I sometimes wonder what people are watching.
Uh, Brady used to launch bombs on target to Deion Branch regularly, he hit Bethel Johnson in the playoffs a couple times with bombs, he did it with Randy Moss.
I looked up his deep ball numbers (passes thrown from 31-40 and then 41+ yds down the field). Unfortunately, they didn't have splits for him on that in 2001, so I'm just giving you what they have, from 2002-2011.
Career (2002-2011) 31-40: 39-146 (26.7%), 1588 yds, 10.9 ypa, 14 td, 10 int
Career (2002-2011) 41+: 26-91 (28.6%), 1357 yds, 14.9 ypa, 15 td, 10 int
TOTAL (2002-2011) 31+: 65-237 (27.4%), 2945 yds, 12.4 ypa, 29 td, 20 int
Now, let's factor in the Moss Effect. Specifically, that insanely great 2007 season when Moss caught everything that was anywhere near him (including one-handers).
In 2007, here were Brady's deep ball numbers:
31-40: 6-13 (46.2%), 256 yds, 19.7 ypa, 3 td, 2 int
41+: 7-17 (41.2%), 366 yds, 21.5 ypa, 5 td, 0 int
TOT: 13-30 (43.3%), 622 yds, 20.7 ypa, 8 td, 2 int
Those are terrific deep numbers. Take those out and here's what you get for Brady's career (from 2002-2011, less 2007, and including all passes 31+ yards downfield):
52-207 (25.1%), 2323 yds, 11.2 ypa, 21 td, 18 int