"Gonna be done in 10 seconds" - Senior NFL reporter advises Tampa not to expect Tom Brady to last long
For the last decade, during every offseason, analysts have asked, "Is this it for brady-called-goat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Tom Brady?" With the quarterback unretired, the offseason topic has seen new life. During an appearance on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, NFL sportswriter and analyst Mike Silver brought the old topic back to life, telling the Buccaneers to continue to prepare for the future. Here's what he had to say:
"Just look at it organizationally. So, um, if you believe that the Bucs forced him out, which I don't, but if you do believe that. If you're like, 'Hey, man, Tom Brady was gonna walk away, and they chose him over Bruce Arians. Okay, let's compare that to Seattle."
According to Silver, pondering retirement can adversely affect a player's mindset.
"And in Tampa, you have a quarterback who is the most accomplished ever, but he's 1,000 years old. He's 45. No one has ever done this at this level. It could all drop off tomorrow. Once you start talking about retirement, it's in your head physically. It could go wrong immediately."
He went on, bringing up peyton-manning-played-for-the-colts-and-broncos-in-his-career" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Peyton Manning's rapid decline. Toward the end of his career, Manning was dealing with injuries, and his decline was fast:
"You know, Peyton was a steep cliff, you know, let alone the injury. You know, a lot of things could, and so it wouldn't be a smart organizational choice. If you love Bruce Arians to say, I'll do anything for the 45-year-old quarterback, albeit the most accomplished of all time."
Welcome Peyton! twitter.com/Broncos/status…
bit.ly/36uQqkVI already had an instagram…so I just unretired when I got bored…😂 Welcome Peyton! twitter.com/Broncos/status…
He took this opportunity to go on a tirade. He vilified the Seahawks for the way they handled their own quarterback instability and aging head coach:
"Now let's compare that to Seattle, where Jody Allen, who we never hear from her because she's a zillionaire and apparently doesn't think the fans deserve to ever hear from the acting owner or you know, had heard of the estate or whatever you want to call her, which I think is gutless."
Bruce Arians really made a fascinating decision: Tom Brady comes back to the #Bucs, and he knows they’ll be good. Rather than have Todd Bowles take over a bad team or one in transition, he chooses now to pass it off. Arians made sure Bowles will coach a good team.
After a long-winded detour, the reporter returned to talking about the Buccaneers and brought it all together:
"You chose to get rid of him and keep a coach who probably won't coach that much longer. Conversely, I don't think the Bucs actually did this. But if the Bucs did choose between Brady and Arians, they chose a quarterback whose maybe gonna be done in 10 seconds over an older coach."
Tom Brady: An assault on age
Before Tom Brady, 40 was a hard wall. Some players stuck around beyond that, but most were on their last legs in the NFL. The quarterback has turned this idea on its head, playing some of his best seasons in his 40s. In the last two years, the quarterback has thrown for, at least, 40 touchdowns in each season.
Including 2007, when the quarterback had Randy Moss. The quarterback has had the second and third-best seasons of his career at 43 and 44 years of age. Speaking of Peyton Manning, Brady has as many Super Bowls in his 40s as Manning won in his entire career. Before No. 12, most laughed at the idea of a quarterback playing deep into his 40s, let alone winning Super Bowls.
Now, after seeing Brady push the boundaries, most would agree that the idea of other greats playing for nearly as long is much more feasible than in the past.