Tom Brady is the Greatest Quarterback of all time

This has been a great debate in my eyes, as I hope it has been for my opponent. To wrap things up for my side, I will respond to my opponent's points and paraphrase my side of the debate! 1 - Playoff Success: We both have agreed to look past this point until a later time in the debate. 2 - Rapport with his Coach: Something I believe we have both failed to mention is that the season at one point did not consist of 16 games. The 1980 season marked the first year the NFL began playing on their new schedule format. Bradshaw played fourteen seasons in the NFL (I'll address a counterpoint later on it your health argument). From 1970-1979, Bradshaw played fourteen game seasons. From 1979-1982, Bradshaw played sixteen game seasons. In 1982, the NFL had its player's strike, so the sixteen game season was reduced to nine games, so Bradshaw played seven less games than he would have normally played. Finally, in 1983, Bradshaw played sixteen games. If we were to compare the schedule from the '70s to now, Bradshaw would have played 25 less games than he would have if he played in the modern era. 3 - CLUTCH: Before I go any further, let me clear the waters: I failed to include this season because I was looking at COMPLETED seasons. If Brady went down this Sunday (which, of course, I hope doesn't happen [nobody should wish injury upon a player]), then more than likely, he would be surpassed on the leaderboard, hence why I did not include the 2001 season (Brady did not play all games). Technically speaking, I will apologize for adding the 2016 season into play since he did not play four of the sixteen games. If we are mentioning more opportunities, I would go on to argue that comebacks definitely define a QB's character. It shows that he can work well under pressure. Did Brady have to worry about many comebacks? Not really, but that is because of his team, all around, was a great team, especially the year they went 19-1! Peryton Manning had to work TWICE as hard as Brady did, so I believe this argument point goes my way because it shows that Brady did not have to work as hard as other QBs have to get where they are now in history. 4 - The Regular Season Stats Don't Lie: Now, as far as bringing up Peyton Manning a lot, I do not mean anything by it. Simply, I am just listing other quarterbacks who could be considered GOATs. If we want to discuss more opportunities, please refer to my previous point about Bradshaw. If he would have been able to play more games, perhaps his numbers would be higher. Since Peyton Manning seems to be popular in this debate, let's say he never had neck surgery. If he would have played, I'm sure the Colts would have continued to be dominant. Of course, that is a "what if" statement, but it is a HUGE what if. 4 - The Regular Season Stats Don't Lie: Please forgive me for any confusion that has set it. The reason why I have decided not to include the current season is that I was looking at COMPLETED seasons. More specifically, seasons Brady played FULLY. That is why I failed to add the 2001 season. However, I will apologize for bringing the 2016 season into the discussion since Brady did not play four of the sixteen games. My apologies. Now, it's a great thing that you bring up the league's leading passers in touchdowns season-by-season. I actually looked into adding this stat to the previous round of this debate, but felt I should not add on to proving my point that Brady is not the GOAT. As you broke down, Brady led the league in passing touchdowns four times out of thirteen full seasons that he played. That is saying that in nine other seasons, there was a better QB than Brady himself. If stats do not lie, then we could say that there are multiple QBs who could be considered better than Brady in each season except those that he led in. 5 - The AFC East's Daddy: Sticking with my standpoint from the previous round, I still am a firm believer that if we're going to talk about the division and team performance, we should consider that as a team effort rather than just Brady. I will agree that Brady has single-handedly has won games for the team, but for the majority of his career, he has been surrounded by great talents on both offense and defense, and even on special teams, hence why they are as dominant as they are. 6 - 5 Times: I won't lie and say the Patriots are a bad team. I would be lying if I did say that! Their first-round byes every season are a good indication of that. However, let's figure how many first-round bye's the Pats have had over the years. The Pats would play three games if they made it to the Super Bowl and won, so saying Brady's championships are more earned than Starr's could be seen as disrespectful to Bart Starr and Green Bay fans. Wouldn't you agree that Brady's championships could be viewed as "not deserved" due to the tarnished reputation he now has due to the scandals? 7 - Overlooked: Going into detail about the player's careers that I have listed in the previous round is practically meaningless. It serves no part of this debate. The reason for me bringing them up in the first place was to show that several other stars have been overlooked, some even to the point of being undrafted, and have become HOF'ers. Brady is far from the only one who has been overlooked. No worries about adding another point! 8 - Health: Injuries happen every game. Some could set a player out a few weeks, others could be season-ending or even career-ending. Sadly for Manning, his neck injury would prove to be a career-ending injury. Could he have played on after Super Bowl 50? I guarantee it! The only reason why he did not want to play anymore was that he did not want to risk injury anymore. Can you blame him? Of course not! Looking back to my point mentioning Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw, I'm sure Bradshaw could have played many more seasons if the rules then were like they are now. It's no secret that the rules now protect the QB perhaps a tad bit too much. Back then, you could hit a QB and get away with it. Of course, doing that caused a lot more injuries to your QB. So Brady is playing in an era where if you even just lay a finger on him, you'll be flagged and fined. If you want my honest opinion, this argument point is pointless. It is literally like saying, "Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time because he has been the healthiest quarterback ever!" Seems silly, don't you think? WRAP UP: To wrap up my side of this debate, I believe strongly that Brady is not the greatest QB to ever play in the NFL. I do, however, believe he is ONE of the greatest to play the position, but to say he is THE greatest is absurd for several reasons: 1) It has been proven in two seasons (2008, 2016) that without Brady, the system continues to roll on with victories. My opponent even acknowledged this fact in the second round of this debate and failed to debate it further in round three. 2) Tom Brady has been called a cheater several times throughout his career, so his legacy could be viewed as tarnished. Did he deserve some of those championships? Did he not deserve them? That is left up to the fans. 3) My opponent has opened many holes in his case. A) In his third point, "CLUTCH," my opponent says that Tom Brady had fewer fourth-quarter comebacks because he did not have as many opportunities as Peyton Manning and the Colts had. As I stated to support my case, comebacks show that a quarterback can be cool under pressure, and it also shows that Manning worked harder than Brady to get those victories. This also adds on to my point that a lot of Brady's success comes from his team as a WHOLE, NOT INDIVIDUALLY! (Please see Argument Point 5 - "The AFC East's Daddy"). Obviously, if the team does great all around, the amount of fourth-quarter comebacks will be less. B) In his fourth point, "The Regular Season Stats Don't Lie," he proved through his stat of the passing touchdown leaders season-by-season that, on more than one occasion, there were MULTIPLE quarterbacks who could be seen as better than Brady. Not only did his own stat prove my point, but he also practically agreed that my stat I presented in the previous round was true! And I quote, "So if we're going to say regular season stats don't lie you're right they don't." 4) I have "deflated" all of his points through nothing more than pure stats and facts. As we have both said multiple times, stats do not lie. It is because of these reasons and sub-reasons that I believe you, the voter, should vote for the CON to win this debate. Thank you for the fun debate topic! It certainly has been great! Also, thank you to the voters and readers! Good luck to you as well, fellow football fan!