Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years Old?

[BradyManny]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

TB's ability to move away from pressure is fractional compared to 2007. His ability to sense pressure and take a step or 1/2 step to avoid it also seems to have slipped.

When you look at the trend of his career, unfortunately, we were robbed of his play in 2008, and 2009, while still good, he was not quite 100% himself coming back from that injury.

So if you look at 2007, 2010 & 2011 - you see he's still at his peak. He's still improving in a lot of ways. His understanding and control of the offense is somehow still growing, enough that it offsets whatever physical decline he is having. I would agree 2007 might be the pinnacle of his physical ability, but it's possible we haven't even seen the apex of his quarterbacking mastery.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Because The Hammer will be going to his second Pro-Bowl and deflecting questions about being the next Steve Young.

Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NY Giants. The Patriots have a similar approach. Quality depth, develop young coaches, shed expensive veterans when their value has diminished and keep winning. Change is a constant in the NFL. Brady's stepping out from behind the wheel will be a big deal but not necessarily the end of the ride.

If you think Ryan Mallet is going to step in and take us to Super Bowls half of his seasons as a starter, then that's some fairy-tale Peter Pan stuff right there.

It's a QB driven league. Brady, Big Ben and Manning have been in 91% of the Super Bowls since TB12 became a starter.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Because The Hammer will be going to his second Pro-Bowl and deflecting questions about being the next Steve Young.

Let us not forget that the Patriots went to Super Bowls before Brady and will go to Super Bowls after Brady. This Peter Pan crap is starting to really annoy me.

The Patriots organization is built to last right now and as long as the Krafts own it and maintain the values they brought to Foxboro when they bought the team, we can believe that transitions mean renewal not collapse.

Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NY Giants. The Patriots have a similar approach. Quality depth, develop young coaches, shed expensive veterans when their value has diminished and keep winning. Change is a constant in the NFL. Brady's stepping out from behind the wheel will be a big deal but not necessarily the end of the ride.

We went twice in 37 years and got croaked. We've gone 5 times in the last decade. And won 3 and been within 2 minutes of winning all of them.

The Giants went twice and won in a brief stretch in the late 80's-91 coming off abyssmal decades and went and won twice recently after another decade plus drought that led to drafting a potential franchise QB. There were a some bad football seasons scattered in between. The Steelers experienced a long drought after the 70's passed and spent the first 14 years of Cowher's 15 year tenure trying to become more than contenders. They've won twice now and lost once on Ben's watch, but there have also been a smattering ugly seasons as a franchise QB increasingly drives their train. We haven't failed to compile double digit seasons but once in the last 11 years. And it's not like we haven't made what could have been costly mistakes and errors in judgement either, it's just that Brady by and large allowed for them in ways only top 5 elite or GOAT discussion worthy QB's can.

No one is saying the NEP will fall off a cliff and be 4-12 once Brady departs. But they won't be likely be a consistently dominant force in the AFC in the decades thereafter. Probably within 5 years of Brady departing Belichick will as well and the Kraft at the helm won't be named Robert. There will be good decisions and bad decisions made in the interim, good drafts and poor ones, coaches and QB's will eventually again come and go, competitive seasons will be scattered amongst not so competitive ones. Hopefully not as many of the latter as in the good old pre Belichick and Brady days, but not nearly as consistently competitive seasons as this fan base has become accustomed to.

And long before then The Hammer will be a distant memory.

 

[goheels22002]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

If you think Ryan Mallet is going to step in and take us to Super Bowls half of his seasons as a starter, then that's some fairy-tale Peter Pan stuff right there.

It's a QB driven league. Brady, Big Ben and Manning have been in 91% of the Super Bowls since TB12 became a starter.

Is your point that only old guys start at QB in the Super Bowl? Wrong.

Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino were 23-years-old.

Tom Brady was 24-years-old.

Joe Namath and Joe Montana were 25-years-old

Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, Troy Aikman, Rex Grossman and our own Tony Eason were 26-years-old when they started the Super Bowl.

