The Bledsoe Understudy Bowl: Romo vs. Brady

"Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and
others have greatness thrust upon them." ~ William Shakespeare

Who are the top quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL? The beginning of that list - that is, the top two names - is easy. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are pretty much consensus choices for 1 and 2, or 1a and 1b, or however you separate them. Along with these guys, you have to throw in Brett Favre, right? His career achievements make him a shoo-in first ballot hall of famer. After that, names like Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, and now, Tony Romo pop up.

The road to greatness is as varied as it is difficult. Peyton Manning, the son of a legendary NFL quarterback and older brother of Eli, who seems to be emerging into at least "good QB" status, appears to have been born to greatness. Peyton has the pedigree, the numbers, and now the hardware to prove his greatness. He certainly seems to fall into the first of Shakespeare's three categories of greatness.

Brett Favre is one who has achieved greatness. His fearless gunslinger style has catapulted him into the rare air of NFL legends. He has endured setbacks, losses, horrible decisions resulting in losses, but he has persevered and planted himself squarely in Canton. It's just a matter of time.

But tomorrow's game features two quarterbacks who seem to fit into category three. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick, the 199th player taken in the draft! Who could have envisioned what he would become? Certainly not Drew Bledsoe, the much bally-hooed first round draft choice, hand-picked by the genius himself, Bill Parcells.

Then it happened, the unthinkable. Bledsoe suffers an injury, the ball is handed to Brady, and he never gives it back. Three Super Bowl victories later and Brady's name is mentioned in the same breath with the all-time greats. Moreover, many experts claim him as the single greatest draft-day steal in league history. And that is tough to argue.

Hold on, though. The hottest young QB in the league, Tony Romo, has yet to play a full sixteen-game season in the NFL, but is already called by some the third or fourth best at his position in the league. He, too, was found by Big Bill Parcells. But he wasn't drafted by him. In fact, he wasn't drafted by anyone. Seven times all thirty-two NFL teams picked someone else. So, The Tuna signed him as an undrafted free agent. Could Romo unseat Brady as the biggest steal ever? Time will tell.

Ironically, it was a faltering Bledsoe who gave Romo his break, too. Last year, at half time of the Giants game, Parcells pulled Bledsoe and inserted Romo into the starting lineup. Like Brady before him, the kid took the ball and didn't give it back.

So, tomorrow's meeting between the undefeated Cowboys and unbeaten Patriots may not feature the two best QBs in the league, but it damn sure features the two most unlikely "great" quarterbacks we have seen in awhile...maybe ever.

Peyton may have been born great, Favre may have achieved greatness, but these boys had greatness thrust upon them. Seeing them on the same field, leading their respective unbeaten teams is going to be...well, great!