Comparing Brady's streak to that of Favre's
In guiding his team to a 45-3 blowout win over the New York Jets on Dec. 6, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady set an NFL record for most consecutive regular season home wins at 26.
In case you werent sure, the record had previously been held by a man we know (all too) well: Brett Favre.
Sunday nights contest with the Green Bay Packers provides Brady his first chance to extend that streak. But, as we currently stand, how does Bradys streak compare to Favres, exactly?
The question facinated me. And, since I have no girlfriend, I figured I had the time to find out.
What was discovered is more than interesting. In short, while Bradys streak may be longer, Favres streak was more impressive in a lot of areas.
Before we begin, an interesting tidbit: Each players streak began when their respective teams were coming off of 17-14 home losses (Brady to the Jets in Nov. 2006 and Favre to the Rams in Sept. 1995). After that, each was off and running.
In terms of major comparisons, the first you must look at is overall level of competition. During his streak, Brady has faced teams with a combined record of 85-96 (.470) at the time each headed into Foxboro. While thats not atrocious, it doesnt compare to the combined record of the teams Favre faced: 98-78 (.557).
As far as quality competition goes, again, give the edge to Favre. He faced 15 opponents who were either at or above .500 (not counting three season openers) at the time of the game, compared to 12 for Brady (who has also had three season openers during his streak). Favres average margin of victory against those quality opponents was 15.3 points per win. Bradys is 17.9 per, although The Hoodie likes to run up the score just a bit more than Mike Holmgren did.
Given that Bradys level of competition wasnt as high, its not surprising that hes racked up more big wins (10 points or more). But not many more just one, in fact. Brady has 17, while Favre had 16. Bradys largest margin of victory? That would be 59 points in New Englands 59-0 destruction of Tennessee last season. Favres isnt as high a 35-point win over Denver (41-6) late in the 1996 season but, still, thats not bad, either.
But while Brady has more big wins, hes also had more close calls. A lot more. Five of Bradys victories have come by four points or less. You know how many Favre had? One the now-legendary 23-20 overtime thriller with San Francisco during the 96 season.
None of these facts are meant to downgrade the significance of Bradys streak, keep in mind. In todays NFL i.e., Parity Gone Wild for any quarterback to do what hes doing is nothing short of astounding, especially when you consider the youth movement the Pats have gone through at the skill positions since the end of 08. And while Favres streak was impressive, it doesnt change my current thoughts on the man.
Rather, this was just meant to be a fun exercise during an otherwise tough week for Packers fans. Hope you didnt mind my geekiness too much.
-Chris Lempesis