Mike Nadel: Boot or no boot, Brady walks among elite
He's successful, rich, famous and handsome. He's the practically perfect quarterback for the greatest team in NFL history. And he's every supermodel's dream squeeze. Ah, to be Tom Brady, even in a walking boot cast.
Brady & His Boot -- photographed by paparazzi as the Patriots megastar hobbled into gal pal Gisele Bundchen's New York pad -- is the first BIG STORY to emerge during the yawning gap between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.
Does the injury explain Brady's uncharacteristic inaccuracy in Sunday's AFC title game? Will he be OK when New England tries to complete an unbeaten season against the New York Giants? (A bootless Brady was wearing two stylish shoes in a photo snapped later Monday.)
If Brady promised to play the entire game hopping on his healthy left foot, would the Pats be favored by only one touchdown instead of two? If I hurt my foot, could I also report to Gisele for physical therapy?
In the grand scheme of things, perhaps those questions aren't as big as, say, "Is Barack Obama blacker than Bill Clinton?" But to fans of both teams, gamblers and walking-boot suppliers everywhere, they're pretty huge.
And now another question of note:
If Tom Brady caps the finest season ever for a quarterback by winning his fourth Super Bowl in seven years, will he leap to No. 1 on the list of all-time great QBs?
Because different eras, styles, teammates and other variables make it impossible to let stats be the end-all -- does any practical person really rank Ken Anderson at No. 7, as one statistical analysis I read did? -- much came down to championships won, intangibles and my "feel" based on decades as a football observer.
My Not Quite Top 10, in alphabetical order: Troy Aikman, Sammy Baugh, Dan Fouts, Otto Graham, Bob Griese, Sonny Jurgensen, Jim Kelly, Bart Starr, Norm Van Brocklin, Steve Young. One could argue for the inclusion of any of them -- especially Starr and Graham -- in my top-10 countdown. And as is usually the case in these debates, there is no right or wrong. (Note: This being my column, I'm right.)
10. ROGER STAUBACH. One of my favorites growing up, even though I wasn't a Cowboys fan. He could win with his arm, feet and brains, and he played a starring role in Dallas becoming "America's Team" in the 1970s.
9. FRAN TARKENTON. The first of the great scramblers, he is hurt by his Super Bowl showing: 0-for-3, with Minnesota averaging only nine points. Still, his impressive numbers and innovative style merit a high ranking.
8. PEYTON MANNING. After finally winning a Super Bowl last season, some lobbied for him to be considered among the top three in history. Manning might get there one day, but he needs more excellent seasons and another title or two.
7. TERRY BRADSHAW. He went 4-for-4 in Super Bowls, winning twice as a "caretaker" QB who handed off to Franco Harris and twice as a game-changing deep passer. Gritty, charismatic and smarter than many people think.
6. DAN MARINO. Were this based on production and pure passing ability, he'd be ranked several spots higher. But it's impossible to ignore that he played in only one Super Bowl in 17 years (and lost it handily to Joe Montana's 49ers).
5. JOHN ELWAY. Though his legacy was secure even before he finished his career with two Super Bowl victories, those triumphs vaulted him into the top five. No QB before or since possessed his unique combination of arm strength, running ability and knack for turning defeat into victory.
4. BRETT FAVRE. Had he pulled out last Sunday's game instead of dooming Green Bay with an overtime interception and had he then gone on to win the Super Bowl, he might have moved all the way to No. 1. As it is, Favre's body of work, combined with his impossible consecutive-starts streak and his irrepressible love of football, make him an icon.
3. JOHNNY UNITAS. I only saw him near the end of his career, but I've read the stories and seen the highlights. I also know plenty of people who insist Johnny U. was the greatest leader and winner ever. His streak of 47 games with at least one touchdown pass is ridiculous, and his style helped usher in pro football's modern era. Besides, you had to love those black high-tops!
2. JOE MONTANA. Yes, talented teammates and Bill Walsh's system boosted his stats. Then again, it was Montana's efficiency that made Walsh's offense sing. And Jerry Rice was still in college when Montana was winning his second championship. Joe Cool delivered Title No. 3 with a late 92-yard drive and put an exclamation point on his career the following season with a five-touchdown Super Bowl performance against Elway's Broncos.
1. TOM BRADY.
I know, I know ... he hasn't played long enough. And he hasn't won his fourth Super Bowl yet. And in this incredible season of his, he's been blessed with one of the great receiving corps ever assembled.
But come on! When he beats the Giants on Feb. 3 (38-17 sounds about right), he'll be 4-0 in Super Bowls and 15-2 in postseason games. And he hasn't always thrown to Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte' Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney; the offensive talent around him during his first three championship seasons wasn't exactly Hall of Fame material.
In the 2002 Super Bowl, a 24-year-old Brady -- who had gone into training camp as the third-stringer but saved New England's season after Drew Bledsoe got hurt -- drove the Patriots from their 17 to the St. Louis 30 in 83 seconds to set up the winning field goal. (Good karma for the Giants? Those Pats were 14-point underdogs to the Rams.) He had similar clutch performances in many other postseason games.
While it's tempting to dismiss Brady's candidacy for No. 1 by saying this season (50 TDs, 8 INTs, 4,806 yards) far exceeded his norm, his career numbers compare favorably to other greats. His passer rating, yards per game, TD percentage and yards per attempt are better than Montana's. He's well ahead of Unitas in rating, average yardage and completion percentage. And his interception percentage is lower than anyone on my list.
He throws a beautiful deep ball, and when teams take that away he carves them to shreds with short, quick zingers. Witness his 26-for-28, three-touchdown, zero-interception outing against Jacksonville just two weeks ago.
Finally, this is about looking ahead, too -- not only to Feb. 3 but to the next few years.
Because the durable, 30-year-old Brady is just entering his prime and has a fine team around him, it's reasonable to expect him to finish among the career leaders in most statistical categories. And would you bet against his Patriots winning five, six or seven championships? I sure wouldn't.
If you want to wait another year or three to rank him ahead of Montana and Unitas, that's fair. I, however, have seen enough -- walking boot, sexy babes, Super Bowls and all.
Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is a GateHouse News Service sports columnist. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com <http://www.thebaldesttruth.com> .