One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
I'd personally be shocked if Eli played into his 40s. Hell one of his peers is already talking about retirement (yes, we know Ben is a drama queen) and the end appears to be near for carson Palmer (age 37) too.
Oh and Tom is on crack if he thinks he's going to play to age 46.
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
The one that isn't also hasn't suffered a major injury in the NFL. And he doesn't cheat or skirt the system like Brady and the Pats do. He's also beloved by his teammates unlike this prick with good hair:
but if he played at or somewhere in between 2015-2016 for the next 2 years and wanted to play 3 more? He would. Eli doesn't have to be the best ever to hold the NYG QB position for as long as he wants to.
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
Even if you think this, it's quite obvious the Giants very much don't.
Compare Kraft gushing on Brady possibly playing that long, to how even Tisch today made it clear finding Eli's replacement is at least in the back of their mind now, after Reese's comments, team leaks about his decline, McAdoo going in on him, etc.
but I don't think the Giants can or should expect him too. It doesn't matter who you are, the body just doesn't respond as quickly as you age and hits he used to shrug off, could keep him down longer. IIRC, Eli has even admitted as much recently and has mentioned that he's tweaked his offseason training (last offseason?).
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
The one that isn't also hasn't suffered a major injury in the NFL. And he doesn't cheat or skirt the system like Brady and the Pats do. He's also beloved by his teammates unlike this prick with good hair:
Brady has suffered one serious injury that he obviously bounced back from just fine, as a pocket QB. And Eli skirted the system just fine when he played the draft rules to force his way to a team he wanted to go to.
I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I can be critical of Eli's play at times too but i just dont know where you are going with this. this is a Giants fan website and you appear to want to shit all over one of the greatest Giants to ever don the uniform. It's weird.
I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I can be critical of Eli's play at times too but i just dont know where you are going with this. this is a Giants fan website and you appear to want to shit all over one of the greatest Giants to ever don the uniform. It's weird.
I'm not shitting on Eli.
My over-made point was more to how ridiculous acting like Brady's teammates hate him because of gifs taken for mostly humorous reasons while acting like all Eli's genuflect at his alter is nonsense.
This conversation never should have started. There's just flat out no comparison, in ability and situation, between these two players. Brady could actually play another 7 years (he won't) and that doesn't mean a thing, one way or another, about how long Eli will be here.
We know that Brady was a weakling coming out of Michigan and that half this board could bench more.
Now he has this crazed diet and simply isn't regressing physically at an ancient age. Even if it's a quack diet with negative ramifications down the road for his health, shouldn't more QBs be trying it since it obviously works for Brady?
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
Even if you think this, it's quite obvious the Giants very much don't.
Compare Kraft gushing on Brady possibly playing that long, to how even Tisch today made it clear finding Eli's replacement is at least in the back of their mind now, after Reese's comments, team leaks about his decline, McAdoo going in on him, etc.
But I also think we should wait until he actually starts regressing before we start planning his retirement party. He just finished one of his best seasons at 39.
Brady is a master of the short pass......Eli is not....the long pass? Eli is better at putting a ball into a tight window, if he has the time......
As time goes by, Brady still will excel at the short pass, but Eli's forte at the long pass, will diminish, so that is one reason why Brady could easily outlast Eli....
And then there is the conditioning.....edge to Brady....
We know that Brady was a weakling coming out of Michigan and that half this board could bench more.
Now he has this crazed diet and simply isn't regressing physically at an ancient age. Even if it's a quack diet with negative ramifications down the road for his health, shouldn't more QBs be trying it since it obviously works for Brady?
Brady has had some nutritionist guru for years. I wouldn't
be surprised if Brady forms some type of business in the nutrition field after he retires.
That's why he probably believes he can play another 6-7 years, even if I don't.
Eli won't last another 2 years if Reese keeps putting Â
At 37, Henr Aaron hit .327 and had 47 Home runs. Incredible year.
At 39, Henry Aaron hit .301 and had 40 home runs. He never ht higher than .268 nor had more than 20 home runs ever again although he played to 43.
Pete Rose hit.325 at age 40. Never came close again although he played until he was 46.
Ted Williams had a great age 40 of 29 home runs and a .316 BA. in the last year he played but said he knew he could no longer play at the level he wanted to be remembered for.
Different sport but the point is that the decline is often sharp.
The great ones self explain the first bad year as an injury or fixable in the offseason. Some flashes and streaks show they still can win so they keep going.
But Father Time bats 1.000
I have seen only one exception..although if you followed closely you knew there was a decline:
Mariano Rivera had a 1.76 ERA at 39 Years old.
Over the next five years until age 43 he missed much of one season but had ERA's of 1.80 at age 40, 1.91 at age 41 and 2.11 at age 43. Pretty much pitched the same workload and had the same number of saves and the same strikeouts per 9 innings from his late 30s straight through to his last year.
