The greatest NFL player of all time is retiring. The nice thing about Tom Brady is that unlike in other sports, the clear GOAT in football is Brady. Nobody else can lay claim to that spot, not after 7 Super Bowl wins, 10 Super Bowl appearances, and 14 conference championship games.
Not after 84,520 passing yards, which is #1 all time. Not after 7,263 completions, which is #1 all time. Not after 624 passing touchdowns, which is #1 all time.
Not after switching teams late in his career and winning the Super Bowl in year one for a previously struggling franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here are the quarterbacks taken in the 2000 NFL Draft, along with Brady, and their final year in the NFL:
- Marshall's Chad Pennington to the Jets (Rd. 1, #18 overall): 2010
- Hofstra's Giovanni Carmazzi to the 49ers (Rd. 3, #65): 2001
- Louisville's Chris Redman to the Ravens (Rd. 3, #75): 2011
- Tennessee's Tee Martin to the Steelers (Rd. 5, #163): 2003
- Virginia's Marc Bulger to the Saints (Rd. 6, #168): 2010
- Southwest Texas State's Spergon Wynn to the Browns (Rd. 6, #183): 2001
- Michigan's Tom Brady to the Patriots (Rd. 6, #199): 2021
- Stanford's Todd Husak to the Redskins (Rd. 6, #202): 2000
- Florida A&M's Ja'Juan Seider to the Chargers (Rd. 6, #205): 2000
- Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay to the 49ers (Rd. 7, #212): 2007
- Notre Dame's Jarious Jackson to the Broncos (Rd. 7, #214): 2003
- Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton to the Buccaneers (Rd. 7, #234): 2004
That shows you just how long Brady outlasted everyone else in his draft. Pennington was a decent QB who had some injury issues, and Bulger had a couple decent seasons with the Rams, but everyone else was a flop. And Brady kept plugging away - no, excelling - for 22 seasons.
Personally, I remember lying on the floor in my living room watching him shred Alabama in the Orange Bowl and being in awe of what was happening. Brady just had that "It" factor where things always seemed like they would turn out okay, and I don't think I felt such confidence in a Michigan quarterback since watching Elvis Grbac as a wee lad.
It's sad to see him step away, but it was fun knowing each and every year that a Michigan man was going to be consistently excellent to watch and root for in the NFL.
Well, honestly, Tampa Bay won that Super Bowl because of that awesome defense. Holding an Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes offense to 9 points was ridiculous. Tom Brady was pedestrian in that game. Manning, Warner, or Favre could have come out of retirement and done a better job than him.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that Brady has been great at is longevity. He ranks with the best of them in that.
Tom Brady was an awesome player. Just trying to add perspective.
It looks like Harbaugh is leaving. You going to make a post about it so I can cry in my beer? Horrible news!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck Mr Brady! Thank you for the memories
ReplyDeleteGood QB IMO.
ReplyDeleteThe two things I think of first with Brady's M career are:
1. The Henson/Brady thing where it seemed like the majority preferred Henson even though Brady was really good. Henson was big man on campus then. These things happen with backup QBs unless you win EVERY game (see Georgia and Michigan in 2021).
2. I remember the Orange Bowl game because I had to rewatch it later after spending New Years in New Orleans and not remembering what the hell happened in the game beyond celebrating the W. There were some kicking involved.
It came out that, during the 9 hours of talking with Minnesota, Jim Harbaugh discovered he didn't want to leave Michigan. It wasn't a good fit to go to Minnesota. None of the negative things coming out saying otherwise are true.
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