Tom Brady: System QB?

In a season where Tom Brady mistakenly came out of retirement to return to a down and out Buccaneers team, it's easy to see that their loss to Dallas at home will be the last time he steps on an NFL field.

Many are quick to annoit Tom the GOAT, and it's hard to argue that with 7 Super Bowl rings there isn't any player in history that has been as great for as long as Brady.

But before all of us just bow down and remember the 6 in New England followed by leaving Bill Belichick's shadow to win the very next season in Tampa Bay, it's important to examine exactly what makes Brady the greatest player to toss the pigskin.

His first 2 Super Bowls he was merely apart of a great system with a prolific defense and revolutionary play calling. Brady was protected at length and wasn't given the chance to blow up or cost the Patriots games. He certainly made throws, but in a way others in the league could have.

The next decade Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots entered a period of true greatness that the league has never matched. Coordinators like Charlie Weiss and Josh McDaniel's with Belichick's relentless study of the evolving offensive insight that was ahead of the rest of the league, New England won 4 more Super Bowls and appeared in 3 others.

Brady was great despite having average talent for many of those years. I invite people to watch these games. Tom made throws, but everything was a quick read and a 2 step drop. It was rare to see him pressured or hit. Belichick and Brady were the perfect combination, but I can't help but think if other QB's of this era might have been sitting at home wishing that they could have been in that spot.

Drew Brees, Tony Romo, Eli Manning would have thrived in this era for the Patriots. Any one of them may have been the GOAT if they would have come off the bench for an injured Drew Bledsoe. Peyton may have won 10 Super Bowls. Mac Jones or a past his prime Cam Newton? Not so much.

This is where you lose most people because Tom went to Tampa Bay after leaving the Patriots and won his 7th Super Bowl the very next season. This may have been the most strategic decison in sports history. The leagues #1 defense and best offensive weapons in the NFC meant he was set up for success. Again, he made throws and was great during that run, but he didn't do anything different than 27 other hall of fame quarterbacks would have done.

Great? Absolutely. But the greatest of all time? It may be dumb to contemplate because we'll never know. But i'd take a handful of others before the 6th round pick out of Michigan if the game was on the line