MMQB - Brady is last of the Mohicans and not planning to leave any time soon.

[MoLewisrocks]

One player out of 89 remaining, less than 11 years after the first start of Brady's career. It's Brady and Bill Belichick against the world now.

"Well,'' Brady said Thursday afternoon, trying to figure out what it meant but not sounding at all surprised about it, "Matt called me a while ago and told me what he was planning to do, and I've called him every week since then trying to talk him out of it. He had such a great year for us. But there was no way I was going to be able to talk him out of it. He'll be a tough player to replace. But, you know, every year in this game, there's a lot of change.''

Except with one guy. One guy living a bicoastal life, married to one of the most famous women in the world, with two kids, and with a coach who's not very concerned with all of that stuff.

Who can know now, but it's going to be interesting to see if Brady outlasts Belichick. Because Belichick has been coaching in the NFL since Carlton Fisk willed the 12th-inning home run fair in the '75 World Series -- actually, he's been coach a few months longer than that -- and, amazing as it seems, Belichick is three years shy of 40 seasons as an NFL head coach or assistant. Not to get sidetracked, but this will be Belichick's 38th year as an NFL coach. Don Shula coached for 36.

Now, Belichick announced his new coaching staff last week, and it includes his son Steve as a coaching assistant. So Belichick, who just turned 60, will likely be around for a while to show the kid the ropes. But you get the impression talking to Brady that he'd like to be around longer than a while.

"My wife [Gisele Bundchen] said to me, 'When I met you [in 2006], you said you wanted to play 10 more years. How come that number never goes down?' It's that I love the game. I love the game. I'm going to play until they tell me they don't want me anymore.''

Coming off a season with 13 wins, a career-best 5,235 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes (second-best in his career), he won't be evicted from the lineup soon.

Personally, I think Brady will remain far and away the best option at starter for this team for at least another 4-5 seasons in part because this team did not and will not on Belichick's watch find itself in the same position the Colts did when an injury cost their QB an entire season. And had the Colts even managed 8-8 or 6-10 last season Peyton wouldn't be in Denver these days. Tom knows that theoretically it can happen to anyone, but until he gets passed on the depth chart here or literally can't answer the bell, it ain't happening here. And I think if and when that happens, he will think long and hard about walking away on joint terms vs. clinging to the hope these guys miscalculated...



Tom Brady has impressive*longevity; an inspirational tale; more league notes - Peter King - SI.com

 

[BradyManny]

As long as he's physically able, he will QB this team. He has started to fight some injuries the past couple years and the tendinitis one is a concern.

But health aside - I truly believe he's only gotten better with age. His understanding of this offense and of opposing defenses is frightening.

He's now armed with his best receiving group since 2007. The defense has a chance to be the most talented and versatile group Belichick has had in some time. I can see why Brady would be ready for many more years to come here.

 

[Steve102]

I think the guy (TFB) has his fingers on the pulse of the NFL fans and knows who he is and what he means to the game Re: legacy. I think even if he planned on 3-4 years, he's not going to say. Am I saying I don't believe him? Kinda. I think as of today, May 15 2012, TFB plans on playing another 10 years. I also think that that plan can and will change at the drop of a hat. This is his way of diffusing the question and avoiding the inevitable "Tom Brady world tour" that his final season would become. He has complete understanding that this is a team game, and any retirement talk will distract from the goals of the New England Patriots, now and in the future. IMO, his vision of what the media will do if there is any hint of retirement is clear. He just won't allow it into the discussion.

IMO, if Bill walks away, Brady does too.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

It's not the physical side of the game that's changed with Brady. It's the mental side of the game, i.e. the decison making, the lack of executing basic throws etc. that's changing. TB's decision making in big games against good defenses has declined over the past few years. It's nice that they're adding more weapons to this Colt offense but it's not going to matter if the guy throwing the ball makes bad decisions/bad throws at the wrong time.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think the guy (TFB) has his fingers on the pulse of the NFL fans and knows who he is and what he means to the game Re: legacy. I think even if he planned on 3-4 years, he's not going to say. Am I saying I don't believe him? Kinda. I think as of today, May 15 2012, TFB plans on playing another 10 years. I also think that that plan can and will change at the drop of a hat. This is his way of diffusing the question and avoiding the inevitable "Tom Brady world tour" that his final season would become. He has complete understanding that this is a team game, and any retirement talk will distract from the goals of the New England Patriots, now and in the future. IMO, his vision of what the media will do if there is any hint of retirement is clear. He just won't allow it into the discussion.

IMO, if Bill walks away, Brady does too.

