Brady riding into sunset, leaving trail of memories
QB’S CAREER INCLUDED DOMINANT PERFORMANCES AND FINALLY, AN END
One of the first entries in my eventual book of Columns That Were Undone by Events, those poor pieces that were crafted mid-game then furiously rewritten as a late comeback unfolded, is one from Super Bowl LI, in February 2017. The 28-3 game.
That column, largely completed by the time Lady Gaga’s halftime show in Houston was over, was about the likely end of the New England Patriots dynasty. There had even been a moment of symbolism in that dominant Atlanta Falcons first half: defensive back Robert Alford picking off a Tom Brady pass and returning it 82 yards for a touchdown. Brady was just into his 40s then, but when he had tried and failed to catch Alford as he raced by him, grasping at the air as he fell to the ground, you couldn’t miss the metaphor of time finally catching up to a legendary, but aging, quarterback.
And then the second half happened. Delete. Delete, delete, delete.
Brady didn’t just write an astonishing comeback for what was then his fifth Super Bowl win, he kept defying time for six more seasons, winning two more (and appearing in a third.) He performed at a level that was previously unthinkable for a 41-year-old. And then a 42-year-old. And you get the idea here.
But even though he was still absurdly competent for a 45-year-old in this past NFL season, it was then that the limits appear to have been hit. The numbers will forever look shockingly good for someone in his 23rd season — almost 4,700 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions — but it was a monthslong slog of checkdowns and dump-offs and the occasional downfield pass. When Brady announced his second retirement on Wednesday, he didn’t give any specific explanation for why he knew it was time to walk away “for good” this time, but it’s not hard to imagine that he had watched some film of the Tampa Bay offence in 2022 and saw someone who clearly was not having fun any more.
In his first full season in 2001, on the way to his first
Super Bowl, Brady threw for less than 200 yards per game. Under Bill Belichick, the idea was to not screw up. Even through back-toback 14-2 seasons a few years later, Brady was 10th in the league in passing yards, behind guys like Jake Delhomme (!), Aaron Brooks (!!) and Marc Bulger ( !!!!! ).
By 2007, Belichick finally dropped the guardrails and Brady, with Randy Moss added to his options, exploded for more than 4,800 yards and 50 touchdowns. Despite a knee injury the following season, he spent a decade piling up gaudy stats and a Pro Football Hall of Fame resume from that period alone. He didn’t always throw the ball all over the place, as the Pats usually had a top defence and a reliable if not flashy running game, but only a fool would doubt his ability to drop 400 yards and four touchdowns on you if the game called for it. He was a like a point guard in those years, running the offence, spreading the floor, and finding the open man over and over.
It wasn’t until his last years in New England, with the offence finally short of weapons because Brady lasted longer than any of those guys, that it became clear that he could not, in fact, do it all himself.
So he went to Tampa, had a bunch of weapons again, and went nuts. Brady threw for more touchdowns in his first season with the Buccaneers (40) than he had in any of his previous dozen seasons in New England, and won the Super Bowl. He threw for 43 the following season and led the league in passing yards. At 44. In a career that overflows with wild statistical accomplishments, that might be the craziest of them. He was older and slower, but Tampa had an offence that could still take advantage of his strengths. Brady at 44 was back to being the Brady of 34, when he threw for more than 5,000 yards with the Pats.
And then, the wall. Injuries, a poor offensive line, unimaginative play-calling, some combination of all that combined to sap Brady’s power. A mobile quarterback might have been able to make it work, but the 45-year-old was not that, and so the whole thing collapsed.
Perhaps the greatest testament to his ability is that, even after it did, multiple NFL teams were at least mulling the possibility of giving it a shot with Brady at 46. Put the guy in the right system, let him do his business.
The ridiculous thing is, it might have worked.