On today’s episode of Ray’s Sports Rant, I explored what Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger did in their careers and how it has set the standard when evaluating quarterbacks today. 

By the time Tom Brady wrapped up his fifth season as an NFL quarterback, he and the New England Patriots were celebrating their third Super Bowl Championship. Ben Roethlisberger won his second Super Bowl at the end of his sixth year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. That raised the bar and expectations for all the young quarterbacks entering the NFL today. Have Brady and Roethlisberger changed how football fans judge quarterbacks? 

This makes me think of Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have gone to four straight AFC Championship games. The Chiefs won their first Super Bowl with Mahomes three years ago, and they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following season. And yet some pundits and fans look at Mahomes’ last four seasons as a failure. Obviously, that’s stupid; Mahomes is one of the best QBs in the NFL. But because of Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers, Super Bowl wins have become a quarterback stat.

The NFL has been desperate to create Parity across the NFL, yet throughout the 2000s and 2010’s it was a lot of the same faces playing in the biggest games. We’re starting to see the same thing now with Mahomes. When you explore this current crop of quarterbacks, who will be the top 5? My guess would be Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Mahomes. That’s great news if you’re a Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, or Chiefs fan. It’s terrible news if you’re the NFL because Parity has been thrown out the window. 

Only those guys become the top five if they win championships. Tom Brady, with his seven titles, Ben Roethlisberger with two, and Peyton Manning with two, has changed how NFL fans judge success. There was a time when just being a champion was enough. But the Patriots and the Steelers created a narrative that you must win multiple championships to be considered a success. The carryover from the 2010s is much more substantial than the carryover from the 70’s Steelers and the 1980’s San Francisco 49ers. 

This is just my opinion. But I think that all quarterbacks will be compared to Tom Brady and the company for the next twenty-five to thirty years. It’s not fair, but it’s a reality.    

Other subjects I talked about on today’s show were: Odell Bechman Jr and the New England Patriots are showing mutual interest in a possible contract. Is Pat’s Nation tired of this conversation? The New York Mets brought Timmy Trumpet to Citi Field to play in Edwin Diaz. What would have happened if the LA Dodgers blew out the Mets and there was no save opportunity? The Buffalo Bills have the fourth-oldest roster in the NFL. Should Bill’s Mafia be concerned about their aging roster? 

https://youtu.be/fD9owQZ59TQ