Tom Brady is polarizing as a quarterback and a public figure.  There are sports fans who despise him because of his tendency to win championships.  There are others who hate him because he frequented the bedrooms of supermodels and actresses. There are still more people who loath him because of his proximity to Bill Belichick.  Regardless of the surrounding animosity, Tom Brady wins football games.  Not only does he win games, but he wins titles and breaks records.

If the New England Patriots can outlast the upstart New York Giants on Sunday, Tom Brady will win his fourth Super Bowl as a starting quarterback.  That victory would tie him with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most all time.  For the last four seasons I've broken down the post-season statistics of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.  There's little doubt that with a win over the Giants, there will be a new leader atop the list of greatest all-time playoff quarterbacks.  More importantly, what should be asked is if Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history?

It is a difficult question to answer because many have trouble removing their opinions about the person from the discussion about the quarterback.  Not that Tom Brady has done much to deserve the ire of his character critics.  If his most offending indictment in over a decade of celebrity status is fathering two children out of wedlock, than surely people should reconsider their distaste for the man. Surely we, as Americans in 2012, can consider those not illegal or uncommon actions a minor offense without fearing we're dooming the next generation to some influx of global bastardization.

Beyond petty grievances, and general jealousy for a man's success in life, there's no reason to color Brady's play between the sidelines with an irrational grudge.  As a fan of another team not named the Patriots I use any biased arguments to refute his legendary status.  But that type of thinking isn't logical.  I've both praised and poked fun at his long time head coach Bill Belichick.  At this point in his career the New England quarterback holds three championship rings, the record for most touchdown passes in a season, and two Super Bowl MVPs.  In almost every passing category he has bested his legitimate rivals for the title of "Greatest of All Time".  With one final Super Bowl championship he removes the final barrier from any rational argument against his status.

Consider how Tom Brady stands against the most likely contenders: 

Peyton Manning/Dan Marino/Brett Favre - Brady owns more Super Bowl titles than all three of these monsters of the regular season combined.  Peyton, Favre, and Marino form the top three, usually by sizable margins, in all important career statistical categories.  Brady will likely never reach the career totals of these three legends.  Yet despite the prolific regular season numbers posted by the three legends, Brady is the only one of them to lead an undefeated team through a sixteen game schedule.  Plus the New England veteran is fourth all-time in passer rating, fifth in touchdown passes, sixth in passing yards per game, and ninth in completion percentage. 

John Elway- The Denver Broncos icon is the only quarterback to start five Super Bowls.  Until tomorrow.  When the New England offense takes the field Tom Brady will be taking snaps in his fifth title game.  Though there's no legendary series like "The Drive" to immortalize Brady's legacy, if New England wins tomorrow he will double Elway's Super Bowl victory total. 

Joe Montana/Terry Bradshaw- Much like Tom Brady, the owners of four Super Bowl rings lag behind the previously mentioned candidates in most career statistical accomplishments.  If championships are to used as a measure of the greatness of a quarterback, then these two legends rise above the others of their profession.  Brady will have one more Super Bowl appearance on his resume than either of these NFL icons, with one more ring will be tough to argue that he's not the best of the three.