Tom Brady

Cris Carter explains the one thing Tom Brady needs to become the greatest ever

Published Jan. 30, 2017 3:27 p.m. ET

Fox Sports

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is trying to win his fifth Super Bowl in his seventh appearance. There is no doubting Brady is great, but where will he ultimately land on the list of all-time quarterbacks? Cris Carter and Nick Wright debate ...

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Nick Wright: "If Tom Brady quit football today, if he didn't play the game and was like 'I'm going to join a monastery," he's already the greatest quarterback ever. The period of excellence over 16 years, without having a bad season, to not miss the playoffs since 2002, to reach the final four 11 times, and now at 39-years-old have maybe his second or third greatest season ever -- I don't know what to even compare it to."

Cris Carter: "When you take the seven appearances in the big game, that would put him in the conversation [of greatest all-time]. But respect for what Terry Bradshaw did with a group of Hall of Famers, and Joe Montana -- more in particular -- because Joe led those teams, and they wouldn't have been undefeated in those Super Bowls without Joe Montana. So I believe number five seals the deal. That's the one that separates Tom Brady."

Both Montana and Bradshaw won four Super Bowls during their careers, posting very similar resumes to Brady's.

Wright: "What's amazing to me is that you almost don't have anyone making the argument that Peyton Manning was the better of the two quarterbacks [Manning and Brady]. From a pure football standpoint, and you look at what they did statistically over the course of regular seasons, I think it's obvious Manning was better. And so that's where you get to the undefinable thing -- the It factor -- but there's something about what Tom Brady in the biggest spots could do versus what Peyton Manning could do, which is why it is no longer even a debate."

Carter: "That was a huge debate, and a great argument, because Peyton's numbers were phenomenal. There was no one that played the position and changed offensive football like Peyton Manning. But in doing that, in the playoffs, he was very average -- and you can't discredit that. Peyton was fortunate to get with Denver and win that second Super Bowl, which helped really change the narrative for him in terms of greatness."

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Tom Brady

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