In 2017, the term "father time" is laughable

[Viper652]

I've noticed the people who throw around that term in person arnt exactly aging well.

I know a 40 year old QB is a bit different comparing to the average 40 year old on the street, but 40 is the youngest it's ever been now. Its the new 30, hell and in some cases the new 25 if you have great genetics. Hell I'm 36 and some think I'm as young as a high school senior. And I'm much more athletic at 36 than I was at 17. Much stronger, can run faster. Only thing I can't do as well is jump higher.

Point being 40 is not even what it was 10 years ago. We have the best medicine in the world right now. And Brady gets the best of the best. Hell Favre had his best year ever at 40 and that guy looks as old as my 1947 baby boomer dad.

 

[A Defiant Goose]

Can Father Time rush the passer?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Father Time is undefeated, when Edelman is healthy.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Wrecked my back when I turned 40.

 

[Joey007]

Wrecked my back when I turned 40.

Jesus, a cat at 40? That's like 192 in human years. How much avocado ice cream did you eat?

 

[borg]

We have the best medicine in the world right now. And Brady gets the best of the best.

Does Brady get the "best of the best" medicine because he's old or injured?
Did all the players who were injured in camp not take their medicine?

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

I've noticed the people who throw around that term in person arnt exactly aging well.

I know a 40 year old QB is a bit different comparing to the average 40 year old on the street, but 40 is the youngest it's ever been now. Its the new 30, hell and in some cases the new 25 if you have great genetics. Hell I'm 36 and some think I'm as young as a high school senior. And I'm much more athletic at 36 than I was at 17. Much stronger, can run faster. Only thing I can't do as well is jump higher.

Point being 40 is not even what it was 10 years ago. We have the best medicine in the world right now. And Brady gets the best of the best. Hell Favre had his best year ever at 40 and that guy looks as old as my 1947 baby boomer dad.

Just keep in mind there are a number of great QB's that played a long time where age suddenly caught up with them. They had a sudden drop off from one year to the next instead of showing a gradual decline in performance.

For example, Marino never had an average passer rating over a year below 80 from 1983-1998, then suddenly has a passer rating of 67.4 in his last year at age 38:
Dan Marino Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Peyton Manning had 11 straight seasons of 95+ passer rating and then suddenly in his last year at age 39 he has 67.9: Peyton Manning Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Brett Favre also had a sudden drop off to 69.9 his last year at age 41
Brett Favre Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

And that's just looking at raw unadjusted stats. Adjust them all to a reference year and the difference to the earlier years is even more pronounced.

Point is....Brady's 40. It's not far fetched to predict he'll suddenly start showing his age instead of having a gradual decline.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I am just looking foward to next week. It can't get here fast enough. Never doubt this guy.

 

[ViperGTS]

Just keep in mind there are a number of great QB's that played a long time where age suddenly caught up with them. They had a sudden drop off from one year to the next instead of showing a gradual decline in performance.

For example, Marino never had an average passer rating over a year below 80 from 1983-1998, then suddenly has a passer rating of 67.4 in his last year at age 38:
Dan Marino Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Peyton Manning had 11 straight seasons of 95+ passer rating and then suddenly in his last year at age 39 he has 67.9: Peyton Manning Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Brett Favre also had a sudden drop off to 69.9 his last year at age 41
Brett Favre Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

And that's just looking at raw unadjusted stats. Adjust them all to a reference year and the difference to the earlier years is even more pronounced.

Point is....Brady's 40. It's not far fetched to predict he'll suddenly start showing his age instead of having a gradual decline.

Shhhhhh....don't bring those pesky facts around here. TB was far closer to this than he was MVP last night.

 

[supafly]

Shhhhhh....don't bring those pesky facts around here. TB was far closer to this than he was MVP last night.

Much like Manning, Tom could live off of his cerebral game alone for a good year or two. We all knew that Peyton lacked arm strength, but his ability to float (literally) the ball around to his options were predicated by his amazing ability to use pre-snap reads and checks to his benefit.

As a matter of fact, Manning set the TD record with 55 tosses in 2013 and then won the SB a couple of years later. Both came during a time period where we regularly made fun of him for his piss poor throws, and there's little chance that Brady's arm strength would diminish as much as Peyton's.

One thing that benefited Peyton and has also benefited Tom throughout the years is the ability to take advantage of mismatches and get rid of the ball quickly via short timing routes. Without those, Brady is going to look as if his skills are diminishing much quicker than under normal circumstances. It's why the idea of primarily moving to a vertical game just isn't going to work right now, and anyone expecting otherwise is either fooling themselves or simply hasn't been paying attention to how this team operates. That's not to say that he can't make a good showing and gradually adjust as the season goes on, but I don't think we'd be having this same conversation had Edelman stayed healthy, and possibly even Amendola, for that matter.

 

[ViperGTS]

Much like Manning, Tom could live off of his cerebral game alone for a good year or two. We all knew that Peyton lacked arm strength, but his ability to float (literally) the ball around to his options were predicated by his amazing ability to use pre-snap reads and checks to his benefit.

As a matter of fact, Manning set the TD record with 55 tosses in 2013 and then won the SB a couple of years later. Both came during a time period where we regularly made fun of him for his piss poor throws, and there's little chance that Brady's arm strength would diminish as much as Peyton's.

