There are hot takes about Tom Brady, and then there’s the mess that Bucky Brooks offered up Friday afternoon.
Brooks, a former NFL player and scout now writing for NFL.com, published a story with the headline, “Pats doomed with Tom Brady at QB.” The absurdity of that speaks for itself.
So, what’s Brooks’ rationale?
Here’s an excerpt:
“The New England Patriots are 9-1 and well on their way to an 11th consecutive postseason bid, but the defending Super Bowl champions are a quarterback away from claiming their seventh Lombardi Trophy.
“It’s widely viewed as blasphemous to take a shot at the G.O.A.T, due to a remarkable track record as the ultimate winner in the sport, but Tom Brady is more mystique than magic at this stage of his career.
“Let’s be honest: TB12 hasn’t really played like an elite quaterback since the middle of 2018, and his declining play at age 42 suggests that we will never see him perform at that level again. He might walk into the ring like Mike Tyson preparing to knock out Michael Spinks, but he’s really “Iron Mike” facing Lennox Lewis at the end of his career. The swagger and intimidation factor remains, but the game is no longer there — and it is only a matter of time before opponents realize the bite isn’t nearly as ferocious as the bark.”
OK.
Has Brady played up to his usual lofty standards this season? No, he has not, though he’s played much better than people want to admit. And while injuries and a lack of playmakers around the 42-year-old certainly have something to do with it (a fact Brooks conceded toward the end of his column), the fact remains that Brady needs to be better.
Still, to say the Patriots are “doomed” with the greatest quarterback of all time under center is laugh-out-loud ludicrous.
