Bill Belichick: Tom Brady is the 'greatest quarterback of all time'
Tom Brady may have some doubts about where he stacks up in the pantheon of otherworldly quarterbacks, but for his coach there is no uncertainty.
By
Ryan Wilson
•
2 min read
Tom Brady may have some doubts about where he stacks up in the pantheon of otherworldly quarterbacks, but for his coach there is no uncertainty. Speaking Thursday at the 2016 Salesforce World Tour, Bill Belichick called Brady "greatest quarterback of all time," according to ESPN.com's Mike Reiss.
Brady and Belichick have been together since the Patriots selected the former Michigan quarterback in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft (you may have heard something about that). Brady won the starting job in 2001, and now, 15 years after that, Brady's list of accomplishments -- four Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, 11 Pro Bowls, more than 58,000 passing yards, 428 touchdown passes, so on and so forth -- makes him a no-brainer first-ballot Hall of Famer.
It also makes him one of the best ever, according to Belichick.
"He's been just a tremendous leader and tremendous player for our organization," the coach said, before answering a question about how the Patriots are annually one of the NFL's most competitive teams. (Since Brady and Belichick teamed up in 2001, the team has one at least 10 games 14 times, never had a losing season, and made the playoffs on all but two occasions.)
"One of the things we've tried to do is be an outlier in some respects. ... We've had to find different ways to capitalize on the talent that's available," Belichick explained. "Otherwise, we're going to get like the fifth-, sixth-, seventh-best guy at whatever the position is. So we've tried to take more of our way in areas that are less populated."
Belichick also spoke of having "great players," great leadership from owner Robert Kraft, and a commitment to a common goal: A lot of winning.
"If you like football, and you like to come in and work on football, then the New England Patriots is a great place to be," Belichick said. "If you don't, if it's a job, if you'd rather be doing something else, honestly you'd be better off with another team.
"I think it starts there -- a love of the game, the passion for the game, a passion to be part of a team, be part of a group, be part of a commitment to perform at a high level, and be unselfish and to give up some of your own personal goals and desires for the good of the team for the opportunity to be part of something special in a team environment. I think those are the things that help us."
In case you're keeping score, Brady said earlier this year that he doesn't belong in the conversation of all-time greats. And a September 2015 poll of NFL general managers, vice presidents, directors of player personnel and pro scouting directors had Brady as the third-best active quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck (though we imagine some of them would like to vote again).
