Besides what’s been said, and I agree about his feet and monility, there’s also the calendar, and that tells me he is 40 years old. George Blanda, Steve DeBerg, Doug Flutie, and others. It’s only a matter of time. Blanda played at 48(!), but he was kicking and hardly QB’ing. He effectively stopped QB’ing at 39. DeBerg at 44, Warren Moon at 42, Flutie at 39 (effectively his last productive QB season), and then also Vinny Testaverde at 41 (OK, some more, just a little, at 44 when he was 94 of 172 attempts for the season), Earl Morrall at 41-42…
I look at the calendar. Brady will play maybe 3 more years, and he wants to play 5 more years. If he does, more power to him. But in those 3-5 years the number of his bad games will begin to outshine (outdull?) the number of his good games.
I really don’t give a shit about the NFL anymore and was not looking forward to the viewing party I have to go to. However, I just found out about this Pepsi advertisement that has a Kesha song playing in the background! Now I at least have something to be interested in.
No doubt, but the simple fact of his age isn’t evidence of a player’s decline, it’s a cause. If his mobility has decreased (and it may well have; I don’t watch him play frequently enough to know, and it something that wouldn’t necessarily be immediately evident in his stats), I agree that that’d be a sign that his performance is starting to decline. I’d be curious to see if professional scouts are in agreement that Brady is, in fact, losing mobility.
A decade ago or so, I recall reading an article in the Chicago Tribune which illustrated numerous examples of top-tier quarterbacks who all hit a wall, performance-wise, in their 38th year, and they included most of the QBs that you mention. More recent examples we could also include would be Peyton Manning (played until age 39, and won the Super Bowl in his final game, but his arm strength was clearly diminished after his neck injury), and Brett Favre (had a stellar season at age 40 for the Vikings, coming within a hair of the Super Bowl, but then was clearly diminished the following season, as injuries took their toll).
But, a number of your examples are from a generation ago, now; it’s important to recognize that there have been enormous advances in sport science and nutrition over the past 20 years, and that those are making it possible for more athletes, in general, to continue performing at a high level for longer. And, Brady, himself, is a poster child for all of that, with his well-documented training and dietary regimens.
Will Brady be able to continue to play at this level at age 41? 45? It’s impossible to predict, of course, and you’re right, he can’t defy gravity forever. All I’m saying is “he’s age 40” is not, in and of itself, evidence of decline.
I found the article, it’s actually from 1999 (I guess that’s a sign of my own age-related decline ). The article also made specific references to Dan Marino and Steve Young, who were age 38 in that season, and how it was looking like the end for both of them.
I’m of two minds on this. Cousins is one of “my guys”. I loved that him coming out of college and thought he was a great pick in the 4th round. I do think he’s a better than average NFL QB, with the potential to be great. But I also understand their unwillingness to make him the highest paid player in the NFL, which is apparently his demands. Tough call.
Yeah, he isn’t Aaron Rodgers, or even Alex Smith. He’s a good-to-great QB, maybe top ten in the league, but he’s nowhere near top-dollar level.
On a selfish note, I certainly don’t want him making bank elsewhere. Rodgers is due for an extension in the next year, and you can bet he’ll get every dollar he’s worth. Right now, the baseline is Stafford at $27 million a year. Rodgers will probably command about $30m/yr if nothing changes. If Cousins gets that beforehand? All bets are off - we’re talking real money.
I sometimes wonder if the Pats don’t cunningly and with great skill allow themselves to fall behind through most of the game just to give their opponents a false sense of security so they let off the gas, while at the same time wearing them out so they can’t get the pedal back down anymore even when they need to. It’s amazing how many of the Patriots’ big-game victories are come-from-behind victories that happen in the waning moments of the game where their opponents appear to choke but are more likely just out of gas while the Pats appear strong and fresh and ready to do the impossible.
Either that, or the Patriots’ analytic abilities and half-time adjustments really are all that.
The Super Bowl will be an interesting game. I’m hoping the Patriots win as I have a feeling that their halcyon days may well be coming to an end. They’re in danger of losing their offensive and defensive coordinators and there’s friction between Belichick and Brady/Kraft. I’ll be very surprised if the Patriots are as strong in the future as they are now, even if Brady hangs on and makes it to 45. (And speaking of which, what about his eyes? Most people start needing reading glasses at least at around 40 years of age and eye changes aren’t something that can be warded off through diet and exercise. I have trouble imagining Brady being as razor sharp as he is while wearing glasses.)