Thats the exception I can think of. Age 43. imho he would not have had a good age 44.
Father Time, even for the greats and the lucky ones, is undefeated
At 37, Henr Aaron hit .327 and had 47 Home runs. Incredible year.
At 39, Henry Aaron hit .301 and had 40 home runs. He never ht higher than .268 nor had more than 20 home runs ever again although he played to 43.
Pete Rose hit.325 at age 40. Never came close again although he played until he was 46.
Ted Williams had a great age 40 of 29 home runs and a .316 BA. in the last year he played but said he knew he could no longer play at the level he wanted to be remembered for.
Different sport but the point is that the decline is often sharp.
The great ones self explain the first bad year as an injury or fixable in the offseason. Some flashes and streaks show they still can win so they keep going.
But Father Time bats 1.000
I have seen only one exception..although if you followed closely you knew there was a decline:
Mariano Rivera had a 1.76 ERA at 39 Years old.
Over the next five years until age 43 he missed much of one season but had ERA's of 1.80 at age 40, 1.91 at age 41 and 2.11 at age 43. Pretty much pitched the same workload and had the same number of saves and the same strikeouts per 9 innings from his late 30s straight through to his last year.
Thats the exception I can think of. Age 43. imho he would not have had a good age 44.
Father Time, even for the greats and the lucky ones, is undefeated
Jerry Rice is an interesting case study for father time discussion.
Always was super disciplined about offseason workouts and nutrition. Tremendous offseason shape, ran that notorious hill that other players couldn't handle. He had such low bodyfat, his trainers told him to eat ice cream.
At ages 39 and 40, Rice put up 1000+ yard seasons for the Raiders, at over 13 yards per reception. Comparing the passing league then to now and how a shocking amount of WRs never have a 1000 yard season in their lifetime, it's ridiculous what he did.
Age 41, he dropped under 1k for 869 yards, but that was still better production than his last two years with the 49ers.
It wasn't until age 42 where he dropped to 429 yards (split amongst OAK & SEA in a mid season trade), his lowest ever for a season outside of 1997 when he missed nearly the entire season to injury.
The next offseason at nearly 43, he no longer had it. In training camp with Denver, Mike Shanahan told him at best he was the #4 WR. At this point Rice simply retired.
So if you want to talk about a starting, productive WR in the NFL, Rice set the bar at 42. A QB you could argue could sustain the level a bit more since the physicality demands of the position are a bit less, speed and agility wise.....just a question of arm strength.
And of course are we talking 6-7 years as a player or a starter. I absolutely think Brady could be a backup till a pretty advanced age, but not sure he wants to go that route.
I see that Steve DeBerg retired at age 44 after taking a few years off. Don't know if anyone played QB older than him.
Johnny Unitas last played as a starter at age 37-38 although he continued ( oft injured) until age 40. Sonny Jurgenson was last a full year starter at age 36 although he retired at 40. Fran Tarkenton at 38
The other guy I thought of was George Blanda. Blanda threw his last TD at age 46 in 1973 as a back up for the Oakland Raiders.
He was a QB and a kicker. Kicked until he was 47 in 1974
Starting QB until he was about 39 years old.
Had a 55% completion percentage until he was 44 and then never completed more than about 30% of his passes.
He did not end as a starting Qb so its hard to clearly document his years of decline but it seems sharp ( which is the point we are making and it certainly did not extend past 43.)
The other reasonable conclusion is that any good year after 39 is a good year for a QB. But a risky year for a team. Granted Johnny U, Sonny and George Blanda took shots that no Qb alive takes now. And I dont know about Johnny U, but George was a hard living guy and Sonny was a major party animal.
is another example. Had a 68% completion percentage on 530 attempts at age 40. Could not get it done at age 41.
However, I remember analysts saying that the year we beat them in the playoffs he was already easier to defend because he could not hit the mid range or long range sidelines. As a result safeties had less ground to cover and CBs could look in and cheat to the inside and LB could drop back and towards the center of the field.
Second hand, what i understand is that the first to go is zip to the sidelines...not the fade...not the long ball on occasion...the dart to the sidelines. Payton could not make that throw when he came back from the injury. Could he win big games? Yes. Did he need a better defense and supporting cast especially at TE and down the middle? yes
what you tend to find happens to players like Brady.... Â
I'd expect him to play well next season, but you just never know....and then there is always the injury factor. And it's the nagging injuries that probably get to him.
Knew he was a QB and kicker towards the end, but didn't know he threw a TD pass at 46. Very impressive.
Also eerie seeing his career span as far back as 1949 all the way up to 1975 when the Super Bowl era was several years underway.
