luuked
Hall of Fame Poster
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2014
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It was NEVER about a "cliff". What we are watching and will continue to watch over the next 2 years is an "erosion". The Brady mania for being in shape and his obsession with continuing to try and "get better" will mitigate against any actual "cliff" occurring.
I think 2017 was the acme of Brady's career. Now we will see the "erosion". We are never going to see the kind of season we saw in 17, and even the most die hard Brady fan would have to admit that he wasn't AS good in 18, and quite frankly I expect to be a little worse in 19 and 20.
But here's the thing. A slowly eroding Brady is STILL a better QB than the vast majority of QB's playing the game, and a FAR better alternative than whatever alternative the Pats could acquire to replace him. On his BEST day, Jimmy Garapollo was never as good as Tom Brady.
Clearly Bill and Josh are creating the offensive system that will allow Brady to enter his dotage as comfortably as possible, and the Pats ability to still be a competing for championships won't diminish much while it happens.
While I completely agree with the choice of "Erosion" over "Cliff" I don't get why you think it is unthinkable that Brady could hit 2017 levels again.
As you are saying yourself.. Part of the reason he is able to continue playing at a high level is because our offense is build in a way that mitigates the more obvious signs of decline other QBs have shown (arm strength, throwing ducks ect.).
Now in the post-Gronk world if we end up in a situation where he has to heave the ball deep frequently you will definitely see a difference as the season keeps wearing on him. But if we can continue with our normal quick passing, chain moving offense I am not sure why he could not have another season -- statistically speaking -- as in 2016 or 2017.
Which of his abilities do you think could erode that affects that kind of style in any significant way ?
Keep in mind that in 2018 many of his INTs last year were accidental and not on him. So last year was really not as bad as it looks on the stat sheet.
Either way I completely agree that this is more about erosion than a cliff unless he suffers some kind of significant injury.