No quarterback of this era is the GOAT. The rules have changed so much to allow for more passing. And Brady plays in an era where there are no great teams. In the '80s you had the Redskins, Giants, Bears, 49ers, all capable of becoming a dynasty. Now the teams are all watered down and mediocre. The fact is, the Patriots have never had to beat a great team.
Brady has also never taken the hits that quarterbacks of previous eras took. You can’t clobber the QB anymore without drawing a flag.
And three of the Patriots’ championships were gifted to them. They were defeated in the playoffs in '01 but the officials decided to change the results of the game. And their last two super bowl wins were the results of legendary play-calling meltdowns by opposing coaches.
Remember that Brady also went around deflating footballs.
Just changed batteries in BP machine. I’m bringing my Eagle hat, Eagle Pillow Pet and the BP pump, plus eating tons of CA edibles before the game and at halftime. That will hopefully stop me from standing on the bar and yelling at a TV.
Who am I kidding? My stroke/heart attack will probably start at 3:42 PM, PST, just after kickoff, sober or not. Game gear or not.
Hell, I’d even bring the same Eagle gear to the bar if we were playing the Browns of this year.
I want a good, clean game. It’s great stories on both sides, two number ones, and cheesesteaks and lobstah rolls galore.
For a somewhat obscure comparison in horse racing, it might be like the great Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes that ended the long, 25-year drought of Triple Crown winners. Secretariat‘s run was true greatness.
Perhaps Secretariat “allowed” Sham to come even with him at the ½-mile marker, even let him take a brief lead by a nose, and there he looks Sham in the eye, and proceeds to blow Sham away. In doing so Secretariat broke the Belmont Stakes track record and also the record for largest margin of victory (in the Belmont) — an astounding 31 lengths ahead of second place Twice A Prince. Sham, utterly crushed, finished dead last.
Track announcer Chic Anderson made his famous call when Secretariat opened up a 12-14 length lead, “Secretariat is widening now. He is moving like a tremendous machine!” I was a young and impressionable kid of 12 when I watched it on black-and-white TV. Truly amazing: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCMtaNiMDM
There is that, too. Some coaches know how to analyze what is happening and respond effectively.
Who’s the greatest of all time? Throughout history, from the 1930s to now, is it Sammy Baugh? Otto Graham? Johnny Unitas? Roger Staubach? Joe Montana? Steve Young? Peyton Manning? Tom Brady?
They played in different eras with vastly different rules. The league tweaks the rules to make the game more appealing and they realized people enjoy the forward pass more than 3 yards and a cloud of dust. To argue that we can’t have a QB GOAT because of this is burying one’s head in the sand and throwing one’s arms in the air and crying, “It’s too complicated!”
A quick, related story. In the early 1990s I called directory assistance (555-1212) for Rotan, Texas, and asked if Sammy Baugh was listed. To my surprise he was, and when he answered the phone he said he’d have LOVED to play in today’s game. Montana and Young in The Genius’s West Coast Offense were redefining the game, just like “Slingin’ Sammy” did in the 30s and 40s.
After 15 minutes on the phone I thanked him for his time, said it was a great honor talking to a legend of the game, and asked if I could mail my NFL 75th Anniversary book for him to sign. Sure, he says, just address it to SAM BAUGH, ROTAN TEXAS and it’ll get to me. No street address, just that. I did (I added the 79546 zip), it did, and I treasure that book. Last year on a road trip to TX I visited the Rotan cemetery and paid my respects to Slingin’ Sammy. The Baugh family has a whole row there.
Brady has done more with less for much longer than Montana ever did, or anyone else on that short list. Joe Montana used to be the greatest quarterback of all time, but now it is clearly Tom Brady. Sorry Joe, I love you and Steve both, it was fun and exciting to watch you, and it was a great time to be a 49ers fan, but the game moves on, and records were meant to be broken.
Perhaps I’ll live long enough to even see a receiver surpass Jerry Rice.
(And speaking of receivers, Terrell Owens belongs in the Hall! Randy Moss also. Owens and Moss, both, are top-5 receivers of all time.)
