Most people ain't start talking that Brady GOAT shyt till ring #4 and beyond.
Ya'll crowning Pat too early cuz his game is undeniable, pretty and he's in an incredible situation.
People forget this too and I wish they didn't...
It's like, he wasn't always compared to Manning either, that didn't start until 2003 or '04, but when it began it was about Brady being a winner and Manning having the talent and accolades. The initial Brady/Manning comp wasn't centered on people thinking they had comparable abilities...
I think maybe the first time I heard anyone posit that Brady was a comparable talent was in '05 or '06---->Brady's 6th or 7th year in The League. He was outstanding in those years, and his ascension from start to that point, is something most of us noted in real time. I think we all knew, watching 2006 Brady, was a different Brady than 2002 Brady...
The Patriots got him Randy Moss in '07 and that was when you really saw it, the talent gap between he and Manning shrunk considerably. But my point being, as football heads, I'm old enough to remember that we didn't always think Brady was a comparable
talent to Manning...
And you're right, you didn't hear the "is he the greatest quarterback ever", until Y8, the 16-0 season. But even then, there was no real consensus of him over Montana until the 28-3 comeback, Y17. I would say, there was a gradual building of him as GOAT from Y8 on, that grew louder once he got #4 in Y15 (to your point). The consensus didn't shift to him over Montana until he got his 5th ring...