Chris Simms doesn’t believe Tom Brady currently is a top-10 NFL quarterback, and he’s not budging on his take.
Simms over the past few weeks has been unveiling his power ranking of the top 40 signal-callers in the league. Brady recently checked in at No. 15, which came to the surprise of many, including a viewer who wrote in to question Simms. The fan believes Brady should be higher up on the list and that Simms was too heavily influenced by the 2019 Patriots’ underwhelming offense, which featured a mediocre supporting cast around TB12.
The NBC Sports analyst is well aware Brady didn’t have a whole lot to work with last season. That said, he still believes Brady’s regression can be seen on tape, while other QBs around the league continue to improve.
More NFL: Bucs Release First Official Photos Of Brady In New Uniform
“Those are the facts of the matter, certainly, but it’s not like I’m going to sit here and go, ‘Oh, that was the worst offense in football.’ I mean, it was nothing like that. Yeah, they just weren’t as dominant as years past, certainly, and all of those issues with the offense were real. But I block that out, I don’t care. I really don’t. I don’t sit there and try to look at all that and then blame it on the quarterback or anything like that.
“He makes a lot of good points, but at the same time, what I would tell him is first off, there’s just a lot of good quarterbacks in football. Like, a lot of really good, talented quarterbacks. Yeah, there are guys at this point in his career where Brady might have more experience than them, but his experience does not outweigh the playmaking ability of some of the guys he has in front of him. That’s really where I weigh it. Yes, I realize those were real issues, but I wish he could watch some film with me and he’d go, ‘Oh, OK. You are right. Brady did leave some completions and some yards and some moments that he could’ve really made a big strike in a game and didn’t do it.’ I think that would be a reality if I could watch some film with some people.”
The upcoming season will be a telling one for Brady. With all the weapons he could ask for in Tampa Bay, Brady potentially could make doubters like Simms look foolish. But on the flip side, another average season might mean TB12 is well past his prime.
