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NFL.com Asks Is Tom Brady The Greatest Quarterback Ever?

BOSTON (CBS) -- Around New England, it might not take a whole lot of convincing to argue that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play football. But when the discussion reaches the national level, you know the argument becomes a bit more valid.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network took a look at the career of Brady, in a story titled, simply, "The greatest quarterback ever?"

Breer writes: "Four quarterbacks have won multiple Super Bowl MVPs. Four have won three Super Bowls. Two have made five Super Bowl starts. Eight have won multiple regular-season MVPs. Seven have averaged 300 yards passing per game over a season. Seven have thrown 40 touchdown passes in a season.

"But the kid from San Mateo is the only one to make every one of those lists."

As expected, Brady didn't spend too much time even thinking about such a concept when asked about it. Instead, Brady said he's more focused on his past, when he was doubted in high school and college before being the seventh quarterback drafted in 2000.

"You always have to have that lack of self-confidence that you need to build on," Brady told Breer. "I guess it's because I feel the same way I've always felt, I feel like I have to come out here and earn a position like everyone else. I try to be the best quarterback on this team, the best quarterback I can be. I don't think about the future, the past."

While Brady may not have been willing to proclaim himself the best there ever was, Patriots owner Robert Kraft sure was.

"I think that Tommy, with all due respect, is better than Joe Montana," Kraft said in the story. "I know that's a leap, but I really think he might already be the best of all time. I watch how involved he is, how driven he is."

Brady, however, seems to believe he'll need to win more Super Bowls to feel as though he's qualified to be in that discussion.

"I've told him I think he's the best of all time," Aaron Shea, his tight end at Michigan, said in the story. "He'll always say, 'I gotta get a couple more.'"

Patriots fans may already believe Brady is the best of all time, but they sure wouldn't mind seeing that.

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