From the Great Pumpkin to Alexander the Great to the Great One(Jackie Gleason-look him up you will thank me) as a society we obsess about greatness.

It is never more prevalent than in the sports world. The greatest slugger or a great center or in the NFL great quarterbacks.

Enter Tom Brady. In a fourteen years career he has thrown 392 regular season touchdowns and compiled a career passing rating of 96. Brady is the definition of a great quarterback. This most recent Super Bowl win was his fourth tying Joe Montana for the most ever.

This is where the problem comes in. Some feel the need to anoint him as the greatest quarterback ever.

Great is not enough? He has to be the greatest?

The first problem with this is simple: Super Bowl championships are not a quarterback statistic. It may seem like it when listening to the national media but there are actually 52 other players on those teams. Fifty-two other players along with a number of coaches, trainers and other men(and women) who all work together to led any given team to victory. The quarterback is only one part of the equation, not the entire equation.

The other problem is that naming any quarterback the greatest ever simply diminishes so many other incredible players. To say Tom Brady is greater than Joe Montana or Dan Marino or Bobby Layne only serves to disrespect all of them. It is purely subjective. There is no way to fairly compare playing in the different eras, just as it is difficult to judge who is the greatest quarterback today. While some may claim Brady others will champion Peyton Manning and personally I would pound the table for Aaron Rodgers.

Tom Brady is no greater today than he was the day before the Super Bowl. He is a great quarterback. Twenty years from now he will still be a great quarterback.

That should be enough.