I watched the game. 41 points? How? Does he ride the defense? I am a Patriot fan in NE Pa but can not cifer how he wins :smack: 8 & 0 in the play offs? 
Everyone says he remains cool, poised and doesn’t make mistakes. So does this mean he dosen’t lose the game and the defense bails him out.? I’m listening to ESPN saying Tom being Poised in the pocket was the differnce. To me it was the awsome NE defense and the NE offense doing oKay. I don’t see Tom Brady doing what Donvan McNabb does you know shake & bake move around make it happen. Here is ESPN 20 minutes later Tom Brady posied in the pocket ; 6 point favorites so how does he do it?
A pocket passer can be the center of an offense, just because a guy doesn’t scramble or doesn’t have happy feet doesn’t mean they aren’t doing anything.
When it comes to tome Brady it comes to this:
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He’s a good QB, top 25% or so of the current NFL
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Defense wins championships, and he has one of the best defenses I’ve seen helping him out, so when the big game comes he never has to worry too much about being forced to score 21+ to win the game.
As it is he doesn’t show any great poise in all playoff games. Some games he shows poise, some he doesn’t, he seems to make mistakes about as much as your average-good QB does. It’s not like his INT numbers are insanely low (definitely not) or that his passer rating is sky high or anything like that.
Here’s an enduring life lesson from my life, that may help. About twenty years ago, at a family reunion, it was my turn to be a team captain for a volleyball game. (Yes, it’s a big family.) And I won the toss, to get first overall pick for my team. Such a choice-take Uncle Don, with the absolutely wicked serve? Cousin Sandy, or her daughter Angie, both about 6’3" and evil at the net? And then I thought, “Yeah, but how many of Don’s serves end up in the net? How many of Sandy’s spikes end up going out of bounds?” And after careful consideration, I chose Cousin Sharon, a choice which provoked a number of audible gasps of surprise, as she had not stood out in the previous games, that anyone had noticed. Why did I choose her? Because I’d never seen her make a mistake. Every play, she was where she was supposed to be; every shot went where she intended it to go. No individual play stood out as spectactular, but she never drew attention with bone-headedness, either.
Yeah, some people laughed. But we cleaned the other team’s clock that game, and Sharon was the clear MVP. ‘Not making mistakes’ is often underrated …
“As it is he doesn’t show any great poise in all playoff games. Some games he shows poise, some he doesn’t, he seems to make mistakes about as much as your average-good QB does. It’s not like his INT numbers are insanely low (definitely not) or that his passer rating is sky high or anything like that”
Exactly, thats what I see. so why doesn’t the media see it this way? Again ESPN analyist: Tom Brady in the pocket is the key. ( Just now)
Why do I think we are going to here about 2 weeks of Donvan McNabb then see Tom Brady MVP?
Well it is key for the Pats that Brady be allowed to stay in the pocket and go through his progression. That applies to virtually every pocket passer though.
I find the puzzlement over Brady’s ability, well, puzzling.
At least to my eye, the man is an extraordinary passer. He had a tremendous arm - accurate, quick release, and strong. He reads defenses well and has an obvious knack for calculating risk vs. reward. He’s as good as almost anyone at getting the ball into a receiver’s hands and avoiding putting it into a defensive back’s hands. Isn’t that, like, the POINT of being a quarterback?
There is a propensity, when discussing athletes, to overrates athletes who demonstrate athletic ability and do “flashy” things, and to underrate athletes who tend not to be “flashy.” Brady is decidedly not flashy; he’s not a rushing QB and he tends to rely on relatively safe passing plays. The opposite of Tom Brady is Michael Vick, who really isn’t much of a passer but who LOOKS amazing because he’s such a great rusher; he elicits awe when he rushes for big gains. But whose actions resulted in more offense? Tom Brady, by more than 500 yards. Whose actions resulted in more touchdowns? Tom Brady, by a massive margin. Whose team scored more points? Brady’s, by a huge margin. If you look closely you can see why this is; careful examination makes it obvious that Brady’s an excellent passer and Vick isn’t. But Vick is spectacular to watch, so he gets the press.
This works for almost any sport. It took a few years before anyone knew who Tim Duncan was, because he’s not a flashy dunkmaster and basically plays the most mechanical, efficient kind of basketball imaginable. He’s still sort of underrated, even after winning the MVP. No hype for a man of his talents. On the other hand people still vote for Vince Carter for the All-Star game despite the fact that he’s become one of the worst starting players in the entire league, because man, the DUNKS.
