Let’s not forget, Tom Brady’s story is still incredible

It will be one of the main events in Thursday Night Football this week Tom BradyDecline, and how far it has regressed at age 45.

In a different space, we’ll celebrate a 45-year-old quarterback who plays at the level of Brady. Never before, or even close. The problem is that 44-year-old Brady has set the bar too high.

Brady season and struggles Tampa Bay Buccaneers It will be a big focus of Amazon Prime Video streaming when Bucs takes over Baltimore Ravens. Tampa Bay loses consecutive losses to Pittsburgh Steelers And the Carolina Panthers, who are 2-10 against the rest of the NFL. Brady and Bucks were closed for three quarters last week, then earned a field goal in a 21-3 loss to Carolina. The Buccaneers are at risk of losing for the fifth time in six matches, said The Athletic’s Greg Uman. Never happened to Brady in his long career.

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Brady wasn’t bad. far from it. But he’s not playing at the MVP level this season, and everyone took notice.

Tom Brady is unique

Let’s forget that Brady was the greatest quarterback at the age of 44 by a mile. And the best of all, at least according to the passer-by’s rating, at 40, 41, 42 and 43 as well. It’s best at 45 by default. Almost no one else lasted that long.

Here is the full list of quarterbacks who attempted passing at age 45 or older, prior to Brady:

George Blanda: 7 of 22 for 116 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT over four seasons

This is it. Blanda has not started a game after the age of 41. What Brady is doing this season is simply not unprecedented. He’s so far ahead of anything that’s happened since the NFL started in 1920 that he’s unfathomable. At some point, this should be a big part of what we remember from the 2022 season at Brady.

But not yet. The story now is that Brady isn’t up to his standard. It’s not fair, because Brady is compared to his greatness. Last season, he led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns and was ranked second in the NFL MVP vote. Looking back, he probably should have won the award Aaron Rodgers.

The story continues

He won’t win the Player of the Year award this season. The dip in play – albeit not to a level below average – and all the other circumstances surrounding Brady’s weird 2022 make it look as if the sky is falling.

Most of the other QBs faded into their thirties

We’ve seen great players, usually in their late thirties, hit the wall hard. Ben Roethlisberger the past two seasons is a good example. Peyton Manning in 2015 is the prime example, though, as the football gods smiled at him and sent him a Super Bowl ring, thanks Denver Broncos defense. We’ve seen expiration date hit other players, and they suddenly collapse.

Brady is nowhere near falling off the wheels. He was very good in seven games, possessing 1,942 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating of 92.8 is restricted to ninth place among passersby with at least 100 attempts. Brady is the sixth best midfielder this season Degrees of focus on professional football. His numbers are generally lower than last season, regardless of his interception rate, but we have to remember that he was fantastic last season. The NFL quarterback has been well and not so great this season and again, which is absolutely unbelievable for a 45-year-old. Consider this statistic:

Brady Touchdown passes after his 45th birthday: 8

Bulk completions for every other QB after their 45th birthday: 7

You’ll hear a lot about Brady’s rocky season. This included a 40-day retirement, a much-publicized disagreement with his wife and criticism of him for taking time off during training camp and being excused from walking practice to attend. patriots Team owner Robert Kraft’s surprise wedding took place earlier this month. It also featured a 3-4 record for the Buccaneers with some shocking losses where the offense comes close to nothing.

However, it is still historical. There should be some perspective on Thursday night and the rest of the season. Brady is still a great story, even if he’s not as cool as he has been for two decades.