This is a great example of the press creating a story where there isn't one. It is laughable to me that last years MVP quarterback would be hearing any footsteps from some recently drafted rookie.
I'm sure Tom recognizes that his career isn't going to last forever regardless of who else is on the roster but as far as feeling pressured by a draft choice, well, that borders on hilarious.
Agreed. To the extent that we can read messages into anything that BB does, to me the first message of this Draft was that the Patriots want to extend Brady's productive years as much as possible.
What did they do with their first pick? Bolster Brady's protection.
What did they do with two of their next three picks? Bolster the Running Game to give the Offense more options and potentially reduce the number of times he has to stand there and take a hit.
What did they do right after they picked Mallett? Bolster the line again with another OT and a big TE.
That says to me that Priorities One, Two and Three for BB on Offense are to be sure that Tom Brady is as productive as possible and has all the opportunities he can for the length of his current contract.
After that? Who knows?
The math says that 38 is the "Saynonara Age" for most great QB's in the SB era. Will it be for Brady? Should it be for Brady?
There's no way of knowing that.
Anyone who says they know for sure that TB will be like Favre and play at a high level until 40 or that Brady will be like most other great QB's and begin to show the impact of his years and a decade of hard hits after he passes 35, doesn't know what s/he is talking about.
We simply have to wait and see.
In the meantime, until he gets a better idea over the next couple of years of what is going to happen, Belichick is trying to walk the line between identifying a possible but by no means obvious successor, having a credible replacement in the event of sudden injury and creating tradeable assets among his backups.
I think he's doing a pretty damn good job, given the uncertainties and risks involved.
