Michigan Football Preview 2017

2017 Michigan Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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Best Teammate Ever Tom Brady has made All-Pros out of undrafted free agents (Wes Welker) and three-time Super Bowl champions out of others who started their professional careers in the Arena Football League (David Patten). He even got the most out of a Hall of Fame wideout in the twilight of his playing days while resur- recting that pass catcher's career. Randy Moss set a NFL record with 23 receiving touchdowns in his first year playing alongside Brady, despite coming to the Patriots for a mere fourth-round pick after the worst season of his career (a paltry 42 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns in 2006). Brady simply has no peer when looking at how much he pulls out of each weapon lucky enough to play alongside him. The numbers are staggering, and even then it may not give proper justice to what he does for others: Randy Moss* Years Games Avg. Rec. Avg. Yds. Avg. TD Without Brady 11 170 70.3 1,103.8 10.5 With Brady 2 32 90.5 1,378.5 18 * Not counting 2010, when he played four games with the Pats, four games with the Vikings and eight games with the Titans Wes Welker Without Brady 7 98 48.9 518.6 2.3 With Brady 5 77 112.2 1,258.8 6.8 Troy Brown Without Brady 8 108 27.5 346.4 1.5 With Brady 7 83 67.4 719 3.8 Deion Branch Without Brady 5 51 38 469.4 3.0 With Brady 7 89 46.9 613.9 3.4 David Patten Without Brady 8 93 19.9 275.3 1.0 With Brady 4 54 41.3 628.3 4.0 Martellus Bennett Without Brady 8 119 43.5 448.3 2.9 With Brady 1 16 55 701 7 Chris Hogan Without Brady 3 48 29.0 319.7 2.0 With Brady 1 16 38 680 4 Brady's Best Single-Season Performances Category Total (Year) Rank In NFL History Passing Touchdowns 50 (2007) 2nd Passing Yards 5,235 (2011) 3rd Total Offense 5,171 (2011) 3rd Passes Intercepted Percentage 0.5 %— 28 TD, 2 INT (2016) 3rd QB Rating 117.2 (2007) 4th Game-Winning Drives 7 (2003) t-4th Fourth-Quarter Comebacks 5 (2013) t-12th Completion Percentage 68.9 (2007) t-17th Completions 402 (2015) 25th Brady's Ranking On NFL Career Passing Lists Category Total (rank) NFL Record (holder) Passing Yards 61,582 (fourth) 71,940 (Peyton Manning) 2.2 Passing TDs 456 (fourth) 539 (Manning) 2.2 Passer Rating 97.2 (third) 104.1 (Aaron Rodgers) — Completions 5,244 (fourth) 6,300 (Brett Favre) 2.7 Game-Winning Drives 50 (third) 56 (Manning) 3 Fourth-Quarter Comebacks 39 (second) 45 (Manning) 3 Games Started 235 (19th) 298 (Favre) 3.9 Playoff Games Started 34 (first) Brady — * Based on a per-game breakdown of his 2016 numbers and used for 16-game seasons going forward. By The Numbers 2 Streaks of 100-plus straight regu- lar-season starts have been com- piled by Brady, making him the only NFL quarterback to ever do so, accord- ing to Elias Sports Bureau. Entering the 2017 season, only 10 signal-caller streaks have reached triple digits. Brady's latest, which lasted 112 games and began in 2009, ended during week one of the 2016 campaign with him sitting out the first four weeks due to Deflategate. 2.8 Is Brady's average rank in the NFL Network's Top 100 countdown, which has been annually voted on by the players since 2011. Brady was No. 1 on the inaugural list and the only player to be voted in the top five each season. The 2017 rankings are currently being revealed, with only 100-41 having been shown so far. Brady was No. 2 in 2016, No. 3 in 2015 and 2014, and No. 4 in 2013 and 2012, but should reclaim the top slot to become the first-ever player to be named the league's top player twice. 4 Super Bowl MVP trophies have been taken home by Brady, which is the most in league history for the award that has been given annually since the game's inception in 1967. 12 Pro Bowl selections for Brady, which is tied for eighth in NFL history according to pro-football-reference.com. Peyton Manning, with 14, is the only quarterback with more and is tied for the most ever. Brady's 12th Pro Bowl bid, which came in his 17th season, also moved him into first place for former Michigan players, surpassing Hall of Fame offensive lineman Tom Mack, who made 11 during his 13 seasons from 1966-78. 21 Completions by Brady in the fourth quarter and over- time of Super Bowl LI on 27 attempts (77.8 percent) for 246 yards and a touchdown; he also threw a successful two-point conversion. He ended with game records for completions (43) and passing yards (466). 25 Points the Patriots trailed by before Brady led the big- gest comeback in Super Bowl history. CBS Sports called it "the greatest comeback win in the greatest Super Bowl ever played" and noted that the previous Super Bowl record for largest comeback was just 10 points. Before the record-setting victory, no team in league history had ever won a playoff game after trailing by 16 or more in the fourth quarter — the Pats were down by 19 in the final frame of regulation. 164 Is Brady's weighted "approximate value" for his career, which is the highest among active players and second in NFL history to Manning (177). The metric was created by Pro Football Reference founder Doug Drinen to put a single number on the value of a player at any position from any year since 1950. 208 Wins (playoff and regular season) by Brady in his career, an NFL record. OF ALL TIME THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 165 PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS/DAVID SILVERMAN Projected Seasons To Become Leader* All statistics and records are courtesy pro-football-reference.com.

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