And he’s not even that great in the dunking department anymore.
It isn’t just Tom Brady. You line up a Pro Bowl-caliber running back, a very very good offensive line and a very good quarterback on the same side of the ball and get results. Then you have a defense comprised of individuals who play extremely well together (and ESPN analysts aren’t just blowing hot air when they comment on the paucity of NE defenders on the Pro Bowl), thus giving the Patriots more offensive opportunities than many other teams. If you give a good offense 35-40 minutes a game to do its thing, you’re going to get results.
Tom Brady doesn’t have the speed of Vick, the size of Culpepper, the TD numbers of Manning or the hype of being a high draft pick out of college (granted, he is probably the most famous 199th pick ever). He’s an unassuming guy on an unassuming team, and given the success that team has had, why should he bother to change anything? Everyone else hypes players who watch the last game of the NFL season; he’s playing in it. I’d take that deal in a second.
You mean #1 draft pick, 1998 rookie of the year, and 1999 NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan? Duncan was hardly under anyone’s radar at any point in his career. That was a terrible example, but a fairly valid point.
Tom Brady is certainly not an extraordinary passer in any regard. Look at his stats. They are above average, but not great. He is not that great a player. That’s how the media treats him; like an important part of a much larger puzzle. This generation’s Terry Bradshaw. If Tom Brady retired after this season, the Pats could pick up a handful of quarterbacks and do just as well. If you take McNabb or Manning off of their teams, they would suffer tremendously. The reason the Pats are so good is because they have been able to do that. When one important piece leaves, another person steps up. Brady is a cog, Belichick is the man who deserves the credit (and now he gets most of it, as he should). That’s the reason why the Colts-Pats game was billed Manning vs. Belichick, and not Brady.
To me it was kinda ironic that he played Ben Roethlisberger today. They are both good QB’s who get credit they don’t really deserve. Their teams don’t win because of either of them, they win *with * them. This season, there were at least 5 QB’s who played better. They include Manning, McNabb, Bulger, Culpepper, and Brees. There are also a few who played just a well (Pennington, Vick). Tom Brady is football’s Derek Jeter. A good player in a great situation.
I think you just committed a sin by comparing a NE player to a NY player.
To use a horse racing comparison, which would you bet on- a mediocre horse with a brilliant jockey or a brilliant horse with a mediocre jockey?
Now, I think a quarterback is MUCH more important to his team’s success than a jockey is to a horse’s, but the same principle holds. A superb team with a good quarterback is far more likely to reach the Super Bowl than a good team with a superb quarterback. RIght now, the PAtriots are a superb team.
I’ve given this rant before, so if you’ve seen it before, forgive me. Tom BRady is good, obviously! He’s very good. He’s won two SUper Bowls and stands an excellent chance of winning a third next week. I have no desire to insult a man who’s accomplished what he has.
Still, when I hear people say that he’s “Mr. Clutch” or that he “always plays his best in big games,” I have to wonder what they’ve been smoking. Tom Brady has made LOADS of big mistakes in key games! That doesn’t make him unique, of course- practically EVERY great quarterback has screwed up big time in the clutch on several occasions. But we have to get over this idea that BRady wins because “he doesn’t make mistakes.”
In the AFC playoffs against the Raiders a few years back, Brady fumbled at the worst possible moment. EVERY player on the field knew it. Brady knew it better than anyone (he never tried to argue to the refs that his arm was going forward or that it was an incomplete pass). Only a dubious ruling by the officials kept Brady from being the goat of that game.
In the AFC finals against the Colts last year, the Patriots were knocking at the goal line, ready to score a touchdown that would have iced the game. What did Brady do? He threw an interception right into the end zone! Instead of delivering the coup de grace, he fouled up and let the COlts back into the game.
THe same thing happened in the last SUper Bowl. The PAts had a chance to score one last touchdown, one that would have delivered the final, knockout blow to the Panthers. What did he do? He threw a stupid interception right into the end zone! With his boot on the Panthers’ throat, with a chance to finish them off, he screwed up and let the Panthers back into the game.
Again, EVERY quarterback screws up! I don’t mean to mock Brady or single him out! It’s HARD being an NFL quarterback (if it weren’t, I’D be doing it!).
