Looking at the 4th Quarter of the SB, or why Tom Brady is the best QB ever.

Recently have noticed threads about what is greater Edelman's Pass or Butler's Interception? While there is no effort to minimize either what sticks out in my mind was the way #12 played in the 4th quarter against the best defense in the NFL.

The Pats effectively shut down the Hawks O, and Brady took over and played as good as anyone ever has in a Superbowl.. kudos to McDaniels for creating a game plan that allowed this to happen.

Pats controlled the ball for 12:15 in the fourth quarter..
Brady was 4 for 6 on the first drive, and other worldly 8 for 8 on the second drive..
Both these last drives consumed 11:55 minutes..
Brady was sacked on the first play of the first drive and Amendola picked up a 10 yard penalty in the second drive.

As best I can cipher in the two scoring drives Brady was 13/15 for 125 yards and two TD's...
Then to top it off, his ability to draw the Hawks offsides in the final series sealed the deal. While everyone was yelling and screaming, my thought was having the ball on the 1 yard line with 20 seconds to go was not the end.

Brady is without a doubt the greatest QB of all time.. enjoy this ride fans.

http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/56502/SEA_Gamebook.pdf

This is his signature moment and if its not getting played up enough now it most certainly will for years and years. It's his Elway/Montana "DRIVE" moment.

Short term the pick and the dumb call are/did rule the headline. But once Brady retires at 45 years old and you start looking back at his whole career everyone will point to the 4th quarter of SB49 as the signature moment.

Brady was incredible on those last two drives, but there were some great plays by others as well. Vereen's one-handed grab, Edelman's big 3rd and 14 catch while holding onto the ball after a huge hit, the ridiculously great route Jules ran at the goal line, twice because Brady missed him the first time, Gronk with a huge conversion after an offensive pass interference penalty, and the defense shutting down the Seahawks all quarter until the very end, then barely holding on but making the play to win, just an incredible quarter by the entire team.

You can't just cherry pick a QBs best few drives. Considering Brady had 2 interceptions, this wasn't really a great game for him.

Ken Canin said:

You can't just cherry pick a QBs best few drives. Considering Brady had 2 interceptions, this wasn't really a great game for him.

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Actually, you can when those drives are at the end of the game. If you think of "The Drive" with Elway, no one remembers how he played during the rest of the game. Funny thing is that most don't even remember that it wasn't a game winning drive, but rather, just tied the game and took it to overtime.

it was a great performance even for brady's standard. that was top 5 best game ever by brady. it's ok to give up few runs early. it's about how you close the game. look at peyton manning last year. and past few years seattle was at their best when other QBs started throwing picks. once they smell the blood they don't look back. many people thought hawks will just take a total control after that atrocious 3rd qtr. but brady didn't even flinch. it was game time for brady.

for all 4 qtr except few bad drives and mistakes, brady showed the world how you neutralize a great secondary. he showed you how to attack aggressive dline. from casual fan point of view, it was just bunch of short passes. 'so easy to do!' but this short passes happen when the QB and WRs are in unison. jules, vereen, and everyone were playing orchestra together and nobody missed a beat. brady knew where exactly his WRs would be.

remember how we looked so off last year with 2 rookie WRs? why couldn't just brady dink and dunk all the way? because it's actually something very hard to master. ask chad ochocinco how hard this offense really is. brady doesn't throw to a guy if he doesn't have a complete trust in him. brady is not that guy who tests things on the field. brady had a complete trust with his weapons. he knew exactly what he was doing. he also trusted mcdaniels. it was masterful how we played. we were so prepared for this game. and the game slowed down for brady in the 4th. brady dissected the top rated defense(3 seasons in a row) and they couldn't do anything about it. it was a QB master class.

yes, he had few bad throws out of 50. it wasn't a perfect game. but that's the beauty of this game.

IMO, this game is what people will remember when people think of bradys legacy along with the rams drive. if brady retires tomorrow, this is the game i'll remember the most. because it summarized brady's illustrious career and how he terrorized defense for 15 years.

Ken Canin said:

You can't just cherry pick a QBs best few drives. Considering Brady had 2 interceptions, this wasn't really a great game for him.

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And Joe Montana tossed 3 picks in the 1981 NFCCG (the catch). I agree that Brady's picks were bad, but they'll be remembered as much as Joe's are in that game.

Concussion Protocol said:

And Joe Montana tossed 3 picks in the 1981 NFCCG (the catch). I agree that Brady's picks were bad, but they'll be remembered as much as Joe's are in that game.

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Yep yep, exactly.


Brady really won't get the credit for a number of reasons in my opinion. First, there wasn't a "defining" play so to speak. Second is that while he brought the Pats back and overcame a 10 point deficit, the final TD wasn't scored as time was about to expire.

Ken Canin said:

You can't just cherry pick a QBs best few drives. Considering Brady had 2 interceptions, this wasn't really a great game for him.

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1 bad int/ decision grime breakdown was his only negative play. 1 of 50, that's .02, or 2%. Brady's second int was a great play by Wagner and not a bad play by Brady. Wagner is maybe 1 of maybe 10 guys that could do that, the other team has playmakers. Brady was the mvp because he got the team 28 points and erased a 10 point deficit in the sb in the last quarter. Brady is why we won, butler just sealed the win.

This thread was about the greatness #12 in the last 2 (3) drives of the Superbowl, his picks were based on bad choices early on, but overall they pale in comparison to what he did at the end... those last two drives despite a sack and penalty against the best NFL defense are incomparable...

How many quarterbacks had the acumen to draw the Seattle D offsides??

It is how you finish, and this finish will go down in Superbowl History as one of the, if not the, greatest of all time..

Ken Canin said:

You can't just cherry pick a QBs best few drives. Considering Brady had 2 interceptions, this wasn't really a great game for him.

Click to expand...

I'd actually say it makes it that much more impressive.

When things are going well, when you're rolling, it's easy. You can pile up the stats.

Brady could have thrown in the towel after that second INT. Remember Richard Sherman declaring "his heart's gone" after that pick? Many of us felt that way too, especially after the Seahawks scored to go up 10.

It clearly wasn't going to be easy and Brady had every right to doubt himself but instead he took the team onto his shoulders against the best defense in the league in the biggest game of the year and led two perfect drives to finish the game and lead the largest second half comeback ever in a Super Bowl.

People also forget that in 2007, despite his struggles all day against that fierce Giants pass rush, he led them down the field late in the 4th to take the lead, and if 3 unbelievable things don't happen on that next drive, we're never forgetting his resilience. Or the game against the 49ers where the team trailed 31-3 and he willed the team back to a tie. Although we would lose both games, his competitive fire didn't dwindle and his resolve never wavered at any point.

Everyone has their good days and bad days. But the thing I love about Brady is that he never gives up, even if it isn't his best day. That's what separates him from Peyton. When the going gets tough, Brady steps up.

So the haters will look at those 2 INTs as proof he didn't have his A-game that day. I look at it as another example of the unstoppable will of a 7th-string Michigan QB who clawed his way to the top. Damn right he's the MVP.