Are we sure there's no offseason?
Maybe Welker vs. Edelman or 2004 Pats vs. 2014 are fun mental exercises in the same way solving the quadratic equation in your head is fun. (It isn't.) Maybe mocking the trolls hasn't gotten old. (It has.) Let's face it. Brady was considered the GOAT after five rings. Now he has six. At this point, calling Tom Brady the GOAT is actually a tepid take. Who clicks a link like "Brady's the Best" (or some variation on that theme) other than Patriots fans? You know what kind of link will get clicks from fans from all fan bases?
The Welker vs. Edelman debate reminded me of the time I asked my father-in-law which one of his four daughters was the best driver. We were visiting my wife's family down in Tennessee and it was late in the evening following a day of lawn games, burgers and beers. We'd gathered around a campfire in lawn chairs, drinking beers, and I went into the house to check on our young son at my wife's behest. On my way back out I stopped in the living room where my in-laws were smoking furiously, watching a western on TV when I thought, "Hmm. Here's an interesting mental exercise. Who would my old school, WWII veteran, man's man father-in-law say was the best driver among his daughters?" So I asked him. My mother-in-law, perhaps sensing that my motives were not pure, barked out "Don't answer that question!" But he did. With some editorial color (indicating which two of his daughters he considered to have "lead feet").
Armed with this intelligence, I returned to the circle of chairs around the crackling fire and informed my wife and sisters-in-law I had asked their dad what he thought of their driving skills.
Yes, I made them beg for the answer.
No, they were not happy with the answer. I won't name names but I will reveal this one detail. When I gave up the answer, one of the other sisters shouted indignantly, "But she failed her driver's test six times!"
Incredelman
That's kind of how these debates go. Someone offers an opinion and someone else immediately shouts about their lack of rationality.
For me, the Welker vs. Edelman argument boils down to numbers vs. moments.
And recency bias. Come on. After "100%" it's hard for me to go anywhere but Julian Edelman on this one. The TD in SB49. The pass to Amendola in the AFCCG vs. the Ravens. The Catch in SB51. The return from injury and suspension to author a playoff run that had pigskin pundits and bobbleheads debating Edelman's candidacy for Canton.
SB53 MVP.
But Welker has the better numbers!
Absolutely true and that is important. I'm a big numbers guy but numbers can't be the end to all the "better than" arguments. Think of it this way, if it's just about numbers, why do we have sportswriters vote for player enshrinement in the Hall of Fame? If it's just about the numbers, all we'd need is the Quadratic Canton Formula.
But speaking of numbers, in those three 2018 playoff games noted above, Edelman caught 26 of 35 targets (74%) for 388 yards, which works out to 14.9 yards per catch. The only name on the list of all-time playoff pass receivers ahead of Edelman is Jerry Rice. Jerry Freakin' Rice!
Welker comes in at #22 on that list. And if you think his numbers were impacted by playing with Randy Moss, don't forget Edelman played with Rob Gronkowski, who is #9 on that same list.
Look, I get why Welker has suffered in this debate to the point where local pigskin pundits and bobbleheads felt compelled to come to his defense. Edelman has "The Catch." Welker has "The Drop." Welker has record-setting regular season numbers, Edelman has rings, and for a team like the Patriots, a team that plays not just to win their division, not just to win their conference, but a team that plays to win championships, that definitely matters. Is it Welker's fault he played during the "Wandering in the Wilderness" years of the Patriots Dynasty? No, but as we say around here, it is what it is. And things ended badly in a contentious and public divorce between the Patriots and Welker who not only left us, but signed up with one of the Patriots' biggest rivals.
Here's another "what if" thought exercise: If Edelman had not blown out his ACL in 2017, do the Patriots win SB52 and three in a row?
Discuss among yourselves.
Trolling the Trolls
I can't help wondering, have the Defenders of Brady now become the trolls?
As far as Chris Simms list of the current top 10 NFL quarterbacks, I found Drew Brees at #10 more shocking than Brady at #9. Not that I wasn't puzzled by Brady at #9.
I could see any number of pigskin pundits and bobbleheads favoring Patrick Mahomes over Brady heading into the 2019 season. Russell Wilson? Okay. The Aaron Rodgers supporters are legion and have been waiting for his release from Mike McCarthy's pigskin prison for years now. I get why he's on any Top 10 QB list. Maybe you don't think Carson Wentz will end the season on IR again this year (good luck with that) but I wouldn't rank him ahead of Brady. I can even get why you might rank Brees over Brady (he is two-years younger, after all). Andrew Luck? I'm inches from an eye roll on that one but eh, okay.
That's it for me. Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, DeShawn Watson, et al. should all be in Brady's rear view on this list.
One man's humble opinion.
Really, that's all Chris Simms' list is, too.
Savaging him for his brief and mediocre NFL career seems just a little too "mean girls" for me.
This Is Why They Hate Us
The 2004 vs. 2014 Patriots debate feels like another example of why the fans west of the Connecticut River hate Pats Fans. What do we do with our down time? Count our rings.
Most NFL fans don't compare Super Bowl championship teams because they can't. Or the comparisons span multiple generations making the discussions just another reason for your mom to call you up and beg you apologize to your dad; this time for the cruel things you said about leather helmets and the men who wore them.
But I digress.
The 2004 vs. 2014 debate looks like a walkover at first glance. I just saw the 2004 Patriots on the NFL Films' Top 10 Greatest Teams of All Time on NFL Network this very morning.
The 2014 team? They did not make that list.
The 2004 team was utterly stacked on defense, with Richard Seymour, Ty Warren - rookie Vince Wilfork backing up Keith "Tractor" Traylor - Bruschi, McGinest, Ted Johnson, Mike Vrabel, Asante Samuel, Ty Law, and Rodney Harrison. They had Clock Killin' Corey Dillon toting the rock, Deion Branch catching bombs from Brady, and Troy Brown returning punts.
The 2014 roster wasn't bad; certainly worthy of their Super Bowl pedigree but they just come up short by comparison. I love LeGarrette Blount but the clear edge goes to Dillon. A slight edge overall at wide receiver (Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola vs. Branch, David Patten, David Givens) but there wasn't a peak Deion Branch comp in that 2014 group. I'd give 2014 a decided edge on the offensive line (Nate Solder, Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork, Ryan Wendell, Sebastian Vollmer). And plenty more names on that 2014 roster to conjure championship memories: Gronk, Vince, Dont'a Hightower, and Devin McCourty among them.
But the most important thing the 2014 Patriots had was 2014 Tom Brady. 2014 Tom Brady led the Patriots from 10 points down in the 4th quarter with two touchdown drives against Seattle's Legion of Boom defense.
You've got to figure this one's going to overtime.
And whichever team wins the toss is going to win that game.
So, who wins?
Hint: The 2014 team had Matthew Slater on the roster.
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