"Portrait of a QB in decline"

Posted by @SeanGlennon on Twitter before the LOLphins game.




Yes, there was cause for concern, but the outright panic was just a wee bit premature.

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

I couldn't be more impressed with the work that he has done since September of last year, despite all of the injuries, the Hernandez fiasco, and the lack of adequate receiving options (which have been improved upon this year due to various factors).

I like that sack stat.

I love Brady as much as the next guy but he needed that fire lit under his ass after the KC game. He became somewhat like Rocky in Rocky III. It took people questioning whether he was done to get the chip back on his shoulder and start playing pissed off again. Last year and the beginning of this year were not great by his standards. I think 90% of the game is mental and it took people saying he was done for him to rededicate himself. Hell he has even improved his mobility this year.

When I see the sack comparison wonder where are all the folks who whine and ***** about our offensive line, "woes"... particularly who lament the loss of the heart and soul of the O line, Mankins. Guess Dave DeGugiemo isn't that bad after all.. in fact last week Scar confirmed that he was doing a good job.

But my eyeball also tells me that Brady seems "quicker" than he has ever been.

pheenix11 said:

I love Brady as much as the next guy but he needed that fire lit under his ass after the KC game. He became somewhat like Rocky in Rocky III. It took people questioning whether he was done to get the chip back on his shoulder and start playing pissed off again. Last year and the beginning of this year were not great by his standards. I think 90% of the game is mental and it took people saying he was done for him to rededicate himself. Hell he has even improved his mobility this year.

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not really ... his offensive line started to play better, and got the right mix of guys ..

that TB12 place he visits must be helping....

pheenix11 said:

I love Brady as much as the next guy but he needed that fire lit under his ass after the KC game. He became somewhat like Rocky in Rocky III. It took people questioning whether he was done to get the chip back on his shoulder and start playing pissed off again. Last year and the beginning of this year were not great by his standards. I think 90% of the game is mental and it took people saying he was done for him to rededicate himself. Hell he has even improved his mobility this year.

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Pure sewage.

01 ~ There isn't a Soul more self-motivated than Tom Brady. Rooting for'm is nothing short of a Privilege.
02 ~ To watch the guy push'mself relentlessly for 13 Years and then imply that he was coasting is disgusting.
03 ~ Despite the amusing annual Wailing & Gnashing of Teeth, it's very common for the Patriots to stumble out'f the gate in September: It often takes the Team a few weeks to gel. That's all that that was.

I was in the decline camp. Seems foolish now. His throws were erratic, things didn't seem crisp. I underestimated (1) OL importance (2) the early season is just for feeling out (3) the ability of a 15 year vet.

Learned my lesson. Will revisit possible decline in ten years.

pheenix11 said:

I love Brady as much as the next guy but he needed that fire lit under his ass after the KC game. He became somewhat like Rocky in Rocky III. It took people questioning whether he was done to get the chip back on his shoulder and start playing pissed off again. Last year and the beginning of this year were not great by his standards. I think 90% of the game is mental and it took people saying he was done for him to rededicate himself. Hell he has even improved his mobility this year.

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While we can all say that TB was very animated during that Cinci game and he has admitted to have heard the "decline" comments, I don't think it was a re-dedication or that TB was coasting which was the catalyst for his increased production.

In terms of Brady playing "better" I think it came down to 4 things...

1) People will tell you that because of the player turnover and reduced pre-season practice workload, the first few games are very much like a preseason. I think the coaches were still trying to figure out the player rotations and packages.
2) Line play.
3) Coaches holding Gronk back
4) Coaches suggesting that TB move around the pocket more.

I never bought the decline talk. He has, however, certain weaknesses like any QB. He is not going to be very effective when he is pressured a lot or when the short passing game is taken away. Doesnt mattet if hes 28 38 or 48.

I wasn't concerned.

Yeah, he has trouble with motivation.

So glad to have watched a decent football team that struggled a lot before our recent success. Hopefully, the easily frustrated never have to see some of the QB play I've seen.

Improving the line even more like Jerry did in Dallas and I can see Brady having stellar numbers next season.

Can't believe they missed the important stat. Decline my ass!

DarrylS said:

When I see the sack comparison wonder where are all the folks who whine and ***** about our offensive line, "woes"... particularly who lament the loss of the heart and soul of the O line, Mankins. Guess Dave DeGugiemo isn't that bad after all.. in fact last week Scar confirmed that he was doing a good job.

Click to expand...

Did you miss the first 4 games of the season? People were absolutely right to talk about the OL. The last few games have shown that it's still an issue, for that matter.

DarrylS said:

But my eyeball also tells me that Brady seems "quicker" than he has ever been.

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Yes, Brady's bailed the line out of a lot of sacks this season.

Brady is on pace to get sacked the 2nd fewest amount of times in a season in his career.

All the passing stats can be attributed to having two legitimate starting WRs and Gronk back, but the sack stat is interesting. Highly doubtful that this is his second best OL of his career, so did he get better at evading the rush at 37 years old?

Maybe his week 1-4 David Carr OL somehow helped him in this area?

I never bought that decline stuff either. First off, when aged QB's decline, it's generally not gradual, it's a "fall of the cliff" decline like we are starting to see with Peyton as the season wears on. For TFB, it's pretty normal to have a few rough early outings in any given season. By game 3-4 they are usually sorted out. Plus, it was pretty clear that we had "other" offensive issues going on (namely the o-line). I was, frankly, more worried about that then any TFB decline.

QB age decline is generally not gradual and it begins to show more and more as the season goes one. Look at Farve, and now Peyton and many of the others older starting QB's. TFB will someday likely go through this too, but it won't be really obvious until week 10+, not in games 1-2.

The OL looked like trash pre-season.
The OL played like trash early in the regular season.
It seems that once a reasonably stable lineup with best players healthy was achieved, line play improved.
The OL is playing far better since then but has flawed players that can be beaten given certain matches.
(Elite speed rushers outside; elite power DTs inside...) Most OLs have these flaws.
I believe that Brady's 2014 personal concerted effort to develop an ability to roll outside and actually complete passes has helped reduce his sack #s independent of line play and has helped the offense. Nobody is going to bother to game plan a defensive alignment to stop TFB from doing this so that's a big reason it can be so effective when Tom executes properly.

those idiots talking about brady in decline.....pffftt

do they even watch the games?

I watch the games. Brady is in decline. Even in recent weeks, he's had stretches where he has been just plain bad.

Fortunately, he has had more stretches where he's been good this year. But, that ratio of bad to good inevitably goes downhill with age. It's not like Montana, Marino, and Favre still couldn't play well some of the time, even when they were done.

BTW, I do think the decline of a great quarterback is gradual. It's noticing it that is all the sudden.