New York Jets coach Eric Mangini was an assistant coach for the Patriots in Brady's first six seasons.

"Tom was impressive from the day he got in the building," Mangini said a few days before losing to the Patriots 20-10 on Dec. 16. "As he's gotten more successful and more and more accolades, he hasn't changed his work ethic, his intensity, his selflessness."

This season Brady's Patriots have posted mind-boggling numbers.

In the seventh game, he threw a franchise record six TD passes and had a perfect passer rating. The Patriots won their first eight games by at least 17 points each. By that time, just halfway through the season, he had thrown 30 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

In three of the next six games, he showed he hadn't lost his knack for pulling out narrow victories by coming from behind in the fourth quarter.

So, what is it that sets Brady apart from other quarterbacks?

"Poise, patience," Moss said, "and going out there determined to kill you at any given time. They can give you a fourth-and-24, and Tom's still ready to kill you."

The pretty-boy looks hide a fierce competitiveness. After throwing for the first touchdown in a 34-13 win Dec. 9, he confronted Pittsburgh cornerback Anthony Smith, who guaranteed a Steelers win, and started jawing.

"I don't care to repeat it, especially if my mother reads it," Brady said. "She wouldn't be very happy with what I said."

If you're an opponent, you don't want him mad at you. If you're a teammate, you couldn't have a better one.

"He is a legitimate superstar in every sense of the word and yet you talk to people within that locker room and they love the guy," said television commentator and Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. "They love playing for him, they think the world of him, he takes care of those guys, the organization likes him."

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Why not?

Brady does a better job deflecting praise than opponents do deflecting his passes.

"The great thing about playing quarterback here is that you've just got to do your job. You don't have to worry about a whole lot of other things, because you have great confidence that all the other guys are going to do what they're asked to do," he said. "I've just got to drop back and try to throw it to the guys in blue."

Right now Brady is doing that as well as anyone ever has.

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