Eight Throws That Show Why Tom Brady Won't Be Retiring
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is not retiring. Confirmed. For the 6,571st time.
Of course, nobody will believe him, because nobody plays quarterback at this level at his age. While he did hedge a little on his age 45 goal, he tried to make it as clear as possible in his Sunday interview with Jeff Darlington that there's a zero-point-zero percent chance that Sunday's Super Bowl will be the final game of his career.
Nor should it be.
For as much as Brady's statistics took a dip this season, the man has offered countless examples that show physically, he's still capable of being a top quarterback in the NFL.
There's no doubt that Brady is held to a different standard for criticism than the rest of his quarterbacking brethren. That level of scrutiny just comes with the territory of widely being considered the GOAT.
Yet, what tends to get forgotten in such critical analyses is the fact that despite the accolades and the unparalleled resume, Tom Brady is still a human being -- a human being playing a very difficult game, on a field with 21 other human beings. Outdoors. Sometimes in December and January. Those parts of the equation too rarely factor in as so many are eager to tear down the best to ever play the position.
That was certainly the case in the AFC Championship Game, when Brady made a mental and physical mistake with an ugly interception in the end zone from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. And that was far from new; the instant reaction on social media all the way back in Super Bowl LI following Brady's pick-six was one of jubilation. Certain dorks in the media took premature victory laps. At long last, Brady is done.
We know what happened after that. There are T-shirts and everything.
In the years since, Brady has of course excelled at his job, winning the league MVP in 2017 and, despite losing players who accounted for roughly half of the team's offensive yardage, led the fourth-best scoring offense in 2018 and helped get his team back to the Super Bowl.
Despite that, the stories and "analysis" pieces have continued to hit the internet explaining why Brady is actually not very good anymore. From arm strength criticism in that famed Super Bowl comeback, to flaccid pasta metaphors in 2018, to the never-ending talk of "falling off a cliff," to some absolute nerd spending a week talking about "what would have happened if Brady had lost the AFC title game instead of won the AFC title game, the line of folks looking to be the first to be right about the downfall of Tom Brady has been long.
Alas, everyone in that line has continually been proven wrong by a guy who defies age and logic. To be fair to those naysayers, he should be done. He should have fallen off a cliff by now. Everybody else had.
Yet, there's Brady, still standing. And there he will be, trotting onto the field in Atlanta to play in his ninth Super Bowl. No other quarterback in history has even played in six. One (John Elway) has played in five, while five (Terry Bradshaw, Jim Kelly, Joe Montana, Roger Staubach, Peyton Manning) played in four.
It's remarkable, and it's no coincidence. Those who remain hung up on Brady being lucky or not quite great are certainly missing the forest for the trees.
As much as ever, Brady is still delivering the football with zip and precision. Does he make mistakes? Of course. But even the best of all time need not be judged by an impossible standard.
And as you'll recall, after a quiet passing day against the Bills, the hounds were out. Brady's hurt and cooked and not good and you just wish the Patriots had kept Jimmy Garoppolo instead!
(That was a day when the Patriots ran for a ridiculous 273 yards, but nevertheless, that fact got overlooked.)
So I took a quick look through the games since that Buffalo game -- at home against the Jets and Chargers, and at Kansas City -- to highlight the throws that show Brady's still got the physical ability to be an elite quarterback in the NFL. Mind you, these games took place in Foxboro and Kansas City, in games with an average temperature of 26 degrees at kickoff. This is a 41-year-old who played in all 16 games, which had never been done before.
Here we go. We'll work in reverse chronological order.
At Kansas City, Overtime, 11:57
15-Yard Completion To Rob Gronkowski
There was basically a shoebox-sized window for Brady to fit this pass in. He fired it in perfectly, in front of the safety and past the outstretched reach of Eric Berry. This was a game-winning type of throw. (Rex Burkhead fell into the end zone three plays later.)
At Kansas City, Overtime, 12:51
15-Yard Completion To Julian Edelman
The second third-and-10 conversion of the OT showed Brady firing a bullet to Edelman after calmly waiting for the receiver to get open over the middle.
At Kansas City, Fourth Quarter, 1:57
20-Yard Completion To Julian Edelman
The throw that kicked off the vintage go-ahead drive was a beauty. Brady knew if he hung in long enough in the pocket, he'd have Edelman on a deep crosser. Still, the arm strength needed to deliver that ball, with a defender on Edelman's back and the safety coming over the top.
At Kansas City, Second Quarter, :33
29-Yard Touchdown Pass To Phillip Dorsett
The pump fake here was a beauty, as it got the corner to bite just enough. Brady's throw to the end zone wasn't perfect, as a rusher did break across his face at the point of delivery. But he likely knew that Dorsett had positioning on the corner, allowing for what looked like an easy touchdown pass.
Vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Fourth Quarter, 15:00
35-Yard Completion To Julian Edelman
This is a Throw Of The Year candidate for Brady. In a collapsing pocket, over the linebacker, past the dive of the corner, into the hands of the receiver in stride. A true beauty.
Vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Second Quarter, 12:22
15-Yard Touchdown Pass To Phillip Dorsett
It was not a very taxing day physically for Brady. He won that game with his head (and a perfect game plan from Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels), attacked the zone with a lot of in-cuts, and a lot of short out routes. Nothing too complex, nothing too taxing physically -- though arm strength was needed to get balls to players with backs to safeties.
But he did drop a dime or two. This one to Dorsett in the back corner of the end zone was one of them.
Vs. New York Jets, Second Quarter, 11:12
9-Yard Touchdown To Phillip Dorsett
When this happened, we all got a little caught up in the fact that Brady could still escape the pocket and run to his right. We may have overlooked how perfect the throw was. She was a beaut.
Vs. New York Jets, First Quarter, :52
18-Yard Completion To Julian Edelman
Does that look like a guy who should be in a hurry to retire? I didn't think so.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
