Good CHFF/SI article on Brady

[Uncle Rico]

I'm pretty conservative about starting threads when a similar discussion is under way, and I originally had this under the Faulk/MVP thread. But I felt like this was an article people here would enjoy enough that it deserved its own thread. Goal here isn't to start yet another MVP discussion, but simply to share a good read; mods, obviously feel free to merge if you'd prefer.

Tom Brady quietly in the middle of another MVP-worthy season - Kerry J. Byrne - SI.com

Tom Brady is in the midst of one of the great seasons any quarterback has ever produced -- yet again....

... Yet the future first-ballot Hall of Famer is somehow flying under the radar screen this year. Brady is at best the fifth biggest quarterbacking story in football, behind rookie phenoms Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning's resurrection in Denver, and Matt Ryan's leadership of the 11-1 Falcons.
Perhaps the pigskin public has Brady Burnout. He's so consistently productive and his well-oiled Patriots win with such machine-like ruthlessness that we've simply stopped taking notice.
But Brady is the best choice through Week 13 for league MVP honors, with a chance to cement his status under the bright lights of primetime football against the 11-1 Houston Texans Monday night in Foxboro.

Story goes on to outline Brady's (and the Pats') astonishing record of accomplishment. Enjoy.

 

[BrainTrust66]

Brady is 133-38 in the regular season and 16-6 in the postseason, tying Joe Montana for the most playoff wins. With a combined record of 149-44, he boasts 105 more wins than losses.

No quarterback is even close. Here's a look at how Brady's wins and losses compare to those of the other quarterbacks on the all-time win list (records include postseason; ties not included):

• Tom Brady -- 149-44 (+105 wins)

• Joe Montana -- 133-54 (+79)

• Peyton Manning -- 159-80 (+79)

• Brett Favre -- 199-123 (+76)

• John Elway -- 162-90 (+72)

• Terry Bradshaw -- 121-55 (+66)

• Johnny Unitas -- 124-67 (+57)

• Dan Marino -- 155-103 (+52)

• Frank Tarkenton -- 130-114 (+16)

Players come and go. Seasons change. But one thing has remained constant for more than a decade: the Patriots win when Brady is under center.

This is the most remarkable part of the article, IMO. The distance he has over this group of QB's is incredible.

 

[DocHoliday]

While nice, the guy is probably one of the best known Patriot ballwashers.

 

[BelichickFan]

While nice, the guy is probably one of the best known Patriot ballwashers.

Every time he's on the radio he talks about history saying that a team CANNOT win a SB with defensive passing numbers like the Patriots and that they will have to overcome history to win the SB until their defense improves. He's not a ball washer, he's simply honest.

That was a great article and a reminder to never take Brady for granted.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Brady will pass Marino this year

 

[Triumph]

Every time he's on the radio he talks about history saying that a team CANNOT win a SB with defensive passing numbers like the Patriots and that they will have to overcome history to win the SB until their defense improves. He's not a ball washer, he's simply honest.

That was a great article and a reminder to never take Brady for granted.

Hes spot on and the reason why many of us have been critical of the NE draft picks/ trading down BS and frustrated that the Pats hadn't done enough to bolster the pass defense.

The pass D is looking better with Talib and Dennard at CB.

 

[Uncle Rico]

This is the most remarkable part of the article, IMO. The distance he has over this group of QB's is incredible.

Winning is fun. I guess you could argue forever about who's luckier to have whom between Brady and Belichick. I'm just glad we have both.

 

[borg]

Quite the fluff piece. Byrne felt no need to even hint that the Pats have a nice little running game going. Its all Brady.....dominating......wait.......wait....1 statistical category.....430 points is all on Tom. The ultimate homer article. No need to mention how the other top QBs measure up in his lists that show Brady 1st,2nd,4th,4th,5th, and 6th.

 

[Deus Irae]

Quite the fluff piece. Byrne felt no need to even hint that the Pats have a nice little running game going. Its all Brady.....dominating......wait.......wait....1 statistical category.....430 points is all on Tom. The ultimate homer article. No need to mention how the other top QBs measure up in his lists that show Brady 1st,2nd,4th,4th,5th, and 6th.

It's an article about Brady, and he's got the links to the statistical categories, so I'm not sure why you think he should have put that stuff in there.

I've not been happy with CHFF for a few years, but your argument doesn't hold water.

 

[Fixit]

Quite the fluff piece. Byrne felt no need to even hint that the Pats have a nice little running game going. Its all Brady.....dominating......wait.......wait....1 statistical category.....430 points is all on Tom. The ultimate homer article. No need to mention how the other top QBs measure up in his lists that show Brady 1st,2nd,4th,4th,5th, and 6th.

If you think that's the "ultimate homer" article, congratulations on reading your first article.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

I loved the article, but it was really focused on history rather than just this season. MVP should be considered for in-season record/stats only. While I still believe Brady is deserving, his focus in the article wavered a bit and didn't really drive home the point.