It looks like you misspelled Cheatriots. At least, your opinion of the Patriots mirrors FoieGrasIsEvil’s views on the Steelers.
I’m glad you think so little of the skills of the Patriots players that you demean their accomplishments with “gifted”. Malcolm Butler made an insane play, especially as an undrafted rookie in the biggest pressure situation imaginable in football, on a play that the Seahawks were 7 for 7 for the season, as opposed to the 1/5 chance of Lynch getting in. A pick play only fails when the receiver doesn’t catch it - it’s almost NEVER intercepted. If you run Lynch on 3rd down, they know you’re passing on 4th, and the Seahawks have no chance at all. If the ball isn’t caught, then you line up and run it in (or more likely, fake the handoff and bootleg it with Wilson). This isn’t a Big 10 offensive line that just bulldozes 5 yards forward right off the snap.
As for 28-3, there’s a reason the game doesn’t end at halftime. The Falcons blew their load early and couldn’t maintain that level of play. Going into a prevent defense early is exactly how Green Bay lost to Seattle in 2015. A comeback like that is what legends are made of. No coach/QB combo other than Belichick/Brady pulls that off, period.
You can shrug off the stats and throw them aside due to different eras, but you can’t ignore that Brady has been utterly dominant for 15 years. Has he been helped by an all-time great HC that can craft championship teams out role players? Sure, but that does little to diminish the fact Brady has played in as many Super Bowls during his career as he’s watched from home and is the winningest QB in NFL history at a time when the quarterback has never been more important to a team’s success, due to the aforementioned rules changes.
If that’s their real strategy, they’ve wrecked their own fans. The Superbowls have taken years off my life. No, we’re dependent upon on the ability to reset mid-game and start fresh and claw it back just like you said.
Here in Patriot Nation there is the sense that the end of an era is approaching, but it’s taking its own sweet time. I expect to see good football tomorrow. Watching LeGarrette Blount play for the other team is going to suck. So does knowing the coaching staff is destined for other places. Knowing that our QB getting hit gets progressively more dangerous, as he ages, sucks. Those are the downsides. The good: having watched Brady since he was the new kid getting no respect in the Boston papers, this has been an amazing ride. The possibility of a sixth SB ring is gloriously funny and I hope he makes it, but it really doesn’t matter much. He is greatness.
Earlier this week I asked my Echo Dot who was going to win the Superbowl. She said she was going with the Eagles. :dubious: That was harsh.
The AFC looks like monoculture this century. Only one AFC team has not been back to the SB since '01 (the Raiders). Three AFC teams have been twice (two of those teams with the same QB), one three times, and then there is New England.
The NFC by contrast has had 8 different teams show up once and four more than once. That is twice as many participants from the NFC (and half as many Lombardis).
Belichick takes nothing for granted, so there’s no way that they deliberately fall behind. Rather, it’s that they simply do not panic when they fall behind. I know I’m probably going off on a tangent here, but being an MMA fan, the Patriots in some ways remind me of the great Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko in his prime. There were several times when this beast was taken to the mat early in his fights. His back was on the mat. He’d have some 265-300 pound beast on top of him. He just did not panic. You could see him calculating, waiting for an opening, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake that he could exploit. And then he’d gradually reverse the advantage, and before long, he was on top of the opponent, and his opponent was on his back, not sure what to do next, and probably panicking.
That’s the New England Patriots. You can’t just be better than they are physically. A fair number of the teams the Pats play are more athletic than they are - they don’t care. The Pats win through superior training and coaching. Every player knows where he’s supposed to be, and when he’s supposed to be there. Every player knows the playbook - every last play - by heart. They have great situational awareness. They know how to play at a regular 25-30 second tempo, and they know how to play no-huddle and run plays every 15-20 seconds. The Patriots practice for every situation. They prepare for anything and everything - every single player. They’re a well-oiled machine.
Philadelphia can win this game, but they’ll have to demonstrate better coaching and preparation than the Atlanta Falcons last year or the Jaguars this year. I think the real bellwether will be Nick Foles. If Foles plays great and has a 3-4 TD game, then the Eagles should win. If not, if he gets picked off 1 or 2 times and misses his receivers on 2nd and 3rd down, then the Eagles will have a long day.
). The article also made specific references to Dan Marino and Steve Young, who were age 38 in that season, and how it was looking like the end for both of them.