Dumping on Tom Brady is the flavor of the week.
The New England Patriots quarterback has been subpar of late, throwing just one touchdown pass in his last three games. Brady has been sailing throws downfield and sending short, quick throws into the dirt, looking like a man who’s age might finally have caught up with him.
At least that’s what Eric Dickerson believes.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer went on FOX Sports 1’s “Undisputed” on Thursday to discuss the stinker Brady threw up in New England’s 34-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 10 and his comments won’t sit well with the Patriots faithful.
TB12’s performance has been the opposite of GOAT-like, and Dickerson is of the mind the end is here for Brady, noting the five-time Super Bowl champion is an “old-ass man” in football years at age 41.
Yes, Brady is long in the tooth for an NFL quarterback but we all know that.
Now, is this indeed the end of TB12’s reign? It’s certainly possible. While everyone in New England would like to believe the 2017 MVP season was a harbinger of things to come for Brady’s final act, that’s not how these things normally play out. Elite athletes’ careers normally end with them fighting their body, unable to physically rise to the level they are accustomed to. They become a shell of themselves before finally coming to grips with the fact they no longer are the dominant athlete the world will remember them as.
Now, let’s be clear, Brady has had a rough three weeks but he isn’t exactly throwing up ducks ala Peyton Manning in 2015. The Patriots had rattled off six wins in a row before the loss to the Titans, with Brady throwing for 1,850 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes over that time. It’s much easier to see Brady’s showing against the Titans as a product of Dean Pees’ aggressive defensive gameplan that saw Tennessee sack TB12 three times and hit him six more times than to see it Brady’s age finally hitting him.
Is the end near? It’s closer than it was a year ago, obviously, but it doesn’t seem like it’s time to stick a fork in Brady just yet.