Another old but still good player was Jackie Slater, OT for the Rams. 1976-1995, no other teams. So he played a rather physical position until 41 years old.
Darrell Green, played until he was almost 43 years old. Cornerback.
does plan to have some nutrition/fitness empire post-NFL, then playing to mid-40s would be a helluva marketing boost for it. I could see him doing it for that alone.
I dimly remember Blanda being on Sunday TV as a child and playing QB with grey hair and his last TD was a dart to Cliff Branch that won an important game.
But his greatest achievement was coming in during a five week stretch to relieve Daryl Lamonica at age 43.
With the help of some Oakland Tribune archives:
1. Oct. 25, 1970 at Oakland: RAIDERS 31, STEELERS 14
Blanda, then a 43-year-old kicker and backup quarterback, took over for starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica and threw three touchdown passes to lead the Raiders to a victory over the stunned Steelers. Archived Tribune game story.
Blanda’s 48-yard field goal barely clears the crossbar and the finger tips of the Chiefs’ 6-foot-9 Morris Stroud, who was positioned under the goal post in order to swat the kick away. Archived Tribune game story
Blanda relieved Lamonica and threw a TD pass with 1:34 left to tie the game and then kicked the game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining that prompted King to call him “King of the World.” Archived Tribune game story
4. Nov. 15, 1970 at Denver: RAIDERS 24, BRONCOS 19
Coach John Madden summoned Blanda into the game for another crack at a mircle and George didn’t disappoint. He threw a 20-yard TD pass to Fred Biletnikoff with 2:28 left in the game to give the Raiders another come-from-behind victory. Archived Tribune game story.
The miracle worker story angle was getting nearly as old as Blanda himself by the time his 16-yard field goal with eight seconds left beat the Chargers.
The Raiders first season in the new combined post merger NFL. They lost the AFC to Baltimore who went on to win the SuperBowl.
He's knows it inside and out and it's a lot of short passes. He knows where to go and has a quick release. His arm is still very strong and he can make every throw with power.
He can keep playing for a while if he isn't getting hit. The recovery time is the big issue.
Maybe they start resting him during the year to keep him fresh. I could see BB playing another QB late in the year to keep Brady fresh for the playoffs.
Blanda comparisons are silly. He was a kicker and backup. Brady Â
What I think shoud be interesting is to see how BB handles him. It may give clues to what they really think of Garrapolo. Hypothetically, say the win it again this year, but Brady shows decline, or they don't win because of him not being his usual self, do they ask him to retire? And if he says no, release him so Garropolo can move into the job?
And then, does Brady keep playing with another team?
Beckham would have to do what he's doing for ANOTHER 15 YEARS. Good Luck. And this is the passing era.
Rice was as close to "Gretzky dominant" as any other athlete. Timing helped and Rice was definitely drafted by the right team with the right QBs but so what. Rice just owned the NFL for 15 years.
RE: Blanda comparisons are silly. He was a kicker and backup. Brady Â
What I think shoud be interesting is to see how BB handles him. It may give clues to what they really think of Garrapolo. Hypothetically, say the win it again this year, but Brady shows decline, or they don't win because of him not being his usual self, do they ask him to retire? And if he says no, release him so Garropolo can move into the job?
And then, does Brady keep playing with another team?
That's true, but I'll tell you, Blanda was clutch with a
capital C! He bailed out the mad bomber (Daryle Lamonica),
more than once in his career. I had to marvel at Blanda at times, even though he wasn't a starter as you said.
BB is not going to ask Brady to retire, if they don't trade
Jimmy G, he is FA after next season. You don't put a FT on a
backup either, that's jut crazy. I've heard some in New England mention something like that, you don't pay TWO QB's.
I don't see Brady hanging around as a backup down the road.
Victor. No one compared Blanda and Brady as a QB. Did they?
The analogies were to guys who declined way before 6 or 7 more years.
No one is knocking Brady. I am in doubt that he could play as a starter 6 or 7 more years other than as a third QB in the years past 43...for no team belongs depending on anything but a precipitous decline in a 40 plus player.
No team would depend on a 43 year old kicker either.
The ideas that "they can still play" and a "team can depend on this continuing" are two different things. As decades of data in most major sports indicates, that age is about 40 and almost never above 43.
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Quote:
maybe 3-4 years, tops..😜
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
Eli is not Tom Brady.
I'd personally be shocked if Eli played into his 40s. Hell one of his peers is already talking about retirement (yes, we know Ben is a drama queen) and the end appears to be near for carson Palmer (age 37) too.
Oh and Tom is on crack if he thinks he's going to play to age 46.
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maybe 3-4 years, tops..😜
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
The one that isn't also hasn't suffered a major injury in the NFL. And he doesn't cheat or skirt the system like Brady and the Pats do. He's also beloved by his teammates unlike this prick with good hair:
Quote:
In comment 13408272 Big Blue '56 said:
Quote:
maybe 3-4 years, tops..😜
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
Even if you think this, it's quite obvious the Giants very much don't.
