As much as I absolutely hate to say it, Brady has not been playing well this year.

When Hoyer was cut, Brady said something about him that stood out to me. I believe Brady was talking about moments such as the one during the Eagles game after Meyers supposedly run the wrong route. He said Hoyer was his centering board and that Hoyer had an amazing ability to bring Brady's emotions under control and proper perspective. It was strange to hear that at the time but who can play that roll now on this team? Slater?

robertweathers said:

The 2003 offense was like my car in HS. It was ugly. Didn't run great, but got you to where you needed to go.

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Brady is in a significant decline. Media talking heads were giving us the idea it'd be like Peyton Manning where he goes from MVP to limp armed garbage merchant. It's certainly more subtle, but Brady's trending down significantly. He's not winning you games any longer.

Drunken Cicerone said:

Brady is in a significant decline. Media talking heads were giving us the idea it'd be like Peyton Manning where he goes from MVP to limp armed garbage merchant. It's certainly more subtle, but Brady's trending down significantly. He's not winning you games any longer.

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Username checks out.

Actual Pats Fan said:

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Mine was a beat up Ford pickup

Drunken Cicerone said:

Brady is in a significant decline. Media talking heads were giving us the idea it'd be like Peyton Manning where he goes from MVP to limp armed garbage merchant. It's certainly more subtle, but Brady's trending down significantly. He's not winning you games any longer.

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Sober up, Francis.

robertweathers said:

Mine was a beat up Ford pickup

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Let's face it he's not good anymore.

I love these rookie posters that come riding in here with their hot take analyses. Line of site deep is all they can muster. A bad line and decimated receiving core is not even taken into account. These same geniuses probably look out their windows every morning and conclude that the earth is flat.
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Brady has had a lot of things working against him this season but there is no doubt his play has started to slip. At 42, its to be expected. But I am pretty sure that he can still go out there when the conditions are right and he's not fearing for his life and go off for 380 yards and 4 TD's.

vuudu said:

When Hoyer was cut, Brady said something about him that stood out to me. I believe Brady was talking about moments such as the one during the Eagles game after Meyers supposedly run the wrong route. He said Hoyer was his centering board and that Hoyer had an amazing ability to bring Brady's emotions under control and proper perspective. It was strange to hear that at the time but who can play that roll now on this team? Slater?

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One would think that at 42, if you need someone on the roster to ‘center’ you, that maybe you are the problem

Drunken Cicerone said:

Brady is in a significant decline. Media talking heads were giving us the idea it'd be like Peyton Manning where he goes from MVP to limp armed garbage merchant. It's certainly more subtle, but Brady's trending down significantly. He's not winning you games any longer.

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Living up to your screen name, I see.

vuudu said:

When Hoyer was cut, Brady said something about him that stood out to me. I believe Brady was talking about moments such as the one during the Eagles game after Meyers supposedly run the wrong route. He said Hoyer was his centering board and that Hoyer had an amazing ability to bring Brady's emotions under control and proper perspective. It was strange to hear that at the time but who can play that roll now on this team? Slater?

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I think you are misquoting (and thereby over exaggerating) the comments.
I also think that platitudes given players on the way out the door are embellished and should not be taken literally.

BelizePats said:

Brady has had a lot of things working against him this season but there is no doubt his play has started to slip. At 42, its to be expected. But I am pretty sure that he can still go out there when the conditions are right and he's not fearing for his life and go off for 380 yards and 4 TD's.

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I'm not disagreeing so much as I'm posing the question how can any accurate assessment be made when, by your words even, he has a lot working against him this season? We saw the Pats at very nearly full strength against the Steelers. How did he look in that game? And Pittsburgh is not terrible. We saw him with AB for a game. How did things look then? Now let's look at just a few of the things he's had to play through (in no particular order):

1) A replacement LT that is perhaps the worst I've ever seen at the position. Seriously, when guys are going around you untouched, it's amazing Brady only has a sore elbow.

2) No running game. The aforementioned LT issues have only been part of the problem. The whole OL has been terrible. People underestimated Andrews and Mason, due to injury, has not played to his standards. Thuney is the only person who has been consistent all season long.

3) WR musical chairs. Enough said.

And that's just a few things there. Look, is the guy going to decline? Absolutely. Can an accurate assessment truly be made this season? I just don't think so.

That is fair.

Does anyone know when the Patriots site starts selling tickets for games? I checked it out today and they only had tickets for todays game. I'm looking to go to the game on the 21st against the Bills

BelizePats said:

Brady has had a lot of things working against him this season but there is no doubt his play has started to slip. At 42, its to be expected. But I am pretty sure that he can still go out there when the conditions are right and he's not fearing for his life and go off for 380 yards and 4 TD's.

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I take Brady at 42, 43, 44 over almost anybody at any age.

I want to win the game.

What you see in Brady is what we saw in Jordan and so few others

It's an absolute unquenchable thirst for winning. You and I don't have it. 99.9% of professional athletes don't have it, and my goodness are those incredibly competitive people with an unreal appetite for winning.

But there is something different about the legends like Brady. It's palpable through the TV screen. It's something that age never manages to beat. It's what wills you to make as many comebacks as he has had, it's what wills you to eat, sleep and breathe your sport.

Belichick and Brady like nothing more than winning. And they'll do it at whatever costs. Brady belongs in the comeback. He's his best when playing from behind. It's unreal.

As a person who has proclaimed on this website that we're lucky as individuals to have seen one of the most improbable dominations of sport in Usain Bolt, who by literal scientific evidence can be dubbed as a once in history talent, I can safely say (and obviously, subjectively) that even then - Brady is more impressive.

It is absolutely absurd. And I don't give a **** about a decline. Beyond the fact that it's exaggerated by crazy roster turnover and injuries, there is something far more profound in the will to win than the technology to get there. Brady has a will that not a single person of any other team can come close to possessing.

I actually didn't mean to write this. I'm just a little inebriated, saw this thread, and decided to jump in. Sorry to waste your time with what you all already know, even OP.

Brady was a legit MVP candidate weeks 1-3 (if there can be such a thing), then he played awful against Buffalo, and had a good game vs Washington. Since then he's been decent at best to downright mediocre. Second half vs Miami and second half vs the NYJ were some bad halves for ol Tom...

Since the Washington game you can probably count Tom's touchdown "drives" on one hand...I'm not talking the D gives him the ball at the opponent 28 and Brady "engineers" a drive... we've seen a whole lot of this offense making 1 or 2 first downs and punting...

The offense is as good as it's going to get personnel-wise Sunday night. Let's see how Tom does...he's got all the answers to the test; let's see if he passes Sunday night...