I agree that Tom is sticking with the 10 year mantra because he doesn't want to give the media any opportunity to begin the countdown. And he likely is well aware of the old adage in this league that once a guy starts talking about retirement he's often already mentally begun to check out. That was one of the issues that drove GB to get ahead of itself where Favre was concerned. Favre began annually mulling retirement (or at least using it as an excuse to skip off season activities) back in 2001. The team constructed his 10 year $100M deal at that juncture to be one they could walk away from comfortably by 2006 - a year he said in 2001 he didn't see himself playing beyond. They drafted Rodgers in 2005 after he fell to 24 firmly believing he would be the starter in a year or two at most. It dragged on a little longer than planned...

I do think if Bill went first Brady wouldn't be far behind him. But I also think when Brady goes Bill won't be far behind him. The existence of each here has made the other's job ultimately more fulfilling and in many ways exponentially easier. Just a lot of the disconnected, butting heads, ego driven crap that goes on daily in other franchises has never been an issue here. Bill trusts Brady to do his job and Brady trusts Bill to do what is best for the team.

 

[upstater1]

It's not the physical side of the game that's changed with Brady. It's the mental side of the game, i.e. the decison making, the lack of executing basic throws etc. that's changing. TB's decision making in big games against good defenses has declined over the past few years. It's nice that they're adding more weapons to this Colt offense but it's not going to matter if the guy throwing the ball makes bad decisions/bad throws at the wrong time.

I don't buy this at all.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It's not the physical side of the game that's changed with Brady. It's the mental side of the game, i.e. the decison making, the lack of executing basic throws etc. that's changing. TB's decision making in big games against good defenses has declined over the past few years. It's nice that they're adding more weapons to this Colt offense but it's not going to matter if the guy throwing the ball makes bad decisions/bad throws at the wrong time.

You post this drivel and all I see is :blahblah: :blahblah:....

You should migrate to the JETS boards where they are again arguing about whether the QB's coach is another moron who should have been axed along with the former OC or whether Sanchez himself is simply a moron doomed to making persistently poor decisions.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Personally, I think Brady will remain far and away the best option at starter for this team for at least another 4-5 seasons in part because this team did not and will not on Belichick's watch find itself in the same position the Colts did when an injury cost their QB an entire season. And had the Colts even managed 8-8 or 6-10 last season Peyton wouldn't be in Denver these days. Tom knows that theoretically it can happen to anyone, but until he gets passed on the depth chart here or literally can't answer the bell, it ain't happening here. And I think if and when that happens, he will think long and hard about walking away on joint terms vs. clinging to the hope these guys miscalculated...

Get with the program, Mo. You're SO 2000s. Apparently you missed the myriad posts here asserting that The Hammer is nearly ready to replace TFB.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Get with the program, Mo. You're SO 2000s. Apparently you missed the myriad posts here asserting that The Hammer is nearly ready to replace TFB.

Yeah, I see those. I'm just waiting for someone to PM me when he passes Brady on the depth chart. Or Hoyer for that matter...before I order my Hammer jersey.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

It's not the physical side of the game that's changed with Brady. It's the mental side of the game, i.e. the decison making, the lack of executing basic throws etc. that's changing. TB's decision making in big games against good defenses has declined over the past few years. It's nice that they're adding more weapons to this Colt offense but it's not going to matter if the guy throwing the ball makes bad decisions/bad throws at the wrong time.

If only we had Tebow, now that's a real QB...right?

 

[IllegalContact]

the guy is under contract for 3 more years. he's not the type to start bantering about retirement.

I would say the mos tlikely scenario is that he finishes his contract and rides off into the sunset. I don't see him here after that.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I beleive its pretty rare when a Hall Of Famer is able to stick with his team from start to finish.

The last QB I remember doing it was John Elway,so its not a common thing where QBs stick around with just one team until they retire.

The idea of Brady in his final year or two of playing for his hometown childhood heroes the 49ers is still a possibility if they don't have a set star QB by then because Brady won't ever be a backup in this league.

I think in about 2015,the idea of trading Brady to the 49ers or elsewhere will pick up some steam while Brady still hasn't totally dropped his skills ...... Just like his idol Mr. Montana.

If the greatest QB of all times,Joe Montana didn't retire with his original team then no one is safe IMO.

 

[IllegalContact]

Montanas situation was a little different.....he was under contract and had missed 2 seasons and young had just had an all-pro year.....

look at it this way......if brady went down this year and mallett went on to have a season where he had a 107.0 rating and lost in the AFCC, would it make much sense to bring back brady's 16M cap hit in 2013 when mallet is on the books for 500K per for 2 more years?

brady is legendary, but the logical decision would be clear

I beleive its pretty rare when a Hall Of Famer is able to stick with his team from start to finish.

