Tom Brady is Overrated!!!

That's right, I said it. And I will repeat it again: Tom Brady is overrated. There's a reason why the Patriots drafted him in the sixth round as the 199th pick in 2000. The reason is because he's not that good.

If you look at his gawdy numbers, you will probably think I am the crazy or just stupid. He has a 131.8 passer rating with 33 TDs and 4 Ints for crying out loud. But that's what you see on the surface. What people fail to realize is that he has this generation's greatest tactition calling the shots for him. Let's face it, Bill Belichick made Tom Brady.

Until this season, the Patriots won games and championships with their defense and overall team play. They are very well coached, have had one of the best offensive lines in the game for a while now and play very solid, fundamental football. Belichick has a knack of surprising his opponent with a game plan they would have never expected. One game he runs the no-huddle for 60 minutes and the next game he passes 75% of the time. You never know what to expect against the Patriots because of Belichick.

Before this season Brady has never passed for more than 28 TDs in a season and only passed for more than 3,800 yards once. His passer rating is very solid, but is that a reflection on him or a reflection on the game plan? The secret is Belichick's refusal to put Brady in a situation he can't handle or ask him to do something he can't do with confidence. Brady throws a lot of short passes and safe throws because that's what he's good at. He can throw the ball down field with some effectiveness but that's only after he gets in a rhythm. But ask him to make those tough throws into traffic or squeeze a ball into a spot. He can't do it, not with any consistency at least.

When you look at other QBs, Brady is among the best in the game. But after listening to sportstalk radio and watching ESPN, you'll hear them annoint Brady as the next Montana and call him one of the best ever. I think you can probably find a few QBs that are better from a fundamental standpoint. Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger come to mind quickly as guys who have better skills than Brady. The difference between them and Brady is that Brady has Belichick and the rest don't.

I've never said that Brady wasn't a good QB, I'm just saying that he's overrated. If you put Brady on the Arizona Cardinals, do you think he will be the same guy? No way. If Belichick left the Patriots, Brady would become a very ordinary player.

Tom Brady will go to the Hall of Fame someday as a QB who won a bunch of Super Bowls and rightfully so. He has the innate ability to rise to the occassion and make a play when he has to. The only other guy in football history who had that talent was Montana so from that angle, the comparisons are very fair. But if you're going to compare the two from a talent and ability standpoint, Brady doesn't even belong in the conversation.