New York

Tom Brady: Title of ‘greatest ever’ takes a big hit after loss in Super Bowl

Tom Brady sits with Kobe Bryant’s dad during the 2010 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Brady’s career is now following a similar path to that of the Lakers’ star.

All the talk leading up to Super Bowl XLVI, on the Patriots’ side at least, was regarding the legacy of Tom Brady.

He was on track to be the next Joe Montana or even greater. People must now realize, however, that Montana was perfect in the Big Game. Brady is quickly becoming mediocre when it matters most.
Sure, Montana’s big-time receivers never dropped any balls in crucial situations like Brady’s have (Wes Welker, Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez all let catchable balls get away from them in big spots). And Montana had a tremendous defense on his side.

But Joe Cool never threw a pick in the Super Bowl and he always finished his last minute drives with six points.

So Brady isn’t Joe Montana. His legacy as The Greatest of All-Time may never come to fruition. In fact, it’s now doubtful. To be fair, that’s no knock.

But now we must wonder, what is Brady?

Surprisingly enough, and much to the dismay of most Boston fans, he’s Kobe Bryant in pads.

The Lakers star won three titles very early in his career and had a ton of help doing so with an in-his-prime Shaquille O’Neal leading the way. Brady, meanwhile, relied on a good-to-great defense in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and had the most clutch kicker in NFL history on his side.

But Shaq got old and was gone soon-after. Brady’s defense and kicker both got old and left soon-after.

Six years after Bryant’s third title, he fell short in the Finals against the hated Celtics. Three years and seven years after Brady’s third title, he fell short in the Super Bowl against the hated Giants.

Bryant did, however, follow up his crushing defeat with back-to-back titles. He will not be remembered as a greater player than Michael Jordan but that’s no knock.

Could Brady find a way to win two more Super Bowls before his time as starting QB of the NEP is done? Absolutely.

But he will not be remembered as a greater player than Joe Montana. We just have to remember, that’s no knock.

Girl problems

Tom Brady and Kobe Bryant have both had some girl issues in the past:
   
Gisele Bundchen lashed out at a Giants fan Sunday night, saying, “My husband cannot (expletive) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.”
   
Tom Brady has not won a Super Bowl since he began his relationship with the supermodel.
Interestingly enough he was 2-0 in the Big Game while dating actress Bridget Moynahan. Brady also dated actress Tara Reid back in the day.
   
Kobe Bryant famously bought his wife, Vanessa Laine, a $4 million ring after he was accused of sexual assault in 2003. Laine filed for divorce from Bryant this past December.


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