If you follow my logic, you'll be crowing about The Hammer, Ryan Mallett, after he wins the big one four years from now at age 28. Maybe Mallett takes over for Geezer Brady this year and takes the Patriots to the Promised Land at age 24. This is an excellent football team. Belichick is still the coach.

It's happened before.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Is your point that only old guys start at QB in the Super Bowl? Wrong.

Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino were 23-years-old.

Tom Brady was 24-years-old.

My point had nothing to do with their age:

I was showing that the balance of power is dictated by who has the best QBs. I listed three elite QBs in the AFC, and we see three QBs controlling the Super Bowl for a decade - not a coincidence.

Unless you expect Ryan Mallet to be one of the best QBs in the league, you can't expect the Pats to have any comparable success. And the likelihood of him being one of the five best QBs is small.

I think fans can sometimes fail to appreciate the uniqueness of the time we are in with Belichick and Brady together. It's easy to take for granted how rare this success is because it's been so long that we've been witnessing it now.

 

[Joey007]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Think about it though, Brady didn't enter his true (statistical prime, anyways) until 2007 when he was 30. That's very rare for a QB to enter his best year's in his 30's. Look at Brett Favre, when he entered his 30's, he became an INT machine. Even Joe Montana had injuries catch up to him. I think honestly he has another 2 years at his peak, and has another 3-4, maybe 5 years of being a great QB.

 

[goheels22002]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

My point had nothing to do with their age:

I was showing that the balance of power is dictated by who has the best QBs. I listed three elite QBs in the AFC, and we see three QBs controlling the Super Bowl for a decade - not a coincidence.

Unless you expect Ryan Mallet to be one of the best QBs in the league, you can't expect the Pats to have any comparable success. And the likelihood of him being one of the five best QBs is small.

I think fans can sometimes fail to appreciate the uniqueness of the time we are in with Belichick and Brady together. It's easy to take for granted how rare this success is because it's been so long that we've been witnessing it now.

I think Mallett has the goods to be a great QB, especially with a couple of years to mature and learn as an understudy to Brady. He's had the benefit of stability, and now has an Offensive Coordinator who is an outstanding play caller to learn from. I like Hoyer as a backup, but I love Mallett as a starter at his size and with his ability to throw the ball.

Matt Cassell took a team of this caliber to 11-5, but Cassell had none of Mallett's experience in college and is not as good a passer as this guy.

That's a better question: if Brady retired today, should the Pats trade for Matt Cassell or start Ryan Mallett?

I feel awful for those elite college QBs - David Carr jumps to mind - who come in as a terrific #1 to a terrible team with no offensive line to speak of and just get slaughtered back there. Alex Smith has had what 7 different OCs in 7 years before this one? It's amazing he's survived. Andrew Luck is going to a bad team and may never realize his potential.

I like the depth and youth of this team, even at QB, and do not see it as a one-man band.

 

[Ian]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I think Mallett has the goods to be a great QB, especially with a couple of years to mature and learn as an understudy to Brady. He's had the benefit of stability, and now has an Offensive Coordinator who is an outstanding play caller to learn from. I like Hoyer as a backup, but I love Mallett as a starter at his size and with his ability to throw the ball.

Matt Cassell took a team of this caliber to 11-5, but Cassell had none of Mallett's experience in college and is not as good a passer as this guy.

That's a better question: if Brady retired today, should the Pats trade for Matt Cassell or start Ryan Mallett?

I feel awful for those elite college QBs - David Carr jumps to mind - who come in as a terrific #1 to a terrible team with no offensive line to speak of and just get slaughtered back there. Alex Smith has had what 7 different OCs in 7 years before this one? It's amazing he's survived. Andrew Luck is going to a bad team and may never realize his potential.

I like the depth and youth of this team, even at QB, and do not see it as a one-man band.

If he went down today the immediate answer is Hoyer - because he's obviously the more developed of the two. After this season, who knows.

