My $0.02:
- i don't view Brady as a great deep ball thrower, but I don't believe it is due to insufficient arm strength. As many here have pointed out, I think it has something to do with the talents of the receivers he has had. Part of that talent is how fast they are and how well they adjust to the ball during its flight, but also it is how well those receivers have been able to learn their entire role in the Pats offense, being precise in their routes and timing, blocking well downfield, etc. The Pats just haven't drafted anyone other than Branch and maybe Givens who fit what they do very well while also being effective with Brady on the deep ball. They've had similarly tough results with free agents or trade acquisitions not named Patton, Welker, Stallwoth, LaFell, and Moss. Talent evaluation and coaching the position are factors in this, IMHO.
- Brady's own talent is also a big factor. I don't think it's this huge insult to him to say he has some limitations or even some flaws. He isn't good at the deep pass, but so what? Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson are better than Brady at it, and they are very good QBs with championships on their resumes, but would you take either of them son the Pars right now over Brady? Much less over Brady in his prime? I sure wouldn't.
- The importance of arm strength is very overrated in my opinion. Yes it is important, but I'll take brain strength over arm strength every time (up to point, of course, I don't want a Chad Pennington any more than I want a Jay Cutler). Having a cannon arm is great but if it comes with Favre-esque lousy decisionmaking or Bledsoe-esque slow decisionmaking then you're not going to see a lot of championships.
- Finally, aside from covering basketball, Ryan had always been a jackass in general and moronic in particular on football. He doesn't get the game, knows nothing about the Xs and Os, knows nothing about the college game, etc. Bob's entire worldview has always put entertaining himself and cultivating his relationships with national sportswriters and broadcasters (i.e., the Lupicas, Costas', and Bermans) above the time and effort needed to study the game itself and the sport. Bob has said on numerous occasions that his favorite experience covering football was attending Parcells' press conferences (no I don't have a link to this, but I heard him say it repeatedly on talk radio and that Sunday night program with Lobel, etc.). That tells me all I need to know about his mentality and credibility when it comes to his opinions about anything related to football. Being on staff with McDonough and (have to include him in spite of my repulsion to do so) Borges, as well as guys who came later like Holley, Smith, and Bedard, meant old Bob could mail it in on football without clowning himself. F him with his garbage opinions about Brady, they are about as credible as Jim Irsay's views on law and order. He is to be held in contempt and ignored by those of us who actually like and respect the game and the sport, unlike him.