Former NFL coach Tony Dungy says that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the sixth-best quarterback since 1978.
If you’re a New England Patriots fan, you already think Tom Brady is the best quarterback of all time. However, former NFL coach Tony Dungy doesn’t think so.
Dungy was part of a 10-member panel that ESPN formed by Mike Sando to rank the best quarterbacks of the modern era (1978). Brady was ranked number one overall and was either first or second on nine ballots. The Patriots quarterback had a GOAT Index of 86.7 percent.
Dungy apparently approached the project as if he was a defensive coordinator who was drawing up a game plan. He didn’t even have Brady in his top three quaterbacks. His top three were John Elway, Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers. The former coach ranked the Patriots quarterback as the sixth best quarterback since 1978.
“It can be tough to separate the great quarterback from the great coach. We have seen this in every era: Otto Graham and Paul Brown, Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi, Johnny Unitas and Don Shula/Weeb Ewbank, Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll, Joe Montana/Steve Young and Bill Walsh,” Dungy said. “I don’t think Bill Belichick would be Bill Belichick without Tom Brady, and Brady would not have the same success without Belichick and the way they have put that team together. But the one common thread through 15 years was Brady. When they had him, they won big — won championships. The quarterback has so much to do with it.”
Last season Brady threw for 3,554 yards with 28 touchdowns and two interceptions and won his fifth Super Bowl title. While the question of is Brady really the best quarterback of all-time is debatable, one thing that is for sure is that Brady will be trying to prove to Dungy that he is the best quarterback of all-time this season.
Jealousy and envy rears its ugly head. Brady has five rings and four SB MVP's and Oprah says there are five better QB's? "More difficult to defend" is a laughable differentiation.