Who is/was a better quarterback, Tom Brady or Terry Bradshaw?

Question

I ask this question because of all the Manning haters who say he is over-rated. Someone stated that because Brady has 3 rings & Manning has only 1, that makes Brady better. I think both are great QB's & future HOFer's. Some are asking if Tom Brady is all time greatest QB. Well to the person who stated that Brady is better than Manning because he has 3 rings well in that case that makes Bradshaw better than Brady because he has 4 rings. That person also stated that stats don't mean a thing. I certainly do & I would think more people think stats are important.

Robert C, thanks for your answer. I had forgot that Brady did lose a Super Bowl to Brett Favre & the Packers & what you said about Joe Montana

Answer 1

Brady

Bradshaw was benched for most of the season in which he won his first ring. Bradshaw wouldn't even be remembered without Swann and Stallworth and Franco and the Steel Curtain.

Favre never played Brady in the Superbowl!

Answer 2

Folks are overlooking the obvious. (1) Goal #1 in football is to win games; Goal #2 is to win Championships. This isn't about who looks better doing it, the rings matter. (2) If it can be argued that Marino never won a ring because the Dolphins didn't have a running game, it can also be pointed out that Brady - game pressure aside - could never handle the physical pressures imposed by a good defense. He benefits from a good offensive line, and would probably be only marginally successful behind the OL that Roethlisberger has had. (3) Speculation that Steve Young was as good as Montana is just that - speculation. Young clearly benefitted from watching Jow, and from having a Jerry Rice at the top of his game. (4) Brady benefits more from his relationship with a great head coach than Montana or Bradshaw - who relationship with Noll was always strained, and Noll nowhe4e near the innovator or strategist that Belichik is. (5) Smoke and fire. Proven or not, cheating was a side note for nearly all of the Patriot Super Bowl seasons. Smoke and fire. (6) Bradshaw and Montana both could handle a physical defense better than Brady. Montana was the best field general of the 3. Who knows how much better Bradshaw could have been with an offensive coordinator like teams have today. Brady could get the nod for longevity, but as a by-product of falling to the ground if any defender gets near him.

Montana - Bradshaw - Brady - in that order.

Answer 3

The point of your question is to nullify the agrument that Brady is better than Peyton because he has more rings than Peyton. You don't really think Bradshaw is better than Brady. Your point is well taken, just having rings doesn't make Bradshaw better than Marino. Bradshaw had 212 touchdowns, and 210 interceptions in his career. But, Tom Brady is still the greatest quarterback of all time.

I don't think Peyton is much better than his brother Eli. Did you watch the Giants lose to the Redskins? The Giants receivers couldn't catch anything. If Peyton was playing instead of Eli, I don't think the result would have been any different.

Answer 4

Hello, Brady was drafted in 2000... so he is unbeaten in the Super Bowl. The NE v GB Super Bowl Brady was still in High School.

BTW, Bradshaw was apart of a rag tag group that built into the Team of the Decade of the 70's.

Bradshaw went from being the classic "don't mess it up our greatest defense in world will win the game to a leader calling his own plays" World Champ!

I like the road Bradshaw took to earn his rings... that's not to say Brady isn't better... I'm more down with THAT #12

:)

Answer 5

Having a large number of Super Bowl rings does not always tell the correct or entire story. Dan Marino doesn't have any rings, but raised the bar on what a QB should be at a time when the game was loaded with QB's equally as talented as he ie...Joe Montana, John Elway, etc... Remember, Brady & Manning have been chasing most of Marino's records and those records exist, because he carried a team that refused to get him a "blue chip" running back. Montana had Rathman & Craig, Elway had Davis, Aikman had Smith!

Steve Young only one 1 NFL Championship and he was just as good as Montana, but he had to wait his turn and he did! Does that one NFL & USFL Championship tell the entire story of his career?

Brady vs Bradshaw vs Montana is a good comparison since they all played on teams that were stacked on both sides of the ball and at every position.

I personally would choose Brady over Manning based upon post season performance or should I say stats. Manning can't throw a touchdown in post season to save his life and if it weren't for a great running game, he'd never get to a Super Bowl much less an AFC Championship. In contrast, Brady came to a team that was already stacked and he just happened to be the missing ingrediant, whereas Manning re-builted the Colts from the ground up.

Answer 6

Rings are more important than stats, ask Marino. I wasn't around to watch Bradshaw play, but I do know that as a team they were one of the best ever and that helps your status as a QB. The Steelers D was comparable to the Ravens D when they won a Super Bowl. Now that gives Dilfer one, and I would never put Manning and Dilfer in the same level. So I would go with Brady over Bradshaw. I still have Montana number one overall.

Answer 7

I have to say this is a tough one. I wanted it to be Bradshaw just because I am tired of hearing about Brady, but stats do not lie. After 8 seasons in the NFL, Brady is right behind Bradshaw as far as completions and attempts go. It took Bradshaw 14 yrs to hit 27,989 yards. Brady already has 25,799.

With this being said, Manning is not to be overlooked just because he only has one ring. In 10 yrs he has over 40,000 yards. In all but 3 of these seasons, he has over 4,000 yards. As much as I hate to admit it, Manning is the man as far as the stats go, but Brady can catch him as long as he stays healthy.

As far as Bradshaw goes, he will always be one of the greatest that ever played the game. No matter what Manning and Brady do, that will never change!

Answer 8

Tom Brady

Answer 9

Well to answer the question Brady, TERRY BRADSHAW had more of a supporting cast that made him that good, and was on the bench for most of the season for his first ring. But to better answer that question in my own way; JOE MONTANA ALSO HAS 4 SB RINGS AND A SUPERBOWL RECORD 3 MVP'S. OH, YAY, I ALMOST FORGOT JOE MONTANA IS UNDEFEATED IN THE SUPERBOWL 4-0. SOMETHING BRADY WILL NEVER BE.

Answer 10

Brady is smarter and although just an average arm is more accurate than Bradshaw ever was. I remember watching those Steeler teams of Bradshaw and remember thinking then about the catches Swann and Stallworth were always making diving, stretched out amazing acrobatic catches.