One thing that benefited Peyton and has also benefited Tom throughout the years is the ability to take advantage of mismatches and get rid of the ball quickly via short timing routes. Without those, Brady is going to look as if his skills are diminishing much quicker than under normal circumstances. It's why the idea of primarily moving to a vertical game just isn't going to work right now, and anyone expecting otherwise is either fooling themselves or simply hasn't been paying attention to how this team operates. That's not to say that he can't make a good showing and gradually adjust as the season goes on, but I don't think we'd be having this same conversation had Edelman stayed healthy, and possibly even Amendola, for that matter.

I don't disagree with much here. Which is why I feel this is going to be a trying season. It's also somewhat of a failure to not have another Edelman in training. Edelman had what, 3 years of apprenticeship under Welker? And isn't Jules nearing the age Welker was when they didn't re-sign him? Seems to me that next guy should already be on the roster and it isn't. That's a major mistake in my opinion.

 

[supafly]

I don't disagree with much here. Which is why I feel this is going to be a trying season. It's also so ewhat of a failure to not have another Edelman in training. Edelman had what, 3 years of apprenticeship under Welker? And isn't Jules nearing the age Welker was when they traded him? Seems to me that next guy should already be on the roster and it isn't. That's a major mistake in my opinion.

I am somewhat surprised, too, particularly since they knew about Mitchell's injury situation prior to cuts.

I'm guessing that they just didn't care for Carr nearly as much as we had hoped. I can't think of any other reason. At this point, I'm wondering if Wes Welker could at least give us 50% of Edelman, and the irony is that I'm really only half-kidding with my comment. Obviously, it's terribly unrealistic for multiple reasons, but damn...they're going to be in a bind if Amendola doesn't play at least 12 games this year, which is probably unlikely as hell.

I'm starting to think that the only other option is a blend of Cooks, RB, and Hogan--all needing to take more reps from the slot. How effective that will be is anyone's guess, but it's going to be a challenge. Again, Amendola could potentially surprise us and stay relatively healthy, but none of us are expecting that.

 

[chumpchange]

I am just looking foward to next week. It can't get here fast enough. Never doubt this guy.

Personally, I'm not the least bit worried about this, either. With that win in February, Tom cemented his legacy as the unquestioned greatest quarterback to ever play the game, and everything from here on out is icing on the cake. I hope he maintains his level for a long time, because it's a pleasure to watch him play. Just enjoy the ride.

 

[StockingAnarchyNumber12]

All I know is - Never doubt Brady. Yes, he looked off. Though, he looked off in 2014 against KC. I once doubted Brady during that 2-2 run and felt embarrased because I listened to the noise.

Never again. He's my QB and the GOAT. Brady, shred NO Saints and shut these haters up.

 

[Kontradiction]

Sig.

 

[luuked]

Just keep in mind there are a number of great QB's that played a long time where age suddenly caught up with them. They had a sudden drop off from one year to the next instead of showing a gradual decline in performance.

For example, Marino never had an average passer rating over a year below 80 from 1983-1998, then suddenly has a passer rating of 67.4 in his last year at age 38:
Dan Marino Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Peyton Manning had 11 straight seasons of 95+ passer rating and then suddenly in his last year at age 39 he has 67.9: Peyton Manning Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Brett Favre also had a sudden drop off to 69.9 his last year at age 41
Brett Favre Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

And that's just looking at raw unadjusted stats. Adjust them all to a reference year and the difference to the earlier years is even more pronounced.

Point is....Brady's 40. It's not far fetched to predict he'll suddenly start showing his age instead of having a gradual decline.

That is a pretty lazy approach.

How about going into looking why they suddenly had lower numbers instead of assuming that the numbers tell the story. Without the context of Mannings neck surgery his stats and their drop are meaningless when you want to talk about age being a factor. We all know that performance declines with age at some point but using passer rating as evidence is just lazy.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That is a pretty lazy approach.

How about going into looking why they suddenly had lower numbers instead of assuming that the numbers tell the story. Without the context of Mannings neck surgery his stats and their drop are meaningless when you want to talk about age being a factor. We all know that performance declines with age at some point but using passer rating as evidence is just lazy.

Agree.

Typically it's an injury(s) that they've experienced that they just can't overcome.

We know about Manning. The neck and weakening hand and arm strength.

For Marino has arm was actually fine. He said it was his knees and ankles that were trash.

Favre claims short-term memory loss as the reason for his retirement. Hes in for a world of hurt.

Montana was feet, back, concussion, elbow...just could never get right. He'd had it.

As far as we know, Tom is 100% healthy right now. The cause for concern will be when we start seeing significant injuries pile up and he can't return to form.

 

[Nikolai]

Prior to my injury, I was in far better shape at 35 than I was at 25. I'm aiming to be in ever better shape at 40. I'm not following TFB's fitness plan to the letter, but I eat far healthier and I stretch a LOT more, generally doing what I have to do with my body to be more fit.

The biggest difference is the mind. I understand far better what is going on with my body, my true limitations, how to work within them, and inch those boundaries out more everyday. I'm a smarter athlete as an old soldier now than I was in college as a young, ****-swingin' hockey player.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

That pass to brandin cooks tells you the guy can sling it but he did miss some passes. It was a bad night for everyone. Let's see how they rebound next week.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Prior to my injury, I was in far better shape at 35 than I was at 25. I'm aiming to be in ever better shape at 40. I'm not following TFB's fitness plan to the letter, but I eat far healthier and I stretch a LOT more, generally doing what I have to do with my body to be more fit.

The biggest difference is the mind. I understand far better what is going on with my body, my true limitations, how to work within them, and inch those boundaries out more everyday. I'm a smarter athlete as an old soldier now than I was in college as a young, ****-swingin' hockey player.

Good for you bro! Keep it up!