I don't see Cassel coming back. He's been abused in Kansas City and it was pretty amazing to see how quickly the Patriots coaching staff adapted to best suit is strengths here after Brady went down - I think that played a big part in how quickly he settled in. I'm just disappointed we didn't get to see how he could have performed during the postseason because I was intrigued to see how far he might have taken them. I don't know if the hits he's taken out there is making him more hesitant or what his issue is, but he doesn't seem to be as decisive as he was here and that sometimes happens to guys like that. Hopefully he continues to get better and ends up having success there in the coming years.

As for Mallett, I would have to believe he could potentially be a productive player given who they currently have for personnel and for coaching, but you don't really know how a guy is going to react until you see him face an NFL defense. Either way it's a scenario I hope doesn't play out here.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Matt Cassell took a team of this caliber to 11-5, but Cassell had none of Mallett's experience in college and is not as good a passer as this guy.

Cassel had just as good - or better - season with the Chiefs just two years later - better QB rating, more TDs, less picks, same record as starter (10-5), way less sacks. And they made the playoffs.

And that Patriots team that he led was coming off a 16-0 season. That defense was fading fast, yes, but it still might've had more talent left than any defense the team has worked with since. And the Moss offense was still going strong. It's depressing to think of what Brady could've done with that team that year.

That 11-5 record was not good enough to make the playoffs and for good reason. We didn't win our division. We didn't win our division b/c the team didn't win the games that mattered most, and failed to beat good teams. Relative to the rest of the AFC, it wasn't good enough.

That team had a lot of heart, it was Belichick's most impressive coaching job perhaps, and it beat down on a lot of teams - but it lost to the Colts, Steelers & Chargers, and the biggest loss of the season was that heartbreaker in OT to the Jets.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Unless he suffers major injuries I see no reason Brady can't continue to play at a high level for another 5 seasons. he has the best coaches in football around him, great talent around him that shows no sign of fading, and his game is based upon his brains and accuracy, and those aren't going to disappear anytime soon. I think he will retire with at least 2 more rings and the record for wins and winning % his.

GOAT

Enjoy the next 5 years folks because it will be a great ride.

Sucks for jet fans, nothing new there.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Deus swings...and there's a LONG drive!!!!

Tom Brady can't possibly be an elite QB when he's 40 because the superest of all super Jet fans, Ray Ray 19 has already declared Brady is "in the twilight!!!!"...and no one has EVER come out of the twilight to throw for over 5000 yards...except of course, Brady...who did it last season...after Wacknutz Wacknutz declared twilight victory for his Elite-chez...

i thought Roger Clemens came out of the twilight to throw for...oops, never mind....

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I'll leave it to those who understand the position better than I do to tell if Tom Brady has lost a split second moving in the pocket and I'll leave it to those who personally know him better than I do to psych out whether his lost season was a look into life after football or whether he was burned out in 2005 or 2006. My guess is that only his closest friends and family know such things for sure.

I will just repeat what I've said often out here. I could see Brady performing at a high level at the age of 40 or I could see him playing out his current contract plus maybe a year and calling it a career while he still has his mental and physical well being. I don't think we can discount the impact of our increased awareness of the risks of cumulative head trauma from Pop Warner through the NFL on Brady's decision. And that is a discussion to which indeed only his closest inner circle will be privy. I don't even believe much of what those who actually do know him say for public consumption and I certainly don't believe much of the speculation voiced by those who don't know him in that regard when it comes to Tom Brady. That circle is very tight and probably doesn't include more than a single handful of people beyond TB.

I disagree with the comparisons to Favre for many reasons, but mainly because I think that Tom Brady has a far richer (not just $ "richer") life outside of football with a wider range of interests and a spouse who takes him into worlds that even the Favre's and Mannings' of the world only dream about. Brett Favre was content to spend his offseasons in East Bum**** slopping whatever it is that gets slopped on his ranch, while Brady roams the globe with Gisele and splits his time between homes on both coasts.

All I know for sure is that, based on what we have seen of him publicly, he will be giving 100% until his final day in uniform.

 

[PatsWSB47]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I was watching that jack***** Rob Parker on ESPN completely disrespecting Brady. He's no longer elite and hasn't been money in years and even then it was field goals that saved him. He blew the game for the Pats in the Superbowl last year, spygate this, cheating that....all the while giving Tebow and Terrel Ownens way more respect. God if I could only reach through my TV set. God, what an *****hole he is.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Is your point that only old guys start at QB in the Super Bowl? Wrong.

Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Marino were 23-years-old.

Tom Brady was 24-years-old.

Joe Namath and Joe Montana were 25-years-old

Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, Troy Aikman, Rex Grossman and our own Tony Eason were 26-years-old when they started the Super Bowl.

If you follow my logic, you'll be crowing about The Hammer, Ryan Mallett, after he wins the big one four years from now at age 28. Maybe Mallett takes over for Geezer Brady this year and takes the Patriots to the Promised Land at age 24. This is an excellent football team. Belichick is still the coach.

It's happened before.

By the time he was 24 Brady had run off all comers at the backup QB position here and effectively outperformed the face of the franchise, whose job he was going to take sooner or later whether fans and pundits realized it or not so no, it hasn't happened before - just the opposite did. The cerebral QB with the barely adequate arm and the affinity for detail an accuracy who had had to fight his way onto every roster he ever played on replaced the prototype tall guy with the rocket arm who had always been annointed as a starter from the time he was a teenager. The thing that ultimately fascinated Belichick about Brady was that despite the deck continually being stacked against him he somehow ultimately always found a way to win. The thing that fascinates scounts and coaches about guys like Bledsoe or Mallett is measurables talent like arm strength. But here moreso than anywhere that is among the least necessary of the requirements.

4 years from now if Mallett is still playing let alone starting it will be somewhere where they run a simpler system predicated largely on the talent of the skill position players.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I'll leave it to those who understand the position better than I do to tell if Tom Brady has lost a split second moving in the pocket and I'll leave it to those who personally know him better than I do to psych out whether his lost season was a look into life after football or whether he was burned out in 2005 or 2006. My guess is that only his closest friends and family know such things for sure.

I will just repeat what I've said often out here. I could see Brady performing at a high level at the age of 40 or I could see him playing out his current contract plus maybe a year and calling it a career while he still has his mental and physical well being. I don't think we can discount the impact of our increased awareness of the risks of cumulative head trauma from Pop Warner through the NFL on Brady's decision. And that is a discussion to which indeed only his closest inner circle will be privy. I don't even believe much of what those who actually do know him say for public consumption and I certainly don't believe much of the speculation voiced by those who don't know him in that regard when it comes to Tom Brady. That circle is very tight and probably doesn't include more than a single handful of people beyond TB.

You seem to have a real need to perceive Brady as a guy too smart to hang around much longer because football can be dangerous... He's been hanging around it long enough to know that, and yet he remains - even (anxiously) returns from his world travels as the hubby of an A list mega model...during which he never fails to maintain a world class conditioning program. You don't have to be psychic to decipher his feelings on the matter because he has addressed them frankly, repeatedly in multiple formats. What you seem to have to believe is he would never be honest and it's more likely he shares your particular POV...

 

[Patjew]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I should have mentioned that I don't think Brady is less nimble now due to his age. I think it's from the injury.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I think Mallett has the goods to be a great QB, .

I like Mallett too but really? Why? Because hes TB's backup and hes tall and has a strong arm?

We've seen this movie before..

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I should have mentioned that I don't think Brady is less nimble now due to his age. I think it's from the injury.

Knee? You think he never fully recovered?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

I was watching that jack***** Rob Parker on ESPN completely disrespecting Brady. He's no longer elite and hasn't been money in years and even then it was field goals that saved him. He blew the game for the Pats in the Superbowl last year, spygate this, cheating that....all the while giving Tebow and Terrel Ownens way more respect. God if I could only reach through my TV set. God, what an *****hole he is.

Rob Parker shouts at the rain and anyone who gives him the time of day.

He opinion is meaningless.

 

[Patjew]

Re: Why Can't Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Be An Elite Quarterback At Forty Years O

Knee? You think he never fully recovered?

I don't know. I just see a less nimble/quick guy. Maybe it's the brace. Maybe it's age.

Maybe I need new glasses.