It Seems Official Tom Brady Retires

[demcj]

if it's fake, it sure is detailed. 

the actual instagram post is several pages long, and thanks a whole slew of people. the language is too tom brady-esque to not be real.

[Wanderlai]

As Bret Hart said....He is the best is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be! 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Wanderlai

[KatsAzz]

Tom Brady retires as the player with the most Super Bowls in NFL history and an assured spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as soon as he's eligible for enshrinement in five years.

Brady also leaves the NFL unlike many older players — his play didn't drop off as he aged. Brady was 485-of-719 passing for 5,319 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2021. He led the NFL in completions, attempts, yards and TDs this season and will likely finish in the top two of NFL MVP voting with Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. If Brady wins the MVP award, he’ll finish his career as a four-time MVP. Brady is currently tied with Rodgers, Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas at three. Only Peyton Manning (5) has more MVPs.

Brady retires as the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, quarterback wins in both the regular and postseason, Super Bowl appearances (10) and Super Bowl victories (7). 

[KillerKat]

Tired of all the media outlets calling him the undisputed best and not even a question. Yes there is. No one mentions Spygate and realizes how great it is to know the defensive signals of the other teams your facing. At least his first 3 SBs, maybe even 4, are tainted with Spygate. Also considering how QB friendly the league became, and he even had a rule made up from him because the refs screwed up so bad when they played the Raiders, I don't consider him the best. Top 2 or 3, yeah, but Montana is still #1 to me. 

[demcj]

40 minutes ago, KillerKat said:

Tired of all the media outlets calling him the undisputed best and not even a question. Yes there is. No one mentions Spygate and realizes how great it is to know the defensive signals of the other teams your facing. At least his first 3 SBs, maybe even 4, are tainted with Spygate. Also considering how QB friendly the league became, and he even had a rule made up from him because the refs screwed up so bad when they played the Raiders, I don't consider him the best. Top 2 or 3, yeah, but Montana is still #1 to me. 

people are going to dismiss it because of his success after leaving new england. if he had fallen flat on his face in tampa bay, the narrative would be exactly what you posted.

[Sgt Schultz]

44 minutes ago, KillerKat said:

Tired of all the media outlets calling him the undisputed best and not even a question. Yes there is. No one mentions Spygate and realizes how great it is to know the defensive signals of the other teams your facing. At least his first 3 SBs, maybe even 4, are tainted with Spygate. Also considering how QB friendly the league became, and he even had a rule made up from him because the refs screwed up so bad when they played the Raiders, I don't consider him the best. Top 2 or 3, yeah, but Montana is still #1 to me. 

FWIW, Montana is still #1 in my mind, too.  The sample size is so different comparing them is difficult, but Montana always was at his best in Super Bowls.  He threw 11 TDs, 0 interceptions, and had an average rating of around 122.5 in his four games.

Brady was very pedestrian in two games against the Giants and the last Pats game against the Rams.  He was great "down the stretch" in the first Rams game and against the Falcons.  He had a Jekyll and Hyde game against the Seahawks.  His teams were 7-3 in Super Bowls, but had two OCs not outsmarted themselves in the dying minutes/seconds, that would be 5-5.  Those two games are not on him, but it does offer some perspective.  He was the MVP in both of those games, I believe, and would almost certainly not have been had the Seahawks handed the ball to Lynch one more time and the Falcons turned a 1st and 10 on the Pats 22 with 4:00 left into a FG rather than a punt.

I'm not bashing Brady, he is on the short list of SB great performers.  But it is not as cut and dried as the media likes to make it.

His announcement completely validates what those closest to him were saying, both in the decision and in the timing.  I'm sure he has a well-deserved date coming in Foxborough prior to some game next season.  He was a 6th round draft pick who very easily could have had a short career as a backup, but when he got his shot, he made the most of it.  While I got tired of him being force-fed on us and his  whining during games whenever a defender got within 5-feet of him, he leaves behind quite a legacy.

[X-Clown]

[jasonluckydog]

Dude got lucky a few games, I doubt he'll make it to Canton  

[t96]

1 hour ago, demcj said:

people are going to dismiss it because of his success after leaving new england. if he had fallen flat on his face in tampa bay, the narrative would be exactly what you posted.

He pulled a LeBron James and went to the most stacked team out there. Yes they were 7-9 the year before he got there but they had a ton of cap space and high draft picks and their D was stacked as well as their OL and weapons. Most favorable situation imaginable for a QB to just step into. Plus Arians gets a lot of poo but he had success in Indy and Arizona so it's not like he's some total scrub HC. Brady didn't even play all that well in the playoffs the year the Bucs won. Got lucky to play a losing record Washington team, Brees meltdown, Packers game he threw 3 terrible INTs and their D carried them in the SB against Mahomes with no OL due to injuries. 

 

Is Brady one of the top QBs to play the game? Yes, for sure. Is he better than guys like Rodgers, Manning, Montana, Marino, even Mahomes so far? Nope. Super Bowl wins are team accomplishments, not individual.