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| Tom Brady |
Tom Brady and Joe Montana are the only two players in NFL history to win the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Super Bowl MVP awards multiple times (2 NFL MVPs, 2 Super Bowl MVPs). In 2005, he was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, and was named "Sportsman of the Year" by The Sporting News in 2004 and 2007. He was also named the NFL MVP in 2007 and 2010 (becoming the first player to be unanimously chosen as MVP in the 2010 season) as well as 2007 Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, the first time an NFL player has been honored since Joe Montana won in 1990.
Tom Brady holds numerous regular season and postseason records, including: most touchdown passes in a regular season (50); highest touchdown-to-interception ratio in a single season (9:1); highest single-game completion percentage, regular season or postseason (26/28, 92.9%); most consecutive pass attempts without an interception (358); most consecutive regular-season home wins (31); highest winning percentage of any quarterback during his first 100 starts (76 wins); most completions in one Super Bowl (32); longest streak of games with 3 or more touchdown passes (10 games); and most career completions in Super Bowl history (100). Tom Brady is the fourth-fastest player to reach 200 career passing touchdowns (he did so in 116 games). He is the first quarterback in NFL history to have reached this mark with fewer than 100 career interceptions (he had 88 interceptions). Considering his many numerous achievements, and his late draft selection (6th round, 199th selection), many analysts, including those at the NFL Network, have called Brady the best NFL draft pick (or draft steal) of all time, as well as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Before the 2011 season, his fellow players voted him the best player in the NFL.
Early years
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| Tom Brady |
Tom Brady was also drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.
Recent season
In Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season, Tom Brady threw for 517 yards and 4 touchdowns, with one interception, against the Miami Dolphins, the second time he had thrown for 400 or more yards in a single game. It was the most ever by a Patriots quarterback in a single game (the previous record was Drew Bledsoe's 426 yards against Minnesota in 1994), and the fifth-highest total in NFL history, after Norm Van Brocklin, Warren Moon, Boomer Esiason (in an overtime game), and Dan Marino; Brady's performance was also the first 500-yard. four-touchdown performance since Y. A. Tittle in 1962. Moreover, Brady and Miami quarterback Chad Henne combined for an NFL-record 933 passing yards, including a Monday Night Football record for Brady. Brady's interception ended his regular-season streak of pass attempts without an interception at 358; Brady also became the 12th quarterback to complete a 99–yard pass play, to Wes Welker. Tom Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his effort.
In Week 2, against the San Diego Chargers, Tom Brady again threw for over 400 yards, completing 31 of 40 passes for 423 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions, all to second-year tight ends Rob Gronkowski (two) and Aaron Hernandez (one). Brady thus became the seventh quarterback in NFL history to pass for 400 or more yards in consecutive weeks, and the second Patriots quarterback to do so (Matt Cassel was the first, in 2008); the sixth quarterback to accomplish the feat, Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton, did so earlier on the same day that Tom Brady did. Brady was again named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, making him the first player in 28 years to win that award in Week 1 and Week 2 of the same season. It also marked the first time a player followed a 500-yard passing game with a 400-yard passing game.
In Week 4, against the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Tom Brady tied Peyton Manning's record of 13 consecutive regular-season games with at least two touchdowns, and moved into ninth place, past his childhood idol Joe Montana, on the list of most touchdown passes, with 274.
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| Tom Brady |
In the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills, Tom Brady became the third quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, finishing with 5,235; it surpassed Dan Marino's longstanding record of 5,084 passing yards, but finished the season second behind Drew Brees' 5,476.
