FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady sent football analytics supporters into a race to find their favorite meme to accurately depict their disgust in the quarterback’s lack of statistical savvy. The New England Patriots signal-caller dared to suggest that wins might be a quarterback stat.
Brady was asked Monday at Gillette Stadium during the Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards what statistic is most important to a quarterback.
“Other than wins and losses?” Brady answered.
Now, Brady wasn’t suggesting that he’s chiefly responsible for whether the Patriots win or lose a football game. Instead, Brady was saying that statistics don’t matter when it comes to team goals.
“I think that people pay to watch the games on TV because there’s a scoreboard,” Brady said. “I think that’s what it’s all about. If there was no scoreboard, then people wouldn’t tune in and watch. I think that’s what it’s all about.
“You’re competing — I think some individuals compete against other guys, and some compete against themselves. Even if you don’t have someone that you’re competing against — if you’re the type of person that competes against yourself, you’re always going to get better, because there’s always a competition. The guys that I’ve been around that find ways to do that and motivate themselves, those are the best players.
“You can’t sit here and try to compare one year to another year. Or compare this player to that player. I think winning games is the most important thing — certainly for this organization. When you come here, you learn that pretty quickly. Whatever matters to you as an individual, it’s far distant from what team goals are. Team goals are one thing: to score more points than the other team.”
The debate over whether wins and losses are quarterback stats is an interesting one. Football is a team game, but how the offense performs, on certain teams, is dependent on quarterback play. The 2011 Patriots won 13 games because Brady was the team’s quarterback. The defense was so bad that it actually took success away from the team, and Brady was spearheading a group that ranked second in total offense.
Obviously other teams — like the 2011 Denver Broncos, for example (sorry Tim Tebow fans) — had success despite the play of their quarterback.
Brady’s stats were down in 2013, but the Patriots still won the AFC East and made it to the AFC Championship Game. Brady would have liked to see two more wins, but 13 Ws still put him in the top 80% of NFL QBs.
