Tom Brady
Tom Brady is universally recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, due to his 4 Super Bowl victories, tied for the most all time, and 6 Super Bowl appearances, which put him ahead of John Elway last season for the most all time.
He began his career as a 6th-round pick in 2000, and he spent his rookie season riding the bench behind Drew Bledsoe, completing only one pass for 6 yards all season long. He took over as the starter in the third game in 2001, and has started in every game he played since.
He was a decent player in his first season, but his totals in every category turned out to be career lows. He did enough to get New England to the playoffs, and even survived the first two rounds of the playoffs somehow, without throwing a single touchdown pass on the way to the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl, he threw 145 yards and 1 touchdown, but was awarded the MVP anyway, even though Adam Vinatieri was really the reason they won.
He was a little better in his second season, even leading the league in touchdown passes with 28, but the Patriots missed the playoffs, which would be the only time in his entire career as a starter that he would fail to make the postseason.
His regular season numbers remained steady in 2003, even dropping off a little, but he led New England to a 14-2 record, then threw one touchdown in his first two playoff games, which was better than his previous postseason run, and had a great Super Bowl, throwing 354 yards and 3 touchdowns while winning his second Super Bowl MVP.
He remained a steady passer again in 2004, among the top 5 in the league, putting up nearly identical numbers while leading the Patriots to an identical 14-2 record. He threw 3 touchdowns leading up to the Super Bowl, once again slightly better than the previous year, and threw 236 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Super Bowl, which was somewhat average for a winning QB, and did not win the MVP.
He raised his numbers in 2005, leading the league with 4110 yards, but lost in the second round of the playoffs, which was the first time Brady ever lost in the postseason, which was pretty amazing after winning his first 10 games. When he dropped his numbers back down to his average in 2006, the team's playoff performance improved, but they lost in the AFC title game to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
His 2007 season was the best he ever had, and is the second-best ever recorded by a quarterback in history. He led the league with 4806 yards and a record-setting 50 touchdowns, and the Patriots became the first team to ever finish a season 16-0. They won two playoff games easily, and appeared headed to a perfect 19-0, but Brady was outplayed by Eli Manning in the Super Bowl, throwing only 266 yards and 1 touchdown as the perfect season ended one game short.
There would be no repeat in 2008, as Brady tore his ACL in the first game of the season, and the Patriots missed the playoffs as a result of losing their star. He came back very strong in 2009, posting his second-best season in both yardage and touchdowns, and was given the Comeback Player of the Year award for his amazing bounceback, though the Patriots failed to win a single playoff game for the first time with Brady at the helm.
He was even better in 2010, dropping his yardage a bit, but throwing 36 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions on the season for an amazing 9:1 TD:INT ratio. Once again, the Patriots would lose their first playoff game, leaving Brady without a playoff victory in 3 full seasons.
He had his second-best season in 2011, breaking Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record one week after Drew Brees did it, which means that he never actually held the record. He finished with 5235 yards and 39 touchdowns, then led another Super Bowl run, but it ended the same way as it did 4 years earlier, with a mediocre performance in the Super Bowl that ended in a loss to the Giants and Eli Manning. His best two seasons both ended in Super Bowl losses to New York.
He was the best QB in the league in 2012, putting together 4827 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions while taking New England to a 12-4 record. He played well in his first playoff game, but struggled against Baltimore in the AFC title game, falling short in his bid to reach a record 6th Super Bowl.
He had a significant dropoff in 2013, falling down to 4343 yards and 25 touchdowns, but the Patriots reached 12-4 again, and Brady led them back to the AFC title game, where they lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos, leaving him out of the Super Bowl again.
His 2014 season started off rough, but he rebounded nicely as the season went on, and ended up with 4109 yards and 33 touchdowns, and New England reached 12-4 for the third straight year. The playoffs that season would be the best of his entire career. He threw 3 touchdowns in each of the first two playoff games, which earned him a trip to his 6th Super Bowl. In that game he threw 328 yards and 4 touchdowns, which earned him his record-tying 3rd Super Bowl MVP.
Brady is ahead of Joe Montana for several reasons. He has played in 2 more Super Bowls than Montana, and won 4, tying him with Joe. Both won 3 Super Bowl MVP's and 2 regular season MVP's, but Brady reached more conference title games, with an NFL-record 9 to Montana's 6. He was the first QB to ever throw 50 touchdowns, and the 3rd ever to reach 5000 yards. In addition, he has been an elite quarterback for 11 full seasons, two more than Montana. Without last season, he wouldn't be ranked ahead of him, but everything that happened last season vaulted him into the #2 spot.
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