# Tom Brady takes a break finally **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [January 29, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642 "2022-01-29T20:12:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/41 "2022-02-01T22:04:17Z")
Yeeesh! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/42 "2022-02-02T01:06:01Z")
Here’s an interesting/amusing take: [https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/patriots-fans-shouldnt-get-worked-over-tom-brady-retirement-snub-yet](https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/patriots-fans-shouldnt-get-worked-over-tom-brady-retirement-snub-yet) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/43 "2022-02-02T02:00:13Z")
The Jets had a great response as well: > ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/44 "2022-02-02T02:46:04Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > affiliate Yeah, that’s us on the day the big guy retires. 😁🤣😂 How many times have I screamed in bars, houses, parties, “DON’T GIVE BRADY THE GODDAMN FOOTBALL!!!”? About 200. And whatever team gives him the ball and guess who wins. I am really going to miss his presence in the game. All respect. Thanks, Tom. Best to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/45 "2022-02-02T12:53:56Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Ha! Philly’s NBC Sports affiliate tweeted “Man who could never beat Nick Foles decides to stop trying.” > > [https://twitter.com/nbcsphilly/status/1488550229142126597?s=21](https://twitter.com/nbcsphilly/status/1488550229142126597?s=21) The Philly Fox affiliate tweeted “Tom Brady, known for dropping a pass in Super Bowl LII and failing to shake Nick Foles’ hand, has announced his retirement from the NFL.” ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/46 "2022-02-02T16:41:59Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Something funny - last year I was reading a “is Tom Brady the GOAT QB?” argument on the internet, and a lot of people thought the answer was no, and the funny thing is that it sounded exactly like an “is Tom Brady the GOAT QB?” argument from 2012. The arguments were basically identical. He played basically another GOAT-level CAREER since then, basically doubling the time he was playing at a really high level, adding a few rings, and they still aren’t convinced. I wonder if he somehow played another 10 years winning a few championships in the process if they’d still make those same arguments. > > I don’t see how you can argue against it. He has the peak performance (2007), the rings, the longevity, the leadership/team chemistry, consistency, records, the whole 6th round pick scrappy underdog earning his place thing. He has everything. Barry Bonds was the GOAT; oh wait, he cheated, no HoF for him. Lance Armstrong the GOAT; oh wait, he cheated, now a pariah in the sport Tom Brady is the GOAT; oh wait, he cheated, but yet he’s still the GOAT??? Should there be a separate category for PED cheaters vs. other forms of cheating? No doubt he would have been up there if he played clean but I can’t help but wonder how many times did they _not_ get caught & would he have all of those Superb Owls if he played clean the whole time. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Potentially walking away from the 15 million bonus can’t be easy. a quick googling - he’s worth $400 mil & she’s worth $250 mil. Seriously, what does another $15 mil get them that they can’t afford today vs. how hard it is to get out of bed on Mon mornings? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/47 "2022-02-02T16:47:44Z")
I thought Brady should have retired after his last Super Bowl win with the Patriots. I think many fans are concerned about Tom’s future health and ability to enjoy retirement. Joe Montana still looks good and gets around. But he’s admitted there are times he can’t participate in family activities like hiking & skiing. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/48 "2022-02-02T16:50:41Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Tom Brady is the GOAT; oh wait, he cheated, but yet he’s still the GOAT??? Deflategate was a [joke](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28502507/what-really-happened-deflategate-five-years-later-nfl-scandal-aged-poorly). Is there any actual cheating I am unaware of? There was Spygate, but Brady wasn’t involved with that. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/49 "2022-02-02T17:27:55Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Spygate, And they ended up losing to Eli Manning that season anyway. Isn’t that ignominy enough? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/50 "2022-02-02T17:32:51Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > The Brady GOAT debate is a weird one. The record snd longevity are both completely unassailable. Yet, he was never nearly as terrifying to watch your team face as Rodgers, Mahomes or Elway. None of us are former NFL players bit I still remember Super Bowl LI. Brady was damned intimidating. John Elway, though? Sure, there was The Drive, but he wasn’t as intimidating as, say, Montana, Steve Young, or Dan Marino, to pick guys from that era. He was not that a dominating QB - rarely led in any statistical category. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/51 "2022-02-02T18:01:17Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Deflategate was a [joke](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28502507/what-really-happened-deflategate-five-years-later-nfl-scandal-aged-poorly). Is there any actual cheating I am unaware of? I’m not sure it was a joke. I doubt in impacted the outcome of any games, but if intentional it was inexcusable. Rules (even stupid rules) are rules. If you intentionally violate a clear rule, you should be banned for life. Period. Corked bats are even a better example. No way that happens by accident. