What is Tom's future?

Sciz said:

Plenty of people keep talking about this "one last bang." Belichick has never done anything to indicate that he would do anything like that.

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I agree with you. This is a team that is built to win this year and that can win in 5 years too with a lot of the players we have on the team now because we have a lot of young talent. It's not a team of old players looking for that one last ring. It's a young talented team that have an old QB. Stupid to not prepare for a future without Brady when the rest of the team is young.

I'm in the who knows camp ... could be 2 years ... could be 5-6 years.
If Bill can find five 350lb OL heffers or sumo wrestlers who move like ballerinas it could be 6 years.

I see a ring. Yes
Its becoming clearer.
A ring in Toms future.

The thing is that as he ages, the chances of Brady getting hurt increases. He may miss a few games here and there.

The simple fact of it is this; Belichick will do what's best for the team. If Garoppolo starts to outperform Brady as he gets towards his 40s, then 'it is what it is' and he will go with Garoppolo. Brady will have at least two more years but, if Garoppolo really starts to progress in his second year and is showing the ability to be a starter, Belichick may make that transitional phase at that point.

It really is that simple.

Deus Irae said:

Montana had another top 10 all-time QB behind him.
Manning had this generation's Manning behind him.
Favre "retired" twice

Brady's got nobody behind him and has shown no inclination towards retirement.

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I think the point is that the drafting Garapollo in the second is the writing on the wall. Its not going to be this year, or probably even the next but every year beyond that is a question mark.

Brady is showing no decline. He's looks and plays way younger than Manning and has no career threatening injuries that can linger. Jimmy G was a wasted pick.

It's funny. Two years ago, Denver signed 37 year old Peyton Manning, drafted Brock Osweiller, and were lauded for having a present and future plan at QB.

Now, the Patriots draft Jimmy Garoppolo to backup 37 year old Tom Brady, and it is a wasted pick.

Brady will start in NE for as long as he is the best QB on the roster. That will not be forever. At some stage, Brady is going to be the Bruschi treatment. Belichick is going to call him in and tell him, "you don't got it anymore, you're not making the team, so do you want to retire, because I'd rather not have to cut you." That's reality.

Garoppolo has potential to be a very good starter. He is smart, has a strong arm, and was productive. He needs time to learn the pro game, and this situation will give him 3 - 4 years of time. Will he make it as a starter? 50/50 bet probably, but if he wind's up Brady's successor (or guides the team to some wins during a Brady injury), people are going to be calling this a genius pick.

ausbacker said:

Garoppolo will share the same fate as Mallett: potentially over drafted back up Quarterback who won't see the field as long as Brady continues to play to a high level.

The Patriots just invested heavily in protecting Brady. If he's given time and protected, there's no reason to think he can't play and produce for some time.

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BB has already proved that when he thinks that one guy is better than the other, he will go with the guy he thinks is better. The day BB thinks Garappolo is better than Tom Brady, he will play. Until that time, he's going to be sitting and running scout teams.

Personally, unless TB told the Pats that he sees himself playing only a couple of more years, this was a wasted pick. Another example of overdrafting a back up QB. Or at best an Aaron Rogers 2.0 situation, where a guy sits for 3 years and becomes the best QB in the league.

TB is still the best football player on the team and a feared quarterback. Any quarterback who can take a team to the AFC championship with his best receiver being a former college quarterback (no disrespect to Edelman who is a solid player) and a defense that was rated WORST in the AFC against the run deserves credit. The Pats obviously drafted OL to develop a running game and protect TB.

He is one of the best QBs to ever play the game and will be the leader of the team until he decides to retire.

English Patriot said:

Brady is showing no decline. He's looks and plays way younger than Manning and has no career threatening injuries that can linger. Jimmy G was a wasted pick.

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That's your opinion. Whether Garoppolo is the heir or not - that remains to be seen - the fact remains Brady is going to be 37 in week 1. No 37 year old QB gets better, they all decline. I applaud my team for at least keeping the future in mind and making a move that helps them prepare for the day they have to move on from Brady.

