Don't get your panties in a bunch quite yet. I am not saying Brady isn't a great QB. I am not even saying he isn't elite. Hell, I am not even saying Brady isn't the GOAT.... yet. I am only stating that if you use his Superbowl Rings as a credible statistic to point out how great he is, you simply don't understand the game of Football.
Let's break down the NFL pass. A QB needs to take a snap from center, drop back and survey the field. He has to find an open receiver and throw the ball to that open receiver. Then that open receiver needs to actually catch it. Simple enough right? Most of us have done that same thing playing football in the yard with friends. Now let's break down what call can go wrong to stop that from being a successfully completed pass.
If just one of the five offensive linemen in front of the QB misses his assignment, it is likely the play will not succeed.
If a receiver doesn't get open, the QB wont have anyone to throw the ball too.
If the receiver does get open, the QB needs to make an accurate throw and assuming he does that, the WR will still need to catch the ball.
What about the receivers? If they want to succeed, they need to get away from the guy covering them, the quarterback needs to throw the ball accurately enough for the receiver to reach it. Then he still needs to actually catch the ball.
How about the running back? If the offensive line doesn't open a hole, it makes his ob nearly impossible. If the passing game isn't working, it makes it too easy for the defense to focus on the RB and stop him from getting anywhere.
Let's say that all of the players do their jobs correctly, but the offensive coordinator has designed bad plays or calls bad plays. The offense will likely not be successful still. In 2017, Jim Bob Cooter for the Lions called run plays from formations with 2 or fewer receivers lined up wide of the line. He called pass plays with three or more receivers lined up wide. He did this at an average of around 85% of the plays and one game it hit 91%.
Let's put it this way. Let's pretend the Eagles were to tip off more than 80% of their running plays and their passing plays simply by what formation they lined up in. Do you think they would have won the Superbowl still? If they did this all year, how many games would they win? Would they lose more games because their talent was worse? Nope! They would lose more games because tipping off the plays makes it nearly impossible for an offense to be successful.
Now this so far has been showing how dependent the offense is on every player doing their job for it to be successful. Including the coordinator. If they don't do a good job as a unit, they will not score many points, and they will lose a lot of games. And that is just the offense. I don't even need to get in deep about the defense. Even if the offense plays well and scores 45 points, the team still will not win games if the defense gives up 50 points.
If the cornerbacks don't cover their guys. If they don't tackle well. If Linebackers don't cover, tackle or fill the run lanes. If the linemen don't close off run lanes or put any pressure on the opposing QBs.
To win games, most of this needs to be played well. To beat the good teams in the NFL, you need all of these things to do well. It doesn't matter if the best QB ever to step on the field is playing, if he doesn't get the help he needs, he will not be successful. If the entire team doesn't do well, they will not win.
The NFL is not the NBA. One player cannot pick up a bad team and carry them on his back to reach the Superbowl. This is real NFL football. Not a Disney Movie! Superbowls have practically nothing to do with how good any single player is and they have everything to do with how good the entire team is.
A good example of this is Tom Brady and Arron Rodgers. IF you include the Rings, then obviously Brady is the best ever, but the numbers say otherwise.
Since it can really make a difference on how much preparation a QB gets in the week before a game, I looked up statistics for the two QBs using specific data. I only included games where the player started and attempted at least 15 passes. At this point of his career, Aaron Rodgers has 139 games under his belt. So I went back and got Brady's first 139 games as well and matched them up.
Other than wins, Rodgers is better than Brady in every single category. With 184 more attempts, Rodgers has 3,842 more yards. Averages more than half a yard more per play. 57 more passing TDs and 18 more rushing TDs for a total of 75 more scores. Meanwhile he threw 26 fewer interceptions. And he did this while getting sacked 108 more times. God knows how many more times he was hit and hurried.
The simple fact is, there is no comparison between these two quarterbacks. Rodgers has not only out performed Brady, he destroys Brady when you compare their stats as fairly as possible. But Brady has the Superbowl ring for each finger on his hand for one reason alone. He has been on a much better team.
Looking at Superbowl rings to judge how good a single player is, does not do anything other than show the world you don't understand football. Because you obviously cant tell the difference between a team stat and a player's stat. Do yourself a favor. Don't be that guy! Instead, be the guy who when someone uses rings or wins and losses as a QB stat, you need to send them a link to this article then sit back and shake your head knowingly.
Ok, now I am saying Brady isn't the GOAT.
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