Someday, Tom Brady will hang up the cleats and be remembered for being one of the greatest quarterbacks we ever have and ever will see, despite being selected with the 199^th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

But when that day does come, the final score of Super Bowl XLVI may ultimately be the deciding factor in how he is remembered – win or lose.

Yes, the two time league and Super Bowl MVP has already been the man under center to lead New England to three world championships in his first four years as the starter. There’s no doubt that this is leaps and bounds above what the majority of quarterbacks in this league would ever dream of accomplishing.

However, after losing to them in Super Bowl XLII, another loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants may eventually make a remembrance of Brady’s days in the NFL look like a tale of two careers – only if he fails to win another ring over the final years of his career, of course. Fans and analysts of the game would certainly still agree that he had an outstanding career once it’s over, but would immediately question his inability to make it back to the top after such remarkable success from the get-go.

The notion of ‘What if?’ is something to be considered with a loss in Indianapolis, as well. In the scenario that Brady once again falls short to Eli and never leads his team back to the top of the mountain, one of the first things that people will bring up during his induction into Canton is chatter about what he could have potentially accomplished. They’ll bring up points like, ‘What if he had won those two Super Bowls against Eli and won five? Would he be undoubtedly be the greatest ever?’

On the other hand, a victory in this game would at least open the door that begins comparisons to former 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana no matter what happens during the rest of Brady’s time in the league. Montana and former Steeler Terry Bradshaw are the only quarterbacks to have ever won four Super Bowls during their illustrious careers, but of the two, Montana has historically received more recognition for being a winner than Bradshaw. Brady wants nothing more than to join an exclusive class that includes the man he idolized growing up in California – Montana.

Brady is well aware of what this one game could potentially mean for him on an individual standpoint, and it will be very interesting to see how that affects his performance on Sunday.

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With preseason finally over, and Monday nights opener against the Dolphins waiting on the other side of the weekend, the New England Patriots seem once again poised to make another promising run at the Lombardi Trophy.

Already loaded with offensive firepower, the Pats spent the off-season beefing up their d-line with the additions of Albert Heyensworth, and former jets defensive end Shaun Ellis; moving from a predominantly 3-4 based defense to a 4-3 in hopes of finally adding the all-elusive pass rush to their arsenal.

But with last year’s quick playoff exit to the Jets still fresh in fans minds, and the sting from a playoff romping at the hands of Baltimore in 2009 still palpable, there are certainly questions about the 2011 New England Patriots that go beyond personnel acquisitions and schematics.

Consider this; the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since beating the Chargers in the 2006 AFC Championship game. Furthermore, their last three playoff exits have not been easy defeats to swallow; in three losses to the Giants, Ravens, and Jets, Belichicks teams looked weak, confused, and perhaps most concerning of all, under prepared.

What’s troublesome about this is that while the Super Bowl teams of 2001, 2003, and 2004 were all extremely skilled, they specifically prided themselves on always being defensively strong, mentally sound, and extremely well prepared. Perhaps these first three Super Bowl victories spoiled us all, letting us believe that no pressure, no situation, no one game was too much for the unflappable Tom Brady and his stoic puppeteer Bill Belichick.

But three Lombardi trophies and seven years later, has the allure been lost, the mojo run out? At whatpoint does the “Patriot Way” become not what it was from 2001-2004, but what it has become from 2007-2011? One also has to wonder what this season means to the legacies of Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck.

A Super Bowl win would undoubtedly secure Brady’s spot in the greatest of all time debate, making him only the third quarterback ever, along with Bradshaw and Montana, to win four Lombardi’s. For Belichick, another Super Bowl victory would give him six rings over all, with four as a head coach, tying him with Chuck Noll for the most by any head coach. But another playoff loss?

Without a doubt, both Belichick and Brady will go down as some of the best ever at their respective positions; no one can argue that. But a failure to win one more big game together could tarnish the twilight years of Brady’s career, leaving his lasting image as someone who won early, but faltered late.

Most importantly, if neither Brady nor Belichick win another ring, each will have a clear superior: Brady behind Montana and Bradshaw, and Belichick behind Noll. This season is not just any season for the Patriots; resting in the balance are the legacies of coach and quarterback, a prospect which makes Monday nights debut against Miami that much more exciting, as if it needed to be.

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