by Michael Dostal

Created on: January 30, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

While the 2007 NFL Regular season was 'perfect' for the New England Patriots, their postseason is still one game away from being over, even though you can already find a book about their 19-0 run. The statistic-driven nature of sports reporting and in particular, football, can be misleading. With that said, Tom Brady still leaves everyone in the dust. Plenty of those on the anti-Pats bandwagon are scratching their head at the Packers dropping the NFC championship to the road warrior New York Football Giants in what seemed a propitious situation for the ageless Brett Favre.

Alas, the Pack won't get their Superbowl rematch against New England and a shot to defuse the greatest run in NFL history, but it IS possible for the teams-and players-who don't get there to still have a GREAT season. With that being said, I present the top NFL quarterbacks of the 2007 season, whether they prefer to acknowledge their feats or repetitiously drone "all that matters is winning in January" is up to them.

Tom Brady - The casual sports fan knows the Patriots are on the cusp of winning it all....literally. Even the otherwise aversive American can't avoid Patriots fever, a fitting title given how many others are simply sick of it all. However, those who follow sports with an earnest eye feel like they're reviewing the stats from a season of Madden NFL '08 on the XBox with a quick glance at Brady's numbers.
Without frothing at the mouth, like some mainstream sports media analysts, his season overshadows anything by Montana, Elway, Aikman, or Marino. A baffling 578 pass attempts, of which he completed 398, leaves Brady way ahead of the crop with a 68.9 percent completion rate. The touchdown pass to Moss in which both players broke a record will be replayed to the point of nausea-it was Brady's 50th of the season. He threw only 8 picks to those 50 touchdowns, which hardly makes them noticeable except for the close games with Baltimore, Philadelphia, and their Superbowl opponents, the Giants. Brady also posted a perfect QB rating (albeit against Miami) and only failed to post a rating above 100 5 times all season.
Perhaps the anti-New England sentiment across the football nation can find comfort in a quote by Brady himself, which I'll remember forever regardless of the Patriots' finishing record. "It's easy to play quarterback when you have an offensive line that gives you all day to throw the ball and receivers that are always open," Brady said with a smile. That feels better, right?

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