QB Controversy!

zydecochris said:

The debate seems to be about whether or not Brady will "lose it" in a few years, or if he will be able to maintain the same level of excellence. A third possibility is that his skills aren't significantly eroded, but he becomes much more injury prone. Regardless of how well prepared and conditioned an athlete is, a 40 year old human body does not heal from injury like a 25 year old does. IMHO, the thing that has made Brady the GOAT is his remarkable football intelligence, he is essentially an "on-the-field" football genius. With that type of sports "genius" sometimes they don't lose their skills as much as their body breaking down. Steve Nash seems like a recent example, his body eventually just gave up at about age 40 despite his remarkable conditioning. Larry Bird also had this type of sports genius, and he had to retire not from an erosion in his skills but his body breaking down.

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Nothing can account for freak injuries (that one bad hit, like in 2008), and it is a given that a 20-year-old body is different than a 40-year-old body. But there is a difference between working out hard and the manner in which you work out. Rodney Harrison was a work-out freak, but the nature of his position and possibly the fact his work-outs did not evolve over time to respect his age difference may not have helped his longevity.

Larry Bird did not change his training regimen as he aged. His pregame routine was well known. He was old school, and great because he was fanatical about his craft. Everything on Nash I read appears to indicate he wasn't accounting for those changes either, until the injuries. You are also talking about 897 and 1, 053 career professional games for those two to Brady's 209. Brady has stated he doesn't throw as much pregame as he did earlier in his career. Little things that may matter in determining longevity. His workout articles are less on how much he does as they are the components of his conditioning program.

I think there is hope in guys like Herschel Walker, fighting in MMA fights at 48. His career conditioning was unconventional during his career, largely push-ups and sit-ups with little weight training. I hope Brady is on the right track, and can push those age limits a bit. Really what matters in Brady is arm strength and quickness of release. If those hold up, so does Brady. Here's hoping Brady's plan keeps him around for a while.

MassPats38 said:

Nothing can account for freak injuries (that one bad hit, like in 2008), and it is a given that a 20-year-old body is different than a 40-year-old body. But there is a difference between working out hard and the manner in which you work out. Rodney Harrison was a work-out freak, but the nature of his position and possibly the fact his work-outs did not evolve over time to respect his age difference may not have helped his longevity.

Larry Bird did not change his training regimen as he aged. His pregame routine was well known. He was old school, and great because he was fanatical about his craft. Everything on Nash I read appears to indicate he wasn't accounting for those changes either, until the injuries. You are also talking about 897 and 1, 053 career professional games for those two to Brady's 209. Brady has stated he doesn't throw as much pregame as he did earlier in his career. Little things that may matter in determining longevity. His workout articles are less on how much he does as they are the components of his conditioning program.

I think there is hope in guys like Herschel Walker, fighting in MMA fights at 48. His career conditioning was unconventional during his career, largely push-ups and sit-ups with little weight training. I hope Brady is on the right track, and can push those age limits a bit. Really what matters in Brady is arm strength and quickness of release. If those hold up, so does Brady. Here's hoping Brady's plan keeps him around for a while.

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Good point, and well articulated. I wasn't aware of Herschel Walker case. I think we can all hope and pray that Brady training regimen will keep him effective and injury free as long as possible, football may never see another like him. I certainly want to keep watching him as long as possible (hopefully with the Pats).

Bruschi was famously limber, enabling him to take withering hits without injury, keeping him going until he was too slow to play. Brady says he works hard at staying limber.

As MP38 points out, he needs to keeps his arm strength and release speed, but the other key will be his ability to take the occasional and unavoidable 'normal' hits from 300 pound lineman, without injury. Once injured, his ability to recover within the season will be a lot less than when he was in his twenties. He can't be afraid of taking those normal hits when necessary to make the big play (and he most certainly isn't!) , but he'll have to avoid them a little more than he used to.

ctpatsfan77 said:

The problem with comparing any QB situation to Favre/Rodgers is that Lord Favrequad kept doing the Favre Annual Retirement Tango, and the Packers got tired of being his dance partner. Brady, OTOH, is closer to "You'll pry the ball out of my cold dead hands."

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At what temperature, pressure, and weather conditions?