Is Tom Brady the GOAT? That title’s been bestowed upon him, but what does it mean, and how do you determine it?
Yes, he has seven pro football championships — finally matching Cleveland Browns great Otto Graham.
Boston loves its sports heroes. It’s why the city threw a Stanley Cup parade for a guy who didn’t win it as a Bruin. Beloved Ray Bourque (who’s from Montreal, by the way) was dealt to Colorado and a key part of the Avs’ 2001 Cup win. Celebrating his win was a touching and fitting gesture.
But also selective. There would have been a ton of parades here if the same treatment had been given to Babe Ruth. That didn’t happen.
I get it. Sports matter here (for which I am quite grateful). They always have, even someone who isn’t from here knows that. For decades, the Red Sox were lovable losers and chokers. The Patriots were terrible … an NFL footnote with no charisma for their first 40 years. The Bruins were only relevant on the History Channel. Everyone always pointed to the Bobby Orr glory days. The Celtics remain one of the NBA’s two most storied franchises, but it held that distinction alone until the Los Angeles Lakers won eight titles to the Celtics’ one since 1986.
What makes a GOAT? If it’s raw athleticism, that’s not TB12. He’s no physical specimen like LeBron James or Michael Jordan. Is it winning? Brady’s certainly got that argument convincingly made, but he’s not even in the top five among winners in this town. More on that in a moment.
The 21st century has been extremely kind to Boston teams. The Patriots have six titles, the Red Sox four, the Bruins and Celtics one apiece. And all those teams have had near-misses; the Patriots really could have easily had two more, perhaps three. The Bruins also came close a couple more times.
This town’s decades of futility has been erased this century. It’s truly been a golden age.
Which is partially why Brady is so revered. Statistically, he’s very very good. Elite. Well before mid-season in 2021, assuming Drew Brees retires, he’ll pass the only guy ahead of him in yardage. This despite missing almost one entire season with an injury, and four games of another season over Deflategate.
“There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain popularized this phrase, although he apparently nicked it from British Lord Leonard Courtney. Which is why there are some weird anomalies when comparing Brady to other all-time “greats.”
Brady is tied for 7th all-time in passer rating … with Dak Prescott. No one’s saying those two guys are the same. That’s one spot BEHIND Kirk Cousins. Throw that stat out.
Yards per attempt? Brady is 35th. That’s actually good, but also feeds the “dink-and-dunk” narrative.
Interception percentage? Brady is fifth all-time. Impressive. And only one spot worse than Colin Kaepernick.
What serves to elevate Brady to GOAT status is a little bit of provincialism … I’m from Texas, so I understand braggadocio well. After all, everything’s bigger in Texas.
What really elevates Brady, though, is the sheer number of crowns. It’s a compelling argument.
However: There are two guys from here who have as many — Jim Loscutoff and Frank Ramsey of the Celtics.
And six Celtics have more: John Havlicek, Satch Sanders, K.C. Jones and Tommy Heinsohn each had eight. Sam Jones had 10.
Bill Russell had 11.
Brady’s not catching Russell or Sam Jones.
But if championships are the only stat that matters, on that count … Brady has seven. His 35 career playoff wins are more than 28 NFL franchises have. That’s astonishing.
Even given Brady’s stellar history, if an all-time draft was held for a mythical all-time team … almost no one would take Tom Brady as the first QB selected. Guaranteed. Brady himself likely wouldn’t take Brady the prospect over his hero Joe Montana, and neither would most Mythical GMs. Peyton Manning, John Elway, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers … just a handful of guys who would be chosen over Brady. Dan Marino, Brett Favre, maybe Brees are others who’d possibly get chosen ahead of Brady.
But the results speak for themselves. Like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, or Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters, it just doesn’t seem possible we’ll ever see a QB win seven Super Bowls.
So … GOAT? It’s clearly subjective. It’s not just physical gifts, and it’s not just elite numbers. It’s intangible. My quarterback hero was Roger Staubach. He’s like Brady: the numbers were secondary to the winning.
If we’re talking football … how can it be anyone other than Brady? Answer: It can’t be. At pro football’s peak lives Tom Brady. Deal with it.
The amazing thing is, in Boston, he’s got a lot of competition. A healthy Bobby Orr was better at what he did than Brady is at what he does. Those old Celtics ran literal rings around Brady’s accomplishments.
And while it’s quite possible there’s some recency bias here — the 1960s were a long time ago — TB12’s closet full of Lombardi trophies kind of speak for themselves.
So when are we doing Brady’s duck boat parade?
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February 09, 2021 at 05:24PM
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Tom Brady’s great, but is he really the GOAT? - Boston Herald
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