TaborJet Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 IS TOM BRADY STILL A TOP-FIVE QUARTERBACK? Posted by Brad Gagnon on Jun 4, 2014 07:00 One day after we wondered aloud whether the greatest quarterback of this era could make history by playing effectively beyond his 40th birthday, we’re now asking a much less optimistic question about the man who has to be concerned Peyton Manning’s biggest challenger for that title. ESPN asked the question this week with an Insider/Pro Football Focus breakdown: Should Tom Brady no longer be considered one of the five best quarterbacks in the game? It’s a fair question, because Brady, who at 36 is the second-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, was merely the league’s 17th highest-rated passer at 87.3 in 2013. That placed him below guys like Sam Bradford, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith and Andy Dalton. Aaron Rodgers has the highest passer rating in NFL history and is smack dab in the middle of his prime, and the younger Drew Brees is coming off a season in which he crushed Brady in every major category. Beyond that, valid arguments could be made in favor of Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. Only two of those guys would have to be deemed better than Brady in order to bump the three-time Super Bowl champion out of the top five. Since winning the MVP in 2010, Brady’s rate-based numbers have generally dropped in consistent fashion year to year. That doesn’t bode well for next season, even if he has a healthy Rob Gronkowski and gets more out of Danny Amendola. Brady still managed to take the Patriots to the AFC Championship last year despite not having Gronk, Aaron Hernandez and anyone recognizable in his receiving corps for all or most of the year. That offensive line is broken down, too. Brady was given plenty of opportunities to beat the Broncos in that game, because Denver was focused on New England’s running game. But Tom wasn’t terrific and the Pats fell short. It was a clue that Brady had begun to lose it, as well as a sign that opposing defensive coordinators knew that. And it’s not as though the Patriots have a bad defense. Only nine teams surrendered fewer points than the Pats in 2013, and they’re one of only three teams with 70 or more takeaways since the start of 2012. Right now, it would be hard to argue that Brady is a better quarterback than Rivers or Ryan, or even Roethlisberger or Romo. Considering that guys like Newton, Wilson and Kaepernick are only getting better, I think it’s safe to conclude that — at this moment — Tom Brady is not one of the league’s five best pivots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaborJet Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 It was really evident in the AFC Championship Game. There were some horrific throws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsfan80 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Overall he was impressive last season with his lack of weapons. I'd say yes. But his place in that category is tenuous at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 they probably don't draft Jimmy G if Brady was still awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Right now, it would be hard to argue that Brady is a better quarterback than Rivers or Ryan, or even Roethlisberger or Romo. Considering that guys like Newton, Wilson and Kaepernick are only getting better, I think it’s safe to conclude that — at this moment — Tom Brady is not one of the league’s five best pivots. This is straight tard talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusher Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady with Peyton's receivers would be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady's not what he once was, but he's still top 4. Difference is, you can now easily make the argument that he's at the bottom of that list - 1. Manning, 2. Rodgers, 3. Brees, 4. Brady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady with Peyton's receivers would be interesting. We saw him with Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Still didn't win him a title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady with Peyton's receivers would be interesting. Yeah, Brady was working to straight doodoo last season. Didnt the Pats lead the league in drops or something like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady with Peyton's receivers would be interesting. Yeah, Brady was working to straight doodoo last season. Didnt the Pats lead the league in drops or something like that? We've seen him with even better receivers, closer to his prime and he put up great numbers (albeit less impressive than what Manning did last year) and then he sh*t the bed in the Super Bowl and only put up 14 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachEY Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 If I'm reading this correctly, the pig is ripe for the slaughter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 If I'm reading this correctly, the pig is ripe for the slaughter? Nah, not enough font size changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RutgersJetFan Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 they probably don't draft Jimmy G if Brady was still awesome I've given up trying to figure out why Belichick drafts the prospects he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Still a top QB- last year his targets were sub par. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetlife33 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Top 5 for sure, probably towards the bottom of that top 5 now more than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 NE's receivers dropped like 7% of their passes last year. Also he didn't have one of these "true #1" guys to pad completion percentages by making circus catches on what should-be-incomplete passes (had no Megatron, AJ, Andre, Fitz, Demaryius, Marshall+Jeffrey, Dez, etc.). And you can't just count the dropped passes as completed and compare from there, because they're often drive-enders that break up a offense's (or just the QB's) rhythm. Whether he's as great as he once was - and he probably isn't - can't just be measured by stats. There wasn't a player on the team who was a reliable target over 6 yards from the LOS. Or under 6 yards, frankly. Even Edelman dropped over 5% of his passes, and it's not the same as other receivers who had a slightly higher drop percentage because of how short the Edelman pass attempts were. Vereen dropped over 10% of passes thrown his way. Frankly, for Brady to end up with the numbers he did is pretty impressive. For as much as I can't stand Brady and immensely love watching him fail, I'm just being honest. A 7th round midget college QB, who runs 3-6 yard patterns, was far and away his #1 receiver for most of the season. Brady's still a great QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusher Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 We saw him with Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Still didn't win him a title. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Killa Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 It was really obvious in our last game with them. I believe he posted less then 50% completion. That isn't vintage Tom.. granted our D played lights out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 We've seen him with even better receivers, closer to his prime and he put up great numbers (albeit less impressive than what Manning did last year) and then he sh*t the bed in the Super Bowl and only put up 14 points. How many points did Manning's team put up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 How many points did Manning's team put up? So you're saying that Wes Welker is a jinx? Got it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Simple question - who would you rather have at QB- Tom Brady or Geno Smith? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Simple question - who would you rather have at QB- Tom Brady or Geno Smith? Ummm, jeez, I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 hilarious that people don't think he is top 5. brady wins the division with a garbage supporting cast last year. all jets QBs win in similar situation is excuses about "not being able to evaluate him fairly due to lack of weapons." you plug brady onto the 2013 jets and we win 12 games easily while geno wins 3 games with the pats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kay_gee Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Brady's declined but the Patriots haven't given him much to work with either and Gronk's been injured. Give him a couple legit receivers and we'll revisit this topic. He'll still torch the Jets, though. I heart 2nd in the AFC East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sourceworx Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Simple question - who would you rather have at QB- Tom Brady or Geno Smith? That's not the point of the thread. No one is saying they wouldn't love to have him as the Jets' QB. The question is whether he's still a top 5 QB. I still think he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Simple question - who would you rather have at QB- Tom Brady or Geno Smith? This year? Next year? Two years from now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 That's not the point of the thread. No one is saying they wouldn't love to have him as the Jets' QB. The question is whether he's still a top 5 QB. I still think he is. I already stated that I think he is - especially given what he had to work with- I wanted Jif to reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 This year? Next year? Two years from now? i would take brady coming out of retirement at age 42 over geno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 i would take brady coming out of retirement at age 42 over geno. Deoends on hos Geno plays this year. I would take a middle of the road guy with a middle of the road cap hit over an over the hill guy with an enormous contract. If I could get Brady on a three year deal I'd give my right nut for it. In two years.... Depends on how close to decent geno is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Deoends on hos Geno plays this year. I would take a middle of the road guy with a middle of the road cap hit over an over the hill guy with an enormous contract. If I could get Brady on a three year deal I'd give my right nut for it. In two years.... Depends on how close to decent geno is. haha. like i have said before, i long for the day the jets have the opportunity to overpay for a franchise QB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arsis Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 haha. like i have said before, i long for the day the jets have the opportunity to overpay for a franchise QB Someone else's 42 year old franchise qb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgb Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Someone else's 42 year old franchise qb? obviously was being flippant about 42 year old brady. the fact is i'd rather have brady for 10 games than geno for 10 years. don't think geno will be a starter in the NFL after halfway through this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 remember brady with moss ? thank god they forgot, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadetree Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 He is, without a doubt, top 5. ...but Calvin pryors gonna knock him out for good!!! BRACE FOR GRAPPOLO, SUPER BOWL MVP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I already stated that I think he is - especially given what he had to work with- I wanted Jif to reply I said the author was a moron and agreed with Klacko that he's a top 5 QB. So right now, obviously i would take Brady in a heartbeat. Brady with the upgraded weapons and Rex? We would be talking a home playoff game if not more. But I think Geno has some talent and I'm excited to see what he can do a year into the system with some new targets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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