But
@deadeyededric argument was people didn’t perceive Tom Brady as an elite QB and said the D got all the credit for the Super Bowls cause Brady was just a game manager.
Wouldn’t the fact that he was voted 3rd show the media (and by extension the public) didn’t perceive him to just be a game manager?
I think we might be saying different things here.
I think his statistical profile screams "game manager" in hindsight. Fans, sportswriters, coaches, and GMs are much more sophisticated about reading statistics now than they were in 2003.
At the time, though, the "eye test" and supposedly self-evident point that the QB of a winning team must be a great player carried a lot more weight than carefully parsing his efficiency numbers.
So yeah... he was seen that way. But for the same reason some above average SEC quarterback on a #1 team (mostly through a menacing defense and OL/running game) usually wins the Heisman.
Team success is shining a flattering light on a good QB who "does his job" rather than being a true stud who is carrying a team in the same way Peyton Manning was at the same time in NFL history.
You're right about the perception.
I just think it was wrong. Brady didn't play like an MVP until 2007+.