Now as an all time great, his article did a wonderful job .

 

[borg]

It's an article about Brady, and he's got the links to the statistical categories, so I'm not sure why you think he should have put that stuff in there.

I've not been happy with CHFF for a few years, but your argument doesn't hold water.

Manning beats Brady in half of Byrne's chosen categories....yet he argues this is one of the great QB seasons of all time? Selective deletion to prove his point. No wonder he ignores including rushing stats when he brags of "Brady's 430 points". Massaging facts and ignoring realities=CHFF

 

[PatriotsReign]

While nice, the guy is probably one of the best known Patriot ballwashers.

Any athlete employed by a professional team is SUPPOSED to be ballwasher.

I'd hate Brady if he started criticizing BB or Kraft. But then again, there isn't much to criticize either one over.

 

[Fixit]

Manning beats Brady in half of Byrne's chosen categories....yet he argues this is one of the great QB seasons of all time? Selective deletion to prove his point. No wonder he ignores including rushing stats when he brags of "Brady's 430 points". Massaging facts and ignoring realities=CHFF

Sooo, Brady beats Manning in the other half. That entire section where he talks about the offense he says "Brady and the Patriots ... " He also says "they" and "team" a lot. And Brady is having another all-time great season. What the hell are you so angry about?

 

[DocHoliday]

Any athlete employed by a professional team is SUPPOSED to be ballwasher.

I'd hate Brady if he started criticizing BB or Kraft. But then again, there isn't much to criticize either one over.

Err, I'm speaking of the writer. He's worked for Boston media before.

 

[Stilla]

Manning hand picked his team. People forget this when considering the MVP.
Manning choose to be the Mvp for a team. Lets not forget Denver got to the 2nd round of the playoffs with TimTebow.

 

[RodThePat]

Manning beats Brady in half of Byrne's chosen categories....yet he argues this is one of the great QB seasons of all time? Selective deletion to prove his point. No wonder he ignores including rushing stats when he brags of "Brady's 430 points". Massaging facts and ignoring realities=CHFF

This is incredibly obnoxious. The Patriots have had a consistently ridiculous offense from 2007 on. Care to tell me which is the only player that was here for all those years? Do you honestly think they'd have a running game half as good if they had a mediocre QB under center? Is this your first season watching football? Those 430 points scored are mostly due to Tom Brady, it's absolutely ridiculous to argue otherwise. Half his O-Line has been out for the majority of games, our TEs and receivers haven't been healthy since week 2, the defense is inconsistent at best, and yet, there the Patriots are, 9-3 and with one of the best offenses in league history in terms of ppg. But yeah, Brady shouldn't be the guy who gets the most credit for that, right?

Peyton Manning has a better completion percentage and has throws for more TDs, but what does that matter when he's worse on third downs, his team has punted more often, and his offense doesn't score as many points? He's also turned the ball over 11 times, to Brady's 4. Are you telling me that having a 2% advantage on completions and accounting for one more TD (29 passing for Manning, 25 passing + 3 rushing for Brady) compensate the difference in scoring and turnover avoidance? You're out of your mind. If it was a simple matter of reading stats and seeing who's placed higher on them, a ******* computer could pick the MVP. And if that were the case, Peyton would only have won one award, because the only time he was hands down, statistically the best QB in the league was in 2004.

 

[Deus Irae]

Manning beats Brady in half of Byrne's chosen categories....yet he argues this is one of the great QB seasons of all time? Selective deletion to prove his point. No wonder he ignores including rushing stats when he brags of "Brady's 430 points". Massaging facts and ignoring realities=CHFF

First, it's not just Byrne. Football Outsiders also has Brady at the top and above Manning, in DYAR and DVOA:

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/qb

Now, looking at the numbers:

Manning's thrown 9 INTs to Brady's 4.
Manning's thrown 29 TDs to Brady's 25
Manning has 0 rushing TDs to Brady's 3 meaning....
Manning is directly responsible for 29 TDs to Brady's 28
Yards are essentially the same
Yards/game are essentially the same
Y/A are essentially the same

29:9 ratio for Manning
28:4 ratio for Brady

The only place where there's a real gap favoring Manning is the 3 point difference in completion percentage, but that's essentially overcome, as the Y/A demonstrates (0.1 difference).

So, in other words, Brady's having a better year than Manning. Byrne's telling the truth.

 

[patfanken]

And just a thought about Manning throwing for more TD passes. Does it occur to anyone that Brady's team is at the top of the league in rushing TDs, while Manning probably leads the league in TD passes from the one yard line. With some stats you have to look at the the entire story. Brady if he were more selfish could have a half dozen more TD's than he has now.

 

[ALP]

cool article, thanks for sharing