It appears the NFL MVP discussion has morphed into a quarterback debate between a pair of 12's.

Because of the success of Tom Brady since returning from his four game suspension and the recent dominance of Aaron Rodgers over the final weeks of the regular season, it's sparked the discussion of which quarterback you'd rather have lead your team.

For recently retired Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith, it's not even close.

"Tom Brady is doing a great job without [Rob Gronkowski], without some of the big name guys he’s had in the past, but that makes his legacy even bigger,” Smith said to ESPN's First Take. “Because no matter who you put out there, he makes those guys better. He’s very methodical, he can carve you up, just like you said about [Packers QB] Aaron Rodgers. But I think he’s a step above Aaron Rodgers. Several steps.”

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Smith also spoke of the Patriots NFL Playoff chances and says that the Kansas City Chiefs are the biggest threat to beat New England if they meet in what would be the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium.

“I think the biggest threat can be, potentially, the Kansas City Chiefs,” Smith said. “I think — overall — they’re a more well rounded team. I think defensively, they create a lot of issues. But then offensively they are very explosive.

“But they also can become methodical down the field. And I think when you’re playing the New England Patriots, you have to be patient. They do a very good job of making teams impatient, a la the Baltimore Ravens. When we become very impatient, you start to do things that are uncharacteristic. And when you do that, you make mistakes — and then all of sudden, you find yourself down 14 points in the beginning of the second quarter, very quickly. I remember that game where we didn’t even have the ball, you know they had the ball for 10 minutes straight. So they do a very good job of dinking-and-dunk[ing].”

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