The last QB I remember doing it was John Elway,so its not a common thing where QBs stick around with just one team until they retire.

The idea of Brady in his final year or two of playing for his hometown childhood heroes the 49ers is still a possibility if they don't have a set star QB by then because Brady won't ever be a backup in this league.

I think in about 2015,the idea of trading Brady to the 49ers or elsewhere will pick up some steam while Brady still hasn't totally dropped his skills ...... Just like his idol Mr. Montana.

If the greatest QB of all times,Joe Montana didn't retire with his original team then no one is safe IMO.

 

[Tunescribe]

The last 11 years sure have gone fast, haven't they? What an excellent, rare run this has been with Brady and BB. I'm so grateful to have been a season ticket holder through all of it so far. If Brady gets three more years of solid play out of himself, I'll consider that a bonus.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Finally talking about something some of us have noticed . . .

"My wife [Gisele Bundchen] said to me, 'When I met you [in 2006], you said you wanted to play 10 more years. How come that number never goes down?' It's that I love the game. I love the game. I'm going to play until they tell me they don't want me anymore.''

 

[Jackson 2]

It's not the physical side of the game that's changed with Brady. It's the mental side of the game, i.e. the decison making, the lack of executing basic throws etc. that's changing. TB's decision making in big games against good defenses has declined over the past few years. It's nice that they're adding more weapons to this Colt offense but it's not going to matter if the guy throwing the ball makes bad decisions/bad throws at the wrong time.

Yeah, it's obvious that the guy who was the unanimous MVP in 2010 and who put up the kind of numbers Brady did in 2011 is experiencing declining decision-making skills. I mean, who can't see that? What abject drivel...

 

[Off The Grid]

"My wife [Gisele Bundchen] said to me, 'When I met you [in 2006], you said you wanted to play 10 more years. How come that number never goes down?' It's that I love the game. I love the game. I'm going to play until they tell me they don't want me anymore.''

Yep.

THAT'S why I always point and laugh at the clowns who think Brady's on the brink of Retirement!!

I've Said it Many times and I say it AGAIN:

If that degenerate sociopath, Brett Favre, can have a WILDLY great year at age 40, what in the name of GOD makes people think that a dedicated WARRIOR like Tom Brady can't do the same...in 2017???

That's SIX FULL YEARS before 2018, for those with Math Skills Deficiency.

It's not QUITE time to panic, gentlemen.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think the fact that they have already restructured Brady's last extension, which neither side portrayed as a to retirement deal, coupled with the ownership predicted flat cap through 2014, clearly screams another incremental extension to retirement deal in 2013 or prior to 2014 to manage the cap in lieu of $21M QB cap hits or now prohibitive franchise tags (which his individual restructure increased the cost of exponentially).

But that's just me and mostly common sense.

It seems a lot more logical to me than projecting a Bradyless 2012 during which the third string QB seemlessly leads us to an AFCC game. Especially since Brady's dead 2013 cap hit would be around $14M and any third stringer in that instance would immediately be looking for his first big 5 year franchise QB contract extension.

 

[Deus Irae]

Brady put up historic numbers last year, while carrying a team without a defense to the Super Bowl. I can't see any reason why he'd be worrying about retirement anytime soon.

Manning, on the other hand, is a year older and just had to have his neckbolts re-tightened. I could see him retiring at any time.

 

[Steve102]

I agree that Tom is sticking with the 10 year mantra because he doesn't want to give the media any opportunity to begin the countdown. And he likely is well aware of the old adage in this league that once a guy starts talking about retirement he's often already mentally begun to check out. That was one of the issues that drove GB to get ahead of itself where Favre was concerned. Favre began annually mulling retirement (or at least using it as an excuse to skip off season activities) back in 2001. The team constructed his 10 year $100M deal at that juncture to be one they could walk away from comfortably by 2006 - a year he said in 2001 he didn't see himself playing beyond. They drafted Rodgers in 2005 after he fell to 24 firmly believing he would be the starter in a year or two at most. It dragged on a little longer than planned...

You bring up another excellent point here, re: $$. If Brady starts talking retirement, it makes it plausible that the organization could ask for a restructure. Also, it makes it very difficult to get another 3-4 year deal if the "R" word is being used. How much negotiating power would he have if some reporter has him leaving the game on X date?

That's wicked smaht right theyah.