NFL Coaches & GMs Voted Tom Brady A "Tier 1" QB Because They Actually Know What They're Talking About
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- I'm not usually much of a stickler for player rankings. Occasionally I'll get way too upset for a minute about trolls like Chris Simms spewing nonsense, especially if it's about Tom Brady or the Patriots. Because you just know there are tons of entry-level jesters like Simms who either don't know what they're talking about or simply lay out the bait for people like me to gobble up on impulse.
Fortunately, there are people out there who rank players and do know what they're talking about, and in the case of ESPN's new Quarterback Tier rankings, it doesn't get higher on the totem pole. Senior writer Mike Sando polled 42 "league insiders," including 10 general managers, five head coaches, 12 coordinators, and 15 listed as either "personnel evaluators" or "other position coaches/executives." As far as football opinions, why listen to some vapid gum-flapper with no actual stake in the games when you can get it from the guys who actually put teams together? Those are the people I would listen to, anyway. These are the rankings worth sharing and discussing.
Those polled were asked to organize 33 quarterbacks into tiers, the highest of which described as "Can carry his team each week. Team wins because of him." Only an unscrupulous troll or feeble-minded houseplant would rank Brady anywhere below that first tier, so naturally, they put Brady up there along with Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger. This is the second straight year with Brady at the top, because again, these guys actually know what they're talking about.
Rodgers, Brady, and Roethlisberger, to me, are still the top-three quarterbacks in the league if you forced me to make my own rankings. Brady is still way up there, even at age 39, and I probably don't need to tell you that - but much of the country apparently, sadly, does. Don't take it from me, though, take it from one GM who said: "Yeah, he is pretty old, but does he look old to you when he plays? ... He is in complete and utter control of everything, and that is a 1 to me. And he can still throw the hell out of the ball. When he starts throwing like Peyton Manning threw last season, then I'll say, 'Well, he should be lower.'"
Brady may end up in the second tier, described as "Can carry team sometimes but not as consistently," but he's not there yet.
Unlike some empty vessel who stubbornly reverts to "system quarterback" arguments or continues to bludgeon you with cheating accusations, these guys know what they're looking at, and in Brady they still see an elite signal-caller who has shown minimal (if any) physical decline. It's uncanny for a QB Brady's age, but when that decline comes they will say it. The real decline hasn't happened yet.
Rankings, tiers, and "Is [insert good QB's name] top-five?" talking points are the epitome of contrived sports-talk arguments, the richest well of hot takes you could ever draw from in your quest to set sports discourse back a decade or three. Brady and the Patriots are a frequent victim of such mud-slinging, because frankly, they are an easy target in terms of drawing strong reactions from both sides of the equation. But as far as this particular poll, the only guys who took part are people whose opinions about football are actually worth a damn. Who better to ask how great Brady, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, etc. really are than the guys who actually have to gameplan for them and pore over hours of film of them tearing defenses apart limb from limb?
You don't have to value my opinion on football if you don't want to, but I would hope that you value the opinion of 42 NFL coaches, executives, and personnel people. Still, I will ask you this and it's the only thing I'm requesting that you actually think hard about: If Brady isn't really that great, then why don't you hear that from his peers? Why have so many coaches, execs, and opposing players heaped praise on the work of Brady and the Patriots over the past 15 seasons?
You don't normally hear polls like these denigrated by those who wish to deny the greatness of Brady, or perhaps any other elite QB that gives the pits of their stomachs a workout. If they are dismissed or discredited, that's just an easy way to spot the people who don't know what they're looking at when they watch a football game. If you're willing to put your insecurities and personal feelings aside, you can appreciate the insight from people who do.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
