NFL's Best QBs - Tom Brady is Tom Terrific

By Dean Michaels, NFL Writer

Tom Brady

Last season, Pro Bowl quarterback TOM BRADY guided the New England Patriots to an AFCbest 13-3 record and passed for 5,235 yards, becoming one of four players in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards in a single season. Brady also recorded 39 touchdown passes in 2011 (50 in 2007) and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (48, 1984; 44, 1986) as the only players in NFL history with multiple seasons with at least 39 touchdown passes.

"The game is not hard to him," says Baltimore Ravens All-Star linebacker RAY LEWIS. "It's like 'The Matrix,' where it slows down. It's poetry when you see it from that angle. It's a chess match, because he understands every coverage, he understands every defense. And if you give it away too early, then the game is like checkers for him."

Brady, who is one of six quarterbacks in NFL history with 300 career touchdown passes, enters his 13th season with the same passion as when he arrived in the league as a sixth-round selection in the 2000 NFL Draft.

"It's the best job in the world as far as I'm concerned," says Brady. "I don't think there's anything I'd rather do. I probably have more fun now than I've ever had out there, just because you don't take a day for granted. You get a chance to go out and play football and you look forward to those moments of competition. I don't enjoy boredom and this is certainly not boring."

Most Career TD Passes

Brett Favre 508

Dan Marino 420

Peyton Manning 399

Fran Tarkenton 342

Tom Brady 300

John Elway 300

The two-time NFL MVP has a 124-35 (.780) career regular-season record, the best winning percentage of any NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl era with at least 100 starts. Brady's 124 career regular season wins are tied for the fifth-most among starting quarterbacks in NFL history.

"Tom works extremely hard, he is very coachable, and what you tell him to do, he works very hard on," says Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK who has combined with Brady for the most regular-season wins (124) by a quarterback-head coach duo in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). "He's never satisfied on where he's at, what he's done or how he's playing. He always finds ways to work on things to make him a better player through better preparation and being more knowledgeable about what we are doing, what our opponents are doing and situation football."

The quarterbacks with the best regular-season record in the Super Bowl era (minimum 100 starts) and the most regular-season wins as a starter in NFL history:

Best Win Pct. in Super Bowl Era

Tom Brady 124-35-0 .780

Roger Staubach 85-29-0 .746

Joe Montana 117-47-0 .713 Ben Roethlisberger 80-33-0 .708

Peyton Manning 141-67-0 .678

Most Career Wins as Starter

Brett Favre 186-112-0 .624

John Elway 148-82-1 .643

Dan Marino 147-93-0 .613

Peyton Manning 141-67-0 .678

Tom Brady 124-35-0 .780

Fran Tarkenton 124-109-6 .531