Tom Brady: The League's Biggest Draft Blunder

[Roman529]

Would Brady be a great QB if he was drafted by Cleveland, or some other crappy team, and not have Belichick and a great defense which got him 3 rings??? Brady was in the right place at the right time, was lucky Drew Bledsoe got hurt....was lucky the Tuck Rule went his way. I know it was not all luck but a lot it was just good timing.

What if Dan Marino had gotten drafted by the Steelers with their great defenses? Maybe he would have won multiple SB's? Lots of what ifs. To me greatness is often about timing and being in the right place.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Would Brady be a great QB if he was drafted by Cleveland, or some other crappy team, and not have Belichick and a great defense which got him 3 rings??? Brady was in the right place at the right time, was lucky Drew Bledsoe got hurt....was lucky the Tuck Rule went his way. I know it was not all luck but a lot it was just good timing.

What if Dan Marino had gotten drafted by the Steelers with their great defenses? Maybe he would have won multiple SB's? Lots of what ifs. To me greatness is often about timing and being in the right place.

Obviously you didn't watch Tom Brady play in college. Nor did you bother to watch the videos.

The entire point of the thread was to illustrate for those who didn't already know, just how good of a QB prospect Tom Brady was before any of that "luck" ever happened. Whether he would've been good in Cleveland or whether Marino would've been good in Pittsburgh has nothing to do with anything. You'll never know any of that.

What we do know is how good of a quarterback Tom Brady was before he very mistakenly fell to the 6th round. It was all there in front of the league and anybody who watched him to begin with. He wasn't a 6th round quarterback prospect coming out of Michigan.

The rings didn't make him a great quarterback. He was already a great one. That's why he got the rings. His extremely advanced pocket mechanics, techniques, decision making, accuracy, and off the charts clutch ability to win is precisely what translated best to the next level in 1999. That's why he's statistically in the top 5 of every major passing category in NFL history with or without the rings. He's the same quarterback whether has 5 rings, 3 rings, or no rings.

I'll bet high that Belichek and that defense weren't winning 3 superbowls and going to 5 of 'em without Tom Brady.

Brady isn't lucky Drew Bledsoe got hurt. Bill Belichek and the Patriots are lucky Drew Bledsoe got hurt.

 

[Roman529]

Tom Brady was a different story. He set several Michigan school passing records despite only starting for what amounts to almost 2 years, and having to split time with Drew Henson. The reason Tom Brady fell to the 6th round was largely attributed to the way Lloyd Carr handled his QB situation. Brady did everything from a tangible quarterback perspective virtually textbook. It was all the little things and fine details of the position that he had already mastered. From an intangible perspective, he was one of the most clutch quarterbacks that has ever played college football. Week after week, game after game, 4th quarter comeback after 4th quarter quarterback.... he made it undeniable.

I watched him nearly lead Michigan to another come from behind win vs. Nick Saban's undefeated Michigan St. team in 1999. Michigan St. won the game due in large part to an amazing performance by Plaxico Burress' 255 yard outburst on offense, and Saban's complex schemes having Drew Henson's head spinning.

Yeah but you have to realize that Tom Brady was NOTHING at Michigan until his Senior season. Direct quote from Wiki:
1995-1998
Tom Brady attended the University of Michigan from 1995 through 1999. In the first three years (95-97) at Michigan he only played a limited role of backup quarterback (he began in 1995 as the seventh quarterback on the Michigan depth chart[3]). However in 1998 (his senior season), Brady received the starting quarterback job for the Wolverines and played in and started all 13 games. His stats were a decent 214 completed passes on 350 attempts (school record) for 2636 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions[4]

Tom had a good senior season and found himself in the right place at the right time, being drafted by the Pats and coming in when Bledsoe got hurt. If Bledsoe didn't get hurt in 2001, there is no Tuck Rule comeback win and instead of having THREE SB rings, he maybe has one ring or no rings. Some guys just don't get the opportunity. Look at Steve Young when he came out of BYU. He ended up in the USFL, and then went to a crappy Tampa Bay Bucaneer's team with no talent. Then he gets traded to the 49ers, where he was stuck behind Joe Montana for years. I don't think he started for the Niners until the early Niners. He eventually had a chance to start for a great team and made the most of things.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Yeah but you have to realize that Tom Brady was NOTHING at Michigan until his Senior season. Direct quote from Wiki:
1995-1998
Tom Brady attended the University of Michigan from 1995 through 1999. In the first three years (95-97) at Michigan he only played a limited role of backup quarterback (he began in 1995 as the seventh quarterback on the Michigan depth chart[3]). However in 1998 (his senior season), Brady received the starting quarterback job for the Wolverines and played in and started all 13 games. His stats were a decent 214 completed passes on 350 attempts (school record) for 2636 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions[4]

Tom had a good senior season and found himself in the right place at the right time, being drafted by the Pats and coming in when Bledsoe got hurt. If Bledsoe didn't get hurt in 2001, there is no Tuck Rule comeback win and instead of having THREE SB rings, he maybe has one ring or no rings. Some guys just don't get the opportunity. Look at Steve Young when he came out of BYU. He ended up in the USFL, and then went to a crappy Tampa Bay Bucaneer's team with no talent. Then he gets traded to the 49ers, where he was stuck behind Joe Montana for years. I don't think he started for the Niners until the early Niners. He eventually had a chance to start for a great team and made the most of things.

You're looking at paragraphs on Wiki. I'm asking you to actually watch Tom Brady play at Michigan. This was meant to be a learning tool, but it's not possible if one isn't willing to.

Those Wiki paragraphs aren't going to teach anyone anything. Nor does it give an accurate description of what the scenario was at Michigan.

Lloyd Carr completely mishandled the QB situation while Brady was there. They kept trying to stick Drew Henson in there and all he did was put Michigan behind in games. They'd finally stick Tom Brady in there down by double digits and he'd lead them to a comeback win or very nearly a comeback win every single time. I know because I watched it.

Henson dig the hole... Brady dig them out of it. Rinse. Repeat.

Until his Senior season when he was allowed to be the man. He led Michigan to a #5 ranking and a win over Alabama in the Orange Bowl where he led Michigan back from 14 point deficits twice. Him and Shaun Alexander were the two best players in the stadium that night, and it's no wonder they both went on to win MVP Awards and set single season records for TD's in the NFL. Brady was that good in college.

Refer back to my post #22 on page 3 of this thread. We've already had this discussion to be honest. Wiki paragraphs don't tell you why things were what they were. I've provided the videos of actual games. We can't have a discussion unless you actually see what was going on.