It's comical that some Pats fret so much about what Manning has and insist the Pats emulate that. It's like they have turned into Manning Colts fans where the QB's stats are what it's all about. How has that approach worked out for Manning's teams so far? What's Manning's playoff record as a starter? How many rings have the Pats won since the Air Brady show started in 2007?

What's best for the team >>>>>> what's best for Brady's stats. Every time.

English Patriot said:

Brady is showing no decline. He's looks and plays way younger than Manning and has no career threatening injuries that can linger. Jimmy G was a wasted pick.

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Brady is 37. It would be negligent of the franchise to not recognize the end is near, whether that is 2 years away or 4.

I guess you choose not to contribute to your 401k.

Poor Tom. He limps to the line of scrimmage, he wears glasses and a hearing aid. I guess he is finally too old. He just can't hit that pass in the flat anymore. Jeez, just because a QB was drafted should not start a referendum on Tom. He's fine, Bill is smart enough to start trying to find a good QB before he needs one. Take a deep breath all you people who are so much smarter than BB.

I'd like to think more positively.

Do you want them to wait until Brady's performance takes a fall? That's what bad teams do.

Or do you want an understudy to have a few seasons before he's a starter?

The best outcome would be like Aaron Rodgers patiently waiting to succeed Bret Favre.

English Patriot said:

Brady is showing no decline. He's looks and plays way younger than Manning

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Really????
One guy just had the greatest QB season ever and the other had his lowest completion % in years.
One guy just knocked the other guy out of the playoffs
One guy can't hit open WRs on deep patterns.
Guess we know how you voted on the "What type of fan are you" thread

Danger Zone said:

I'm going to be very, very sad no matter what happens... unless it plays out perfectly and Tom chooses to retire after a Superbowl win.

...

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resdubwhite said:

I see a ring. Yes
Its becoming clearer.
A ring in Toms future.

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Tom retiring after a Super Bowl win was a scenario I did not consider. I hope you are right.

As a guy who remembers facing his mortality in his late 30s, I'll tell you young'uns how it works:
You do what you have always done on Sunday. When you were in your 20s, you were tired on Monday. In your 30s you are tired and things hurt. Some of it you wonder when the heck that happened.

At first, say at 31, you laugh it off and by wednesday all is OK.
But it continues and by, say 34, you start needing until Thursday.
Then you find yourself with a deep understanding of Holst's Saturn

patfanken said:

Another example of overdrafting a back up QB.

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Do you really want to go in the other direction?

Brilliant sports acquisition guru Jerry Jones did not groom anyone to follow Troy Aikman - they went thru about 7-8 QB like Ryan Leaf and Quincy Carter. Finally found Tony Romo about 6-7 years later. Part of the reason he got a contract extension over $100M is with no viable contender backing him up, his agent had all the leverage to get him paid like Joe Flacco just coming off a SB victory.

This is one of many reasons I'm fed up with the Cowboys and come here.

borg said:

Really????
One guy just had the greatest QB season ever and the other had his lowest completion % in years.
One guy just knocked the other guy out of the playoffs
One guy can't hit open WRs on deep patterns.
Guess we know how you voted on the "What type of fan are you" thread

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One guy had, probably, the best receiving corps in the NFL.
One guy had, probably, the second worst receiving corps in the NFL.

To say that your argument is weak because you ignored that is to significantly understate the situation.

Does anyone really think that if BB thought he had a better chance to win with a different QB he would hesitate one second to make the switch? Brady better stay healthy after this season or he might end up on the bench like Bledsoe. But for now nobody plays better than TB. Next year it may be different. It's just getting to be close to that time. It happens to the best of 'em.

Deus Irae said:

One guy had, probably, the best receiving corps in the NFL.
One guy had, probably, the second worst receiving corps in the NFL.

To say that your argument is weak because you ignored that is to significantly understate the situation.

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Greatest QB season ever. I'm very comfortable rejecting the Brady looks younger and played better argument. And I bet fans from the 44 states outside NE would see it the same way (lets throw in that suburb of NY....Conn. as well). Voters for MVP certainly rejected this argument. The Manning haters seem to believe hitting receivers at a 68% clip is easy or the ball just automatically lands in the "best receiving corp's " hands.