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/52 "2022-02-02T18:09:49Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m not sure it was a joke. I doubt in impacted the outcome of any games, but if intentional it was inexcusable. Rules (even stupid rules) are rules. If you intentionally violate a clear rule, you should be banned for life. Period. Corked bats are even a better example. No way that happens by accident. There is no real evidence that it even happened though, if you read the article I linked. > The Wells Report was based largely on a series of text messages from an equipment assistant who referred to himself as “The Deflator,” and the unexplained pregame detour of a locker room attendant who brought the game balls into a bathroom with him before the game. There was no direct evidence that the equipment assistant removed air from the footballs, or that Brady asked him to do it. And the halftime inflation measurement was a rushed and haphazard effort, one that would never pass scientific scrutiny to confirm accuracy. > > In the end, it is nothing more than an opinion to suggest that it was “more probable than not” that Deflategate happened. In the terms of advanced statistics, the NFL was saying there was a 51% probability that Deflategate occurred but a 100% necessity to issue discipline. It’s not outlandish to think that someone connected with the Patriots might have tried to help Brady, or that Brady had tacitly accepted that help, but there’s no direct evidence of it. > > And when an MIT professor explained that [weather conditions could do the same thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwxXsEltyas), based on the ideal gas law, who could argue? The NFL wouldn’t have known either way, because it did not regularly record pounds-per-square-inch readings to that point. For all we know, football deflation occurred naturally every week. Seriously, that is a reason to call Brady a cheater? 🤣 Here is another article on it: > **[500 days later, Deflategate is still full of mystery](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/15857262/nfl-500-days-later-deflategate-full-mystery-tom-brady-new-england-patriots)** > > Did anything unnatural happen to footballs used in the 2014 AFC Championship Game? We still don't know for sure what transpired, and there's no end in sight. > Real doubt exists at the most basic and existential level imaginable. Did anything unnatural happen to footballs used in the 2014 AFC Championship Game? The NFL, backed by a multimillion dollar third-party report, believes it did. Science, reason and innate skepticism diminish the certainty of its answer. I will repeat, yes, it is a joke. The NFL made fools of themselves over the entire incident. The clown noses people wore to mock Goodell were entirely justified. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/53 "2022-02-02T19:57:52Z")
Statistically sure, but I’m talking about feel. Maybe it’s subjective and maybe it’s arbitrary, but I know I’m not unique in the feeling. Brady would beat you 27-10. Elway would beat you 34-31 with a 10 point comeback in the 4th. Hell, it’s probably because Montana and Brady were more consistent and efficient passers that they rarely put themselves in the position of needing to come back like that. Obviously both guys have won plenty of games that way, both on the biggest stage to boot, but I’m not alone in in answering the question “which QB would you want if you’re down 5 with 40 seconds to go in the Super Bowl” with someone other than Brady and Montana. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/54 "2022-02-02T19:58:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I think many fans are concerned about Tom’s future health and ability to enjoy retirement. Honestly, that’s a problem for _any_ retired football player (even one who didn’t play in the NFL); football takes an enormous toll on a body. Brady has really devoted himself to keeping his body in good shape, but the fact is that he played a high-contact sport for over 20 years, and did suffer at least one major injury (an ACL/MCL tear in 2008). ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/55 "2022-02-02T21:41:33Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Obviously both guys have won plenty of games that way, both on the biggest stage to boot, but I’m not alone in in answering the question “which QB would you want if you’re down 5 with 40 seconds to go in the Super Bowl” with someone other than Brady and Montana. Interestingly, Peyton Manning appears to hold the record for most regular season game-winning drives with 54. Brady is tied for second with 53. However, when you get into the post-season, Brady runs away with the record with 14, compared to the next highest - Elway with 6. Manning only has 2. Obviously part of that is longevity, but part of it is Brady being absolutely clutch in the biggest moments. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/56 "2022-02-03T00:45:06Z")
Do we have a list that shows the regular season numbers for guys like Elway, Montana and Rodgers? ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/57 "2022-02-03T13:15:54Z")
[Indeed we do](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/gwd_career.htm). You’ll see that Brady is tied with Brees and Roethlisberger at 53, then there is a drop down to the next tier: Marino at 47, Favre at 43, Matts Ryan and Stafford at 42, Elway at 40, etc. Montana and Aaron Rodgers are way down at 28 and 27, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/58 "2022-02-03T19:36:40Z")
Look at Cutler tied with Montana. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/59 "2022-03-14T01:05:56Z")
He’s back. > **['Unfinished business': Brady returning as Bucs QB](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33495804/tom-brady-says-returning-tampa-bay-buccaneers-qb-next-season)** > > Tom Brady said he is returning as the quarterback of the Buccaneers just six weeks after announcing his retirement. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642/60 "2022-03-14T04:30:33Z")
Unlike Tom, my thread didn’t age well. 😖 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-brady-takes-a-break-finally/958642.md?page=4)