PHOENIX -- Press the pause button, and put aside Tom Brady's right ankle for a moment. What I want to know is this: On your Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks, where does the Patriots' quarterback fit in?

'Brady is living the life every man would like to lead,' Jerry Magee says. (US Presswire)

But Marino never won a Super Bowl. In fact, he went to only one. Brady is in his fourth in seven years and could make it four consecutive victories with a defeat of the Giants.

So where does that put him?

"Tom Brady will be at the pinnacle of all those who ever played," said former head coach Mike Martz, now the offensive coordinator in San Francisco.

You'll have to trust him, folks. It was Martz's Rams who gave Brady his start, losing to Brady and the Patriots in a stunning Super Bowl XXXVI upset. So, yeah, he has a handle on the guy.

But he's not alone. That is why I consulted a panel of experts to determine just what we're witnessing here. I know it's greatness, but of what magnitude?

Sit back and listen.

The opposing coach

Say what you want about Martz, but he knows how to produce a passing attack. He turned journeyman Kurt Warner into a two-time MVP and just completed a second straight 4,000-yard season with Detroit's Jon Kitna.

Martz is to quarterbacks what Lombardi was to the sweep.

"The next time you look at Tom Brady," he said, "watch him when (the Patriots) break the huddle. Look at the look on his face. Nothing moves him. He's got a stoicism that reeks of confidence. When things are at their worst, that's when he's at his best."

Of course, things are almost never at their worst with New England, and Brady is the reason why. Before he showed up, coach Bill Belichick was 42-58; with Brady he's 100-26 and working on his fourth Super Bowl.

"He is smart, he has great anticipation and he's a great leader," said Philadelphia's Andy Reid, another coach who lost to Brady in the Super Bowl. "He has subtle movement in the pocket and, of course, he's accurate. The guy's a competitor."

He's also a winner. His 78.7 winning percentage is the best of any quarterback in the Super Bowl era, and his 14-2 playoff record is second only to Bart Starr (9-1).

"He's got such great vision," said San Diego's Norv Turner, who bowed to Brady and the Patriots in the conference championship game. "Then he has great such great pocket presence, and that combination ... I mean, there are three first downs at the end of the (AFC title) game that many guys wouldn't convert, and he makes a play on them that keep us from getting the ball.

"As good as he is he just keeps getting better. He's going to fit in with the best who ever played."

Too late. He's already there. He just set the league record for touchdown passes and produced his first MVP award. Tell me there isn't more where they came from.

"His accuracy is where it all starts," Martz said. "That's what makes him special. If you're going to beat him you need to get pressure up the middle and get into his face.

"You can't let him hold on to the ball all day, but teams are afraid to bring an all-out rush because of (Randy) Moss. But get Moss doubled and don't let him hold the ball because he will kill you. The guy is patient.

"The key is hitting him early because he doesn't like to get hit. Of course, no quarterback does. San Diego got to him early, then stopped. And the Patriots were able to control the game."

The Patriots were able to control every game this season. Over the past two years they're 32-5. They won five consecutive division championships. They reached the playoffs in six of Brady's seven seasons as a starter.

Draw your own conclusions.

"He may end up being the best who ever played," Martz said. "That's probably what we're watching."

The general manager

San Diego's A.J. Smith is clear when he dissects the quarterback who bounced the Chargers from the playoffs the past two years.

"There's one and only one thing that makes him special," Smith said. "You can have all the discussions you want about his poise and how he throws the ball and what he does with it, but it all comes down to one thing and that's how many games you win -- how many championship games. When it's all said and done, all you want to know is how many times is he standing there with a trophy over his head."

That would be three, with a fourth on hold.

"What's so special about Tom Brady," said a GM who asked to remain anonymous, "is all those things you look for in a quarterback that you can't see until he's on the field. I'm talking about leadership, poise and the way he prepares. Also, the effect he has on those 10 guys in the huddle. He has all those things, and they keep getting better."

And that's the point about Brady. Where most dynasties decline as they age, the Patriots have improved under his direction. Each New England Super Bowl team is better than the last, with this latest edition the best yet.

If you're looking for an explanation, go no further than No. 12.

"To have done what he's done," Smith said, "makes him one of the greatest who ever played. I don't think it's anything profound to say he plays like a Hall of Famer. You just marvel at how he plays and what his team has done."

The Hall of Fame quarterback

"When I think of Tom Brady," former San Diego quarterback Dan Fouts said, "the word 'confident' comes to mind. Confident in himself. Confident in his team. Confident in his offense and confident that he can beat the defense facing him.

"And the poise? He looks the same standing on the sideline drinking from a glass of water as he does walking down the sidewalk in New York City. "

Fouts first caught Brady when Tom was a high-school quarterback. At the time, Fouts was a sports anchor for a San Francisco TV station, and Brady was a star in San Mateo.

Then Fouts went to work for ABC, Brady went on to the University of Michigan, and the two reunited when Fouts would work a Wolverines' game.

"He's the same guy now that he was then," he said.

Which is ...

"He's smart," said Fouts, "but he knows his system and helps assistant coaches working with him evolve that system. I'd love to spend time to see where he is -- just to see what he sees when he's looking at the defenses and calling formations and all those things."

Fouts knows where Brady is, and he knows where he will be.

"You can't ignore the success he's had at this point," he said. "If his career ended today you can't ignore what he's accomplished -- and it's mind-boggling.

"He's part of an organization that does all the right things over the years. They have a weakness at wide receiver, then, all of a sudden, they don't. They take a chance on one guy -- heck, two guys -- and Brady ends up throwing 50 touchdown passes. Unbelievable."

Fouts' favorite quarterback is Unitas because "he invented the two-minute drill, the three-step drop, the five-step drop and timing patterns." But go ahead and ask if Brady is at least in the neighborhood.

"Yeah," Fouts said, "I wouldn't argue with that."

The Hall of Fame writer

Jerry Magee has been covering football for the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1961 and is at his 40th Super Bowl. So he knows what he's talking about, and what he's talking about now is the greatness of Tom Brady.

"I'm an old timer, and to me the greatest of all time was Sammy Baugh," he said, "because he threw a fat football with unparalleled accuracy. How he did what he did with that football is amazing to me.

"Having said that, of the modern-day quarterbacks Brady has to be regarded as way, way up there. I like him better than Unitas because Unitas couldn't throw the ball like Brady. And I like him over Montana because I think Brady has a better arm and cerebrally is Montana's equal."

So that would leave Brady in there with Baugh and Graham, a remarkable achievement considering the guy is 30.

"I'm high on Fouts, too," said Magee. "He was the toughest football player I've ever been around. The best thing about Brady is how he stands in the pocket so solidly.

"He doesn't yield to the rush. He hangs in there and is so accurate ... he's going to be regarded as one of the two or three greatest when he's finished. Brady is living the life every man would like to lead."