I just don’t want to hear any more how perfect and cool and calm and error-free he is in big games any more! Because the record show, it’s just not true.
YES, Brady is good. He’s damn good. I’d be delighted if my Giants had him. But he’s living proof of just how fine a line there is between hero and goat, between “clutch player” and “choker.”
Because if the refs hadn’t saved Brady from the consequences of his fumble, or if the Colts had managed to DO something with the interception he handed them… many of the same people who call Tom Brady a great clutch player would be saying “That loser always screws up in big games.”
Very valid points. Before this weekend’s game, I was talking with someone who predicted a Steelers win and attributed it to Roethlisberger’s phenomenal performance. I counted by pointing out that a phenom wouldn’t average 150 yards, 1 TD, and .75 INTs per game (complete guess - actual stats, 187, 1.2, .78). That’s no knock against Big Ben; he’s just a rookie. He’s playing well for a rookie and will grow in the position, but he’s not the Second Coming, and neither is Tom Brady.
Brady is more like a improved Trent Dilfer.
Here is a recent thread in which a lot of these issues came up.
My opinions on the OP’s questions: Brady’s a very capable quarterback; he throws a beautiful ball, and thus far he’s always been as good as the Patriots need him to be. Really, you’re not wrong when you say that you see the NE defense dominating and the offense just kind of getting by, but you have to remember that the offense always gets by, and some of that is by design.
Brady gets all the attention because, frankly, somebody’s got to when a team wins 31 out of 33 games or whatever they’ve done. The quarterback is always the guy to get the chicks and the money.
As far as the Patriots being favored, that’s because while McNabb’s the best player on his team, Brady’s not, so a heads-up comparison won’t do the Patriots justice. The New England roster is two or three deep at every position with good-to-great players. They’re six point favorites because they’re that much better than the Eagles as a team – and this is coming from an Eagles fan.
To me, the thing that’s so astounding is that in spite of how obviously good Brady is, he sucks ball sweat as a fantasy-league quarterback. I’m not sure how that works exactly, but I made a big mistake picking him this year.
Just a guess here, but I think Brady simply learned the same lesson Joe Montana, Jim McMahon, Troy Aikman, Mariano Rivera, Horace Grant, Jeff Gordon, and Takanonami did: When you have a great team around you, just do your job. As long as Brady’s moving the chains and keeping it out of the other team’s hands, that’s plenty enough for the Patriots. Frankly, I can’t imagine a QB that wouldn’t like this situation, to be able to just stick to good, fundamental quarterbacking and not have to come back from 14 down every other game or drive 80 yards in a minute thirty to clinch the final wild card or otherwise carry the team on his back.
When no one on a championship team really sticks out (fairly or not…I’m looking at you, TO), naturally the focus is going to gravitate to the quarterback. It’s unavoidable, and certainly nothing to be pinned on Brady. Or even Trent Dilfer, who was never better than so-so. (The one obvious choice for the post-SB Got Milk spot was Ray Lewis, but he had the marketability of a boulder, so it went to Dilfer more or less by default.)
As for Vick…he’s amazing to watch, but sooner or later he’s going to have to learn how to win with his arm. What made Steve Young so feared was that he could scramble and air it deep, and Vick would do well to learn from him.
“Think how much I would suck WITHOUT milk!”
I think you left off “by correctly interpreting the rule book”.
-lv
I’ll never let this slide by.
Not only did they get the call correct, everyone over looks that there was a blow to the head that should have been a personal foul and gave the pats a first down anyway.
Anyone who continues to harp on it makes themselves look foolish.
Oh yeah, Quick – who were the Patriots running backs in their last two Superbowls?
Also, any remember Russ Hochstein starting in the Superbowl last year?
I won’t say Brady is underrated any more because he has 2 SB MVPs but he is underrated PHYSICALLY.
He throws a strong, accurate deep ball. He puts balls where only receivers can catch them. He has 9 TDs and 3 INTS in postseason play.
Don’t think that its a coincidence that every game he finds a guy deep one-on-one like with Branch on Sunday. He throws a middle distance ball well, and has a great ability to get safeties to commit one way or the other with his eyes and body.
He is an extremely talented quarterback, who I think is LIMITED by his team’s design.
It’s hard to argue somebody’s underrated when there are people on TV every day calling them the best ever.
This is as good a place as any to point out that Tom Brady is the spitting image of Donny Osmond.