Would you mortgage the future to win now with Brady?

[Rob0729]

Kurt Warner retired at age 38. Although he played well in his final year, he still called it quits.

Despite modern medicine/conditioning and rule changes, these 2004+ players still hit their age walls:

RB: Corey Dillon (age 31) Shaun Alexander (30), Edgerrin James (30), LT (32, but wasn't himself for years), Fred Taylor (32), Michael Turner (31), Willis McGahee (32), Steven Jackson (30), etc.

exceptions: None

WR: Ochocinco (34), Randy Moss (34), TJ Houshmanzadeh (33),Torry Holt (age 33), Brandon Lloyd (32), Marvin Harrison (35), Deion Branch (33), etc.

exceptions: T.O at 37, Derrick Mason at 37

QB: Kerry Collins (37), Kurt Warner (none, but chose to retire at 38), Matt Hasselbeck (36), Rich Gannon (38), Steve McNair (34), Drew Bledsoe (34)

exceptions: Brett Favre at age 40, Peyton Manning if he plays well in 2014.

Several things:

• Warner retired still playing at a high level. He retired on his terms.
• RBs and WRs are completely different animals. The rules until very recently didn't get changed to protect WRs (and that is only when they are a defenseless receiver) and the rules haven't changed to protect RBs at all. RBs, in general, job is to abuse their body by running through tackles.
• Bledsoe hit the age wall around 31. And it wasn't even an age wall. It was because the NFL grew out of the era of the seven step drop QBs. We don't really know how long he would have lasted because the game passed him by.
• Matt Hasselbeck had a few good years, but was a marginal starter for most of his career.
• Rich Gannon was a league MVP at 37 and pretty much ended his career because of neck injury due to a helmet to helmet collision with Derrick Brooks that wasn't illegal in 2003, but is now (Gannon took off and didn't slide when he was trying to go down and Brooks went helmet first into Gannon's helmet which today would be illegal). The league is clearly more aggressive in monitoring helmet to helmet hits and fining them than in 2003.
• Steve McNair is a different type of QB. He was the first good QB who could beat you with his feet. His problem is he got slow and when you didn't fear him running, he was a below average QB.
• Kerry Collins was never elite. He was considered a bust early in his career. Had a good stretch in his late 20s and early 30s and was done by 33 due to injuries and personal demons although he continued to play into his late 30s because he was bankrupt and needed the paycheck. I would not put him in the same category as Brady or even Warner or Gannon.

Again, the biggest change in the last five to ten year or so is that when it comes to the QB, it is turning into flag football. The rules keep the QBs from getting hit. This puts the length of the QB's career into the unknown territory because the QBs who benefitted from these rules from putting excess wear and tear on their bodies are just starting to hit their mid to late 30s. No QB before Brady and Manning really benefitted from these rules for a large part of their careers. This is a huge thing.

It is still fair game to hit RBs pretty much anywhere including helmet to helmet hits in many situations. WRs can get hit anywhere other than the head and below the knees. QBs in the last five years can't get hit pretty much anywhere except for the thigh to the lower shoulder pad without drawing a penalty.

BTW, here is the video of the Brooks hit on Gannon that pretty much ended his career. Tell me that in today's NFL people wouldn't be calling for a suspension for Brooks for such a hit. In 2003, all he got was high fives from his teammates and jokes and chuckles from Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire in the broadcast booth and Paul Maguire's admiration for not celebrating when he found out Gannon was hurt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGC7poIy-Sg