Six Patriots Named To NFL All Quarter Century Team

The New England Patriots have had no shortage of stars over the last 25 years in their multiple dynastic reigns. Winning six Super Bowls doesn't happen without a large collection of all-time greats, and several of them were honored by being selected to ESPN's All Quarter Century Team.

To the surprise of no one, seven-time Super Bowl champion and the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, was named the team's starting quarterback.

"The best evidence of Brady's greatness is his all-time high in Super Bowl rings, of course, but he exemplified both team and individual success throughout his career," Schatz writes. "His 2007 season is the best in NFL history using both FTN's DYAR metric and ESPN's Total QBR. He was almost as good in 2010 despite playing in a completely different offense structured around two rookie tight ends. For a long time, there was a great debate about who was better: Brady or Peyton Manning. But while Manning called it a career after his age-39 season, Brady won two Super Bowls in his 40s. Nobody has ever played so well for so long."

Brady's superstar wide receiver teammate Randy Moss was also selected to the team as its top receiver.

"The greatest receiver of the 21st century based on the eye test, Moss also dominated in advanced metrics," Schatz writes. "He set the NFL record with 23 receiving touchdowns in 2007, a season that ranks third all-time in DYAR. Moss ranked No. 1 in receiving DYAR three times: 2000, 2003 and 2007. In each of those seasons, he had at least 1,400 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. He is also the leader in total receiving value by DYAR whether you add together a player's top five seasons or top 10 seasons since 2000. Plus, he's a legend of the podium interview."

And, of course, Bill Belichick was named the team's head coach.

"We wrestled back and forth here, considering both Belichick and Andy Reid. Reid has the advantage of sustained success with multiple quarterbacks and multiple franchises, but we went with Belichick because of his superior success in the postseason," Schatz writes. "Nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl championships. Belichick also won in different ways. His early Patriots teams were more about the defense, highlighted by a game plan that slowed down the 2001 Rams' dynamic offense. The midcareer Patriots were offensive juggernauts. At the end of his New England tenure, the team went back to being defense-first, highlighted by a 13-3 victory in its final Super Bowl."

Other Patriots to make the team include tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, and special teams ace Matthew Slater.