On Sunday night the New England Patriots punched their ticket to their 7th Super Bowl in the Belichick-Brady era. However, the talk of the past week was on a different quarterback, one who only has one Super Bowl under his belt. ESPN analysts spent the last week doing what they do best; trying to argue why Tom Brady is not the greatest of the all time. Guys like Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith spent the week trying to get ratings up for their show, which is now aired on ESPN by making claims Aaron Rodgers is the greatest quarterback of all time. Dan Le Batard, who spends more time on his show debating the newest Baywatch movie than actual sports topics, was another rating-craving analyst who tried to somehow debate that Rodgers is the greatest. However, this is why it was such a joy to watch the games Sunday. We watched the supposed “greatest of his era” Aaron Rodgers get blown away by a less than average defense in the Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, Tom Brady racked up over 350 yards and three touchdowns in one of his best playoff performances in his career. Since 2001 Tom has been proving doubters wrong, unlike Aaron Rodgers who has done everything he could in the past five years to choke away his playoff dreams.
So my question is: what makes these analysts really think Aaron Rodgers is better? Tom Brady has is on his way to his 7th Super Bowl, with a chance for a 5th ring, while Rodgers has been to one single Super Bowl. Brady has broke almost every record in the book of quarterbacks while Rodgers is still stuck behind guys like Elway, Montana and Manning. Besides Randy Moss from 2007-2009 and the small number of seasons Gronk has been healthy, Brady has not had much talent to work with in his receiving core. Rodgers however, has had Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson only to name some of his lethal targets.
Brady also has NEVER went into a championship game and get absolutely blown out by a team he should have beaten. The Patriots have lost, but they have never been blown out like Aaron Rodgers did on Sunday. In week 4 of the 2014 season, the Patriots got blown out by the Chiefs 42-14 and it seemed the sky was falling in New England. Rodgers gets blown out in the NFC championship, and it is just considered another bad game for him. People also seem to forget that before Sunday there were 2 teams that were undefeated after Week 11 of the regular season. One was the Packers, who finished with 8 straight wins before the blowout loss yesterday. Everyone knew and everyone was talking abut the great run they had. The other was Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They managed to win 9 straight before the win yesterday making it 10 straight, but it seems no one is talking about it. This is because it is expected for Tom to win.
It seems crazy that this is still even an argument. Tom Brady is the greatest and it is not close. Last night solidified Tom’s dominance over the league, and showed Rodgers still just isn't there yet. After this, there should be no arguments from rating-craving ESPN guys who want a bigger audience. Tom Brady is the best, and it will take more than Aaron Rodgers to dethrone him.
