The 2014 NFL season has been conspicuous for a couple of things so far - it's inability to stay away from the headlines for the wrong reasons, and Tom Brady as an elite quarterback.
In fact, it is ironic that at the start of the season where the NFL's greatest stars, i.e. Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson have been charged for assault, it's "model athlete", "role model" is probably playing the worst football of his life.
However, it shouldn't be a surprise at age 37 after 13 years in the sport that you're not quite performing as well as you might have last season or 5 years ago. It just shows you how high a level Tom Brady has been operating for much of his career and how difficult it is to break all those records for passing yards, touchdowns and to win all those MVPs and Super Bowls.
Tom Brady delivered a premium product, as good as it got, in his prime which seems to have ended after the 2011 Super Bowl loss to the Giants.
Yes, assisted by a weak division, Brady still got the Pats into the playoffs, their customary position each season - although that is a bit like Manchester United expecting to make the Champions League each season. But, the Pats were always going to be beaten by a better side, i.e. the Ravens and Broncos who both would make the Super Bowl.
This season though, the AFC East division has strengthened and at the same time, the Patriots have weakened. It is said that the Patriots offence is really Tom Brady and if he's not performing, then the whole offence fails. Of course, one must also consider the inexperience in the linebackers, the lack of a decent wide-receiver and the Gronk missing in action.
The Patriots should still make the playoffs but the decline is clearly in motion and for Pats fans, the future is a bit frightening. Jimmy Garropolo did respectably in his first game for the Pats but he's no Tom Brady (yet). There are not really any good QBs in college football at the moment so there'll be a big hole to fill at QB once Brady hangs up his boots. It's a pity that the Pats didn't hang on to Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, who is now at the Houston Texans fighting for a starting berth.
Make no mistake, Brady is a great player and will always be remembered as a great player, a legend of the game - his place in the NFL Hall of Fame is guaranteed barring any unknown bad habits that we don't know about. But so were Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas - they're all human at the end of the day and have a best by date.
Oh well, now we know what Manchester United fans are feeling right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment