Who is the greatest QB of all-time and why?

I understand it's difficult to compare quarterbacks over different times with different rules and regulations, but I'm going to make my case regardless. I believe Tom Brady is the greatest QB of all time (not the greatest player, that's a silly argument), and here's why.

1. Brady's done more with less, more than anyone else (if that makes sense).

The receivers Tom Brady has won Super Bowls with as a QB aren't going into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, but it's safe to say he hasn't been surrounded with much talent of that caliber throughout his career. The two exceptions; Randy Moss in 2007 (Brady connected with him for 23 TDs) and Rob Gronkowski (2011-present). Other than those two, his receiving cast has been composed of players who few knew before their stints at New England. Prime examples: David Patten, Troy Brown, David Givens, Donte' Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, Deion Branch, Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins and Julian Edelman (to some extent). Now I'm not trying to take away from their respective skill sets; these receivers worked amazingly in the New England offensive scheme and could probably have been successful with many other QBs, but it's hard to deny how quickly these receivers became known after catching passes from Brady. I have to give Edelman a lot of credit though because he's not only transitioned from a college QB to NFL WR (after going in the 7th round), but he fights hard for every yard he gains. He's an excellent punt returner, and to top it off he's not afraid of getting hit across the middle (that 3rd and 14 in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLIX comes to mind).

2. His journey from Michigan to the NFL wasn't easy, but very rewarding.

He was buried on the depth chart at Michigan for his freshman and sophomore years of college, with Brian Griese starting at the time. He grew so frustrated he sought advice from assistant athletic director Greg Harden, who helped him build his confidence both on and off the field. Brady battled Drew Henson for the Wolverines' starting job and got it, starting his junior and senior years. Michigan won 20 of 25 games that Brady started and he won the 200 Orange Bowl over Alabama, throwing for 369 yards and 4 TDs.

Success at Michigan led to a less-than-favorable combine performance for Brady. The New England Patriots ultimately selected him with the 199th overall pick in the sixth round (a compensatory pick). Many call this the greatest draft pick in NFL history, considering his career.

3. He's engineered 35 4th QTR comebacks, and 46 game-winning drives.

Four of those GWDs were the 4 Super Bowl games Brady played in. Two of them (XXXVIII and XLIX) were 4th-quarter comebacks. Brady's last 10 game-winning drives have all been 4th-quarter comebacks, dating back to the October 21, 2012 game against the New York Jets (Pats won 29-26). One of the comebacks was the 34-31 thriller against the Denver Broncos in Foxborough (the Patriots, down 24-0 scored 31 unanswered points before overtime). The fact that Brady has been able to face adversity and overcome it so many times is a tribute to his legacy in my opinion.

4. Postseason Legacy

He and the Patriots have won 6 AFC Championships, appearing in 9 of them. He's obviously been part of 6 Super Bowl teams and won 4 of them, earning 3 Super Bowl MVP awards. He's won more playoff games than any other QB, with a playoff record of 21-8. I could go on his Wikipedia page and quote more stats, but I think this gets the message across.

5. His set of intangibles is virtually unparalleled.

I've seen few QBs manage a game the way Brady does or negotiate the pocket the way Brady does. How about Super Bowl XLIX, in the 4th quarter when pressure was coming at Brady from all sides so he shuffled forward and fired down the middle to Edelman on that first 3rd-and-14. The second one was similar, except he fooled Demarcus Dobbs and fired the ball past him for another 21-yard completion to Edelman. Also, while he doesn't do it often, Brady's not afraid to run the ball if he's out of options. He's scored 14 rushing TDs over the course of his career in the regular season, rushing for a total of 823 yards (on 470 attempts, a 1.8 YPC average). It's amazing that he's been able to be so dominant despite his being sacked 364 times in his career. Ben Roethlisberger is the only active QB who's been sacked more (419). Keep in mind that Peyton Manning has played two more years than Brady has, and he's been sacked 284 times.

6. 4-2 is better than 4-0.

Just wanted to put this in here because I'm sure there will be those who believe Joe Montana is the GOAT. It's a solid argument, but let's put this in perspective; Montana may have gotten injured before his chance to get to his 5th, 6th etc. was possible, but that could have also happened to Tom Brady. Montana had chances to win more NFC Championships to get to the big stage, but didn't. It's just how it is. One can argue that Montana threw 11 TDs, 0 INTs in his Super Bowls, which is fine and dandy.. but how much better would Tom Brady's stats be if he had Jerry Rice for two of his Super Bowls, or if he had Randy Moss for two Super Bowls? Montana was surrounded with elite talent in Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon and John Taylor at WR; Roger Craig, Earl Cooper, Ricky Patton and Wendell Tyler at RB. On defense, Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, Carlton Williamson and Dwight Hicks were some of the best defensive players in the league at that time.

I'm not trying to say Brady's never had a talented team around him because he always has, but his accomplishments in the salary cap era where one can't stack a team with prolific talent across the board is telling of his poise and game-management skills. These are the reasons why I believe Brady to be the best of all-time; he's better than Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas, Peyton Manning, and anyone else, and I'm open to debate on the matter.

Invite others to respond by typing @name