Aikman VS Brady - circa 2/7/05?

[74_75_78_79_]

On the Monday morning following the Pats' SBXXXIX triumph over the Eagles - making it NE's 3rd in four years, just like the case with Dallas nine years prior - if someone asked you who was better so far between Troy Aikman and Tom Brady, who would your choice have been?

Mine would have been Aikman. And I got a feeling most of you will say the same. Dallas appeared to have a more superior run of the two. I mean if you look at their starting rosters position-by-position, without me actually placing them side-by-side, I would imagine that the 'Boys would 'win' most of those matchings - the QB spot included.

Although he likely clinched a spot in Canton following the '04 campaign (if only because of those very three Lombardis), Brady's classic 2007 performance - safe to say - propelled him past Aikman and other great QBs while securing First Ballot as well. That's when the road, the journey to (at least arguable) GOAT-status truly began; with he then picking up serious speed around this, here, final bend (passing yet some more all-time-great QBs if not every single one who remained) which started with the win over Seattle in SBXLIX.

But back to that first Monday of Feb '05...any of you already place Tom ahead of Troy?

[Brian wolf]

Luckily for Aikman, the Cowboys werent winning SBs on clutch FGs like the Patriots. They were able to keep lapses to a minimum and squeeze the life out of Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

What bothers me about Aikman though was his relapsing as a great QB. He never was about statistics but after Novacek retired, Irvin was the only receiver he ever trusted and just wouldn't or couldn't adjust enough to other receivers on the roster. Brady just got better for NE and always adjusted to whoever he had before finally getting a motivated superstar in Moss in 07. Some people believe Aikman didnt have a HOF career but I disagree. His play was clutch in the postseason and he was always about winning over gaudy statistics. Cowboys' fans can only guess at how good the team could have stayed had Johnson stayed, Harper stayed, Novachek and Haley had not had injuries and free agency -especially after signing Sanders - had not eroded the tremendous team depth that Johnson had built.

Another thing that needs to be looked at was how effective the Patriots offensive line was during Brady's early years from 2001-2011. These guys could run and pass block and dont get near enough credit because Brady is so known for having a quick release but they were super tough ...

[Bryan]

Luckily for Aikman, the Cowboys werent winning SBs on clutch FGs like the Patriots. They were able to keep lapses to a minimum and squeeze the life out of Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

From a different perspective, the Patriots were a 14 point underdog and upset a team that was considered one of the greatest of all-time (2001 Rams), while who WASN'T beating up on the Bills in the Super Bowl? The Cowboys were a bit fortunate to beat Pittsburgh, as the Steelers had them on the ropes.

[Brian wolf]

Youre right Bryan but in all three SBs that Brady and the Patriots won, they had leads of 17-3, 21-10 and 24-14 that nearly slipped out of their hands. I had forgotten that Vinateiri had missed two FGs against Carolina but got the last one that mattered.

[7DnBrnc53]

Youre right Bryan but in all three SBs that Brady and the Patriots won, they had leads of 17-3, 21-10 and 24-14 that nearly slipped out of their hands. I had forgotten that Vinateiri had missed two FGs against Carolina but got the last one that mattered.

And, in the Rams game, the Patriot defense got away with a lot of late hits that weren't called. Also, they lost to Eli twice, including 2011 when they were 9-7 (and a Romo misconnect with Miles Austin away from being eliminated [in Week 14]). I don't know why Brady's legacy doesn't take a bigger hit for those games than it does.

[Bryan]

Youre right Bryan but in all three SBs that Brady and the Patriots won, they had leads of 17-3, 21-10 and 24-14 that nearly slipped out of their hands. I had forgotten that Vinateiri had missed two FGs against Carolina but got the last one that mattered.

Here is some stupid Super Bowl Trivia:

*The Pats-Panthers Super Bowl was played in Houston's retractable dome, and for reasons unknown, the NFL decided to close the dome at kickoff. They still had fireworks at halftime, so the 2nd half was sweltering. The defenses simply wore out due to the heat, and that's why it became a free-for-all in the 4th quarter.

*The second Niners-Bengals Super Bowl was played in Miami, and before the game the groundskeeper activated the suction system designed to dry out the field. He left it on too long, the grass completely dried out, and players from both teams said it was the worst field they ever played on. Both Steve Wallace and Tim Krumrie broke their legs, and neither player was really the same after.

*In the week leading up to Super Bowl IX, the Steelers took Steve Furness off of his special teams duties because they assumed he would be starting at DE instead of Dwight White. White ended up starting as a game-time decision, Furness never played on special teams, and his replacement allowed Matt Blair to block Bobby Walden's punt.

[Brian wolf]

Great trivia Bryan ...

It seemed to me had Krumrie kept better control of his body and not recklessly dove like he did against the Niners, he may not have had that terrible injury but he was just trying to make a tackle and went on instincts and determination, which also made him a great player, IMO ... To my knowledge, no nose tackle or even shade tackle, has ever came close to the number of total tackles he was in on throughout his career ...

It seems like halftime pyrotechnics have affected a number of Super Bowls in later years ...

[Brian wolf]

What do you guys think about the Dallas-Chicago game from 1996 ... the game where Emmitt Smith jumped into the line on a play fake-dive and landed on his head and neck ?

He had thought he would be paralyzed with Walter Payton there comforting him, which is ironic because Payton himself went through the same thing in a game in Buffalo in 1977, I think. Emmitt recovered but I dont think he was ever the same back again. Before, he ran with reckless abandon but after the injury, he ran more cautiously, judiciously, some people thought smarter but it seemed he picked his spots more, rather than going hell-bent like during the championship years. Smith was smart enough to realize as well that if the Cowboys had a lead or the defense was demoralized, he could break off determined runs at the ends of games to increase his totals. A great and smart back but after 1995, the Cowboys offensive line struggled with various injuries and free agent departures and Smith struggled more without other weapons like the departed Harper and Novachek. The Tripletts werent the same as the team got complacent ...

[Bryan]

A great and smart back but after 1995, the Cowboys offensive line struggled with various injuries and free agent departures and Smith struggled more without other weapons like the departed Harper and Novachek. The Tripletts werent the same as the team got complacent ...

Agreed. Irvin wasn't all that fast to begin with, and he was slowing down and would eventually retire a bit prematurely. Aikman wasn't the mot athletic QB, and he was getting beat up as well. Chan Gailey's scheme never prioritized pass protection, and Aikman basically took too many big hits and had to retire early. As you said, Smith wasn't the same dynamic RB. That said, even in 1996 I thought the Cowboys were extremely dangerous in the postseason and were always beating Green Bay. I was much happier to see the Packers facing Carolina in that NFC title game as opposed to the Cowboys.

[JameisLoseston]

I agree with OP that Aikman is an outer-circle HOFer who wouldn't be there if not for his participation in a dynasty, but I also agree that there's no way I could put Brady ahead of him yet as of 2005. Much like Aikman, Brady wasn't the main reason the Pats won those three SBs; he had definitely become a high-tier QB by the end of that run, but didn't attain great status in his own right until the sudden 50 TD season in 07. If he had never taken that leap and had remained at his 2001-06 level throughout his whole career, we'd be talking about him as a HOFer right now, but definitely not a GOAT, and overshadowed by Peyton and Rodgers (and he also would definitely not still be playing football).