Asterisks.
Asterisks are asterisks.
How many Brady/Patriot records should have asterisks?
Not denying his obvious talent - but should all of those Super Bowl wins count? Not without asterisks as to how the Pats and Brady got there.
And aside from thr rings, looking at the body of work, slicing and dicing it down to specifics, there should be asterisks. Even when you look at one phase, those "miraculous comebacks," how many were achieved because, starting in the middle of the third quarter, there were no holding calls against a Patriot O line that held, and gave Brady enough time to eat a sandwich, standing there like a statue with motionless feet, never resetting, waiting for a receiver to get open? That happeded game after game for years, and the compiled stat totals from those games should have asterisks.
Even the rules, and referee's calls within the game, favored him. Asterisks. He got flags because he called for them, not because the ref thought somebody brushing against him and Tommy's flop deserved a flag. Drives were extended. Scores and stat lines continued to mount up. All deserve asterisks.
The league had a revenue generator to promote in their darling team of the era, the Patriots, and a key player whose obvious talents were central to the draw in Brady. And they realized that when he got roughed up, as both Purdy and Mahomes were yesterday, his poise evaporated. Left to stand upright, and given protection that defied credulity in key parts of the game, he could read a defense with steely eyes, find a receiver he had practiced with to perfection, make a picture-perfect quick-release of a tight spiral throw to any part of the field and do it with accuracy.
I think I give him his due - I also recognize his Achilles' heel, and the slanted circumstances he played under. Combined, his athletic talent is not to be denied; neither are the factors that compromise his reputation and place in NFL history, if the whole picture is looked at objectively.
You asked - and that's my best answer for now. Nothing personal, just support for my considered position regarding Tom Brady.
