criticizers who start disecting every negative play he makes, while ignoring the positives.

We've seen it before here in Boston with other writers, and it appears this is what's on deck now. After all, with Brady in the final year of his contract and not yet re-signed long term to this point, the chance is still there to try and make him miserable enough that maybe he'll decide should the dollar amount he's offered not be high enough, maybe he'll decide it's time to move on.

After all, Brady did mention recently that "even guys like Joe Montana didn't finish his career in San Francisco", so why should he be any different? Should this movement continue, you can expect that clip to be replayed quite a bit.

In Felger's self proclaimed attempt to be "fair" he felt that with all the Brett Favre nonsense in the last 24 hours if we're going to criticize Favre's playoff performances, Brady deserves to be included in the discussion.

Wow, apparently I've been watching a different quarterback and football team all these years.

Statistics are a wonderful thing to use when you want to spin them to fit your argument. You'll have to forgive me while I throw out what's written on paper and simply believe what my eyes have actually seen. All I know is that Brady is 14-4 as a starter in the postseason with three Super Bowl rings, and hasn't shown me any reason to believe he's done with keeping the Patriots in contention for a championship.

Myself, hey, I've enjoyed the 14 wins and three Super Bowl Championships. I've enjoyed accumulating some Championship apparel and some photos that captured great moments in this team's history which now irritate my wife as they hang on our walls. As for the four postseason games that were lost, only one deeply disappointed me - and anyone who watched that game knows that it's hard to blame Brady entirely for that one.

While Felger starts beating the drum to see if he can get the march toward beating Brady out of town, hopefully most rational fans will look back and break down each of those postseason losses and realize that in each of the four games they've lost, Brady wasn't the reason. After all, on those days where he wasn't "great", he was at least "good", which is more than you can say for a certain guy who has made a name for himself in making critical playoff turnovers.

Mere months ago after Peyton Manning threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown that ultimately cost his team the football game, most were saying Brady may now be the best ever. How times have changed in just a short period of time.

Needless to say every time I think I've heard it all, something happens to change my mind.

Unfortunately today was one of those days.