Things I don't understand, Part 1

I don't get all the Pats hate out there. This team is incredible, this season is historic, and so many people I know can't stand it. Huh?

I'm a Denver fan. Denver fans have gotten used to losing big games over the past few years, frequently to Indianapolis or the Patriots. I enjoyed nothing so much as when we knocked out New England a few years back (only to lose to the Steelers in the AFC Championship. Shanahan!!!!). But even I like the Pats this year. Sure, Belichick is a grumpy old man with a serious chip on his shoulder. Yeah, he's a dick. But they're just fun to watch. They're playing football like it's meant to be played.

And in honor of all the people that can't stand it, lets try to figure out how good Tom Brady is.

How good is Tom Brady?
When google can't find something, it asks Tom Brady for help.
When Jack Bauer can't handle the terrorists, he calls up Tom Brady.
Brad Pitt once called him up, asking for handsome lessons.
It is a known fact that somewhere in the fourth quarter of the 2007 Pats-Ravens game, Tom Brady was leading a game winning comeback and discovered the answer to Unified Field Theory.

Brady has more touchdowns this season that the rest of his division. Combined.
More touchdowns than the Manning brothers. Combined.
More touchdowns than the combined totals of Drew Brees and Brett Favre (winner of SI's 2007 Sportsman of the Year award).
He has five interceptions in 476 pass attempts. Brett Favre, Jake Plummer, and Tony Romo throw that many interceptions just warming up before a game.

He was a sixth round draft pick in 2000 (went 199th overall) and was rejected by the 49ers. There's a team with some long range vision.
Tom Brady has a 70% completion rate, but... wait for it, he also has a 9.4% touchdowns per pass attempt rate. That means that one out of every ten or eleven pass attempts is a touchdown. For those of you who don't follow football, that number is nuts.

Nuts.

He's a got a great cast around him. Randy Moss picked the right team for his renaissance. A quarterback is only as good as his offensive line. You need a credible run threat to maintain a serious passing attack. Bill Belichick is an enormous ass who didn't really shake hands with Tony Dungry after the Colts-Pats game this year.

Fine. But the point is, this ain't your daddy's football that being played here. This is record breaking history, even if they don't go 16-0. The Pats are unbelievable this year, and as ever, in good times and bad, attention focuses on the figure head.

Hey, if he keeps this up for another 7 or 8 years, people might start comparing him to John Elway.

Hmmm. John Elway.