Funny, I've grown to really respect Brady recently as well. His early teams were elite defensively and didn't need him to step up much, but his some of his more recent teams wouldn't have made the playoffs without him, especially this year's team imo. He's basically become what Manning was to the Colts. The Pats aren't the team that Matt Cassell could get 11 wins on anymore. Remove Brady and they're drafting high in the first round. Props.
For those of you who just started posting in the NFL board, neither of us would have said this to the other as recently as the 2010 season.