Tom Brady will turn 42 in August ahead of his 20th NFL season, and while Brady has stated that he hopes to play until he’s 45, fans and analysts have been predicting Brady’s demise for years.
Brady’s skills will certainly deteriorate over time – but while AFC East opponents have been patiently waiting for the legendary quarterback to slow down, he’s been making regular trips to the Super Bowl. Brady recently trolled ESPN’s Max Kellerman, who famously predicted in 2016 that Brady would “fall off a cliff” in the coming season, and is “going to be a bum in short order.” Brady posted a photo from a workout, and used the caption “he’s gonna fall off a cliff” while showing off his current throwing power.
Brady registered a ball velocity of 61 mpg per the gun, which surpasses the NFL combine velocities of Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield, young stars with explosive arms.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that Brady can still get it done in the NFL – he’s made three trips to the Super Bowl and won two Super Bowl MVP awards since Kellerman’s “cliff” comment – the ESPN commentator stood by his take that Brady has fallen off. According to Kellerman, the brilliance of coach Bill Belichick and new QB-friendly rules have masked Brady’s regression.
“First of all, the eyeball test tells you he’s not the same. Secondly, if you look into the numbers, it verifies it. Highest interception total. Lowest TD rate since 2013. Lowest passer rating since 2014, in a year of record passing.
…. Two things have conspired to make it look like he hasn’t fallen off a cliff. One, he’s playing for the greatest coach who ever lived, and they’ve compensated with run game, etcetera. And two, they’ve changed the rules in the NFL where you can’t touch the quarterback.
…. In big situations, he’s still Tom Brady. He still has the clutch gene, and all those things, for sure. But he is much more of a game manager now than he’s been at any point since he was a young guy.”
