I disagree, we have a QB moving into the back nine, he can still play, but he needs to be protected.
He has been, and is currently "being protected." The front office has spent numerous resources on healthy contracts and first round picks to continue to protect him.
The offensive scheme itself is designed to protect Brady and limit his hits. Last year Brady had the quickest release time out of any NFL QB at around 2.4 seconds average per throw. That is due to the short pass offense and use of the slot receiver etc. The implementation of the hurry-up obviously adds to his benefit.
It's somewhat ironic that so many clamor for a downfield threat WR and a step into the more traditional passing game under center etc, yet at the same time so many are worried about Brady's protection and lifespan etc.
He needs to throw the ball less, he needs to take less hits, and he needs defenses to fear the run. Brady would be more effective with a real commitment to the running game.
As I said, Belichick/McDaniels/Brady are already using a system designed to minimize his hits. This was put in place when they decided to release/trade Randy Moss back in early 2010, and takes advantage of quicker timing throws and patterns that are based more cerebrally by reading pre-snap defensive alignments based on where the safety and others are lining up.
I can't see how you can honestly claim that "we need a real commitment to the running game," when our 2012 rushes for the season made us the #2 team in the NFL in terms of attempts? Obviously, we already have a commitment to running the ball more. That is what led to the 55/45 breakdown already, which was down from 57/43 the year before.
There will be plenty of time for your proposed 50/50 ratio when Tom Brady is done playing football. In the meantime, if they are honestly going to consider a 50/50 ratio for the entire season (which they're not) they would be better off using a lesser talented QB saving money, and adding it to other areas of the team. Opposing DC's stay up at night gameplanning around Brady/Gronk/Hernandez/Amendola (Welker in the past), not our vaunted rushing attack, although it's great to see more balance and production and I'd like it to stay that way, particularly in the late season playoff games.
The bottom line is that Brady is still our #1 weapon, and Belichick and Co. have found a way to use that talent while also addressing your concerns over ratios, protection, and career span by tailoring the offense around these factors.
Make those throws count for more, because Brady only has a certain number of throws left.
Obviously you have a point with the generalization of the comment, much like Brady "only has a certain number of breaths left" etc, but you're also making some assumptions in terms of how many years he has left etc.
Brady regularly wins the award/parking space for the best offseason workout and shape etc. He takes very good care of himself. We've seen many QB's like Elway, Moon, Montana, Young, Marino, Favre all play into their late 30's/early 40's in an era where QB's did not take this good of care of themselves, so I'm not sure why we should be jumping to conclusions that he can't continue to play at a high level for another 4-5 yrs? Brady's drive and commitment to his health and physical condition already should set him apart from some of these other QB's who played late into their careers.
In the meantime, he's become a much better QB in his past several yrs in terms of decision making/less INT's etc, and his biggest jump has probably been how he reads and reacts to the defense and makes the proper adjustments to that. He actually made the comments of "I am a better QB now" when compared to his days of the past in interviews.
