Tom Brady: Less Than Meets the Eye

After paying close attention to the New England Patriots' success this season, especially following QB Tom Brady's season-ending injury, many have begun to question his Superman status.

Entering the 2008 NFL season, Tom Brady was undoubtedly the best quarterback in the game. In fact, most experts predict that Brady will end his career as one of the top five quarterbacks of all time. And who can blame them? The guy has a resume that includes a 92.9 career passer rating, a 63% completion percentage, three Super Bowl rings, and an MVP season highlighted by a record-breaking 50 touchdown passes. But after witnessing the Patriots' success following Brady's season-ending injury, I've begun to question his Superman status.

Brady's replacement, Matt Cassel, began this season with absolutely no professional experience. In fact, the guy hadn't thrown an in-game pass since his senior year of high school. Nevertheless, his 2008 completion percentage is over 63% and his QB rating is just below 90. (Not bad for a "rookie"!) Once again, the Patriots have broken the 10-win barrier and Bill Belichick is a major candidate for Coach of the Year.So you've got to ask yourself: Is Brady one of the all time greats or just a great player who is part of an even better system?

Don't get me wrong, Brady is a topnotch NFL quarterback. He even deserves to be a first-ballot hall-of-famer. But I can't bring myself to rank him with players like Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas or Dan Marino. In fact, I would take Peyton Manning over Brady any day. I mean, here's a guy who is singlehandedly taking his team to the playoffs this year (and without the help of his coach's illegal film collection). It may sound like I'm hating on Brady, but that's not the case. I just think he's a bit overrated. -Matan Cohen, The Huddle