Compare Kraft gushing on Brady possibly playing that long, to how even Tisch today made it clear finding Eli's replacement is at least in the back of their mind now, after Reese's comments, team leaks about his decline, McAdoo going in on him, etc.
Quote:
In comment 13408272 Big Blue '56 said:
Quote:
maybe 3-4 years, tops..😜
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
The one that isn't also hasn't suffered a major injury in the NFL. And he doesn't cheat or skirt the system like Brady and the Pats do. He's also beloved by his teammates unlike this prick with good hair:
Brady has suffered one serious injury that he obviously bounced back from just fine, as a pocket QB. And Eli skirted the system just fine when he played the draft rules to force his way to a team he wanted to go to.
I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I can be critical of Eli's play at times too but i just dont know where you are going with this. this is a Giants fan website and you appear to want to shit all over one of the greatest Giants to ever don the uniform. It's weird.
Well, he showed up for practice and wore the uniform. That's not nothing, but he was pretty much getting paid to hold a clipboard the final 2 years.
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I'm not sure how to reply to the use of gifs to prove Brady's teammates don't like him. Has any ex-teammate of Brady's chucked him under the bus as a comical leader like Tiki? Declared a rival to be clearly better than him like Toomer has done with Romo on multiple occasions? Routinely downplayed his role in success the way Canty often does when doing analysis? Do we even really want to play the gif game here anyway? Because I'm sure I can find or make plenty of guys like Shockey, Plaxico, etc blowing Eli off or showing him up far worse than whatever those are supposed to represent.
I can be critical of Eli's play at times too but i just dont know where you are going with this. this is a Giants fan website and you appear to want to shit all over one of the greatest Giants to ever don the uniform. It's weird.
I'm not shitting on Eli.
My over-made point was more to how ridiculous acting like Brady's teammates hate him because of gifs taken for mostly humorous reasons while acting like all Eli's genuflect at his alter is nonsense.
This conversation never should have started. There's just flat out no comparison, in ability and situation, between these two players. Brady could actually play another 7 years (he won't) and that doesn't mean a thing, one way or another, about how long Eli will be here.
Now he has this crazed diet and simply isn't regressing physically at an ancient age. Even if it's a quack diet with negative ramifications down the road for his health, shouldn't more QBs be trying it since it obviously works for Brady?
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In comment 13408290 Devon said:
Quote:
In comment 13408272 Big Blue '56 said:
Quote:
maybe 3-4 years, tops..😜
One is an all time great playing for probably the greatest football mind of all time that is still playing at an elite level, the other isn't. It's apples to oranges.
That said, Brady might have pipe dreams of it, but there's no way he's still going to be playing in 5-6 years either.
Firstly, Eli is healthier, has lost very little if anything physically despite protestations to the contrary by some and doesn't need to play near Brady's level to play into his 40s..As I've said, eere it not for 4 neck surgeries, Peyton might still be paying, imo..No reason why Eli can't play into his 40s, imv
Even if you think this, it's quite obvious the Giants very much don't.
Compare Kraft gushing on Brady possibly playing that long, to how even Tisch today made it clear finding Eli's replacement is at least in the back of their mind now, after Reese's comments, team leaks about his decline, McAdoo going in on him, etc.
Your Patriots fan underwear is showing.
Brady is a master of the short pass......Eli is not....the long pass? Eli is better at putting a ball into a tight window, if he has the time......
As time goes by, Brady still will excel at the short pass, but Eli's forte at the long pass, will diminish, so that is one reason why Brady could easily outlast Eli....
And then there is the conditioning.....edge to Brady....
Now he has this crazed diet and simply isn't regressing physically at an ancient age. Even if it's a quack diet with negative ramifications down the road for his health, shouldn't more QBs be trying it since it obviously works for Brady?
Brady has had some nutritionist guru for years. I wouldn't
be surprised if Brady forms some type of business in the nutrition field after he retires.
That's why he probably believes he can play another 6-7 years, even if I don't.
At 39, Henry Aaron hit .301 and had 40 home runs. He never ht higher than .268 nor had more than 20 home runs ever again although he played to 43.
Pete Rose hit.325 at age 40. Never came close again although he played until he was 46.
Ted Williams had a great age 40 of 29 home runs and a .316 BA. in the last year he played but said he knew he could no longer play at the level he wanted to be remembered for.
Different sport but the point is that the decline is often sharp.
The great ones self explain the first bad year as an injury or fixable in the offseason. Some flashes and streaks show they still can win so they keep going.
But Father Time bats 1.000
I have seen only one exception..although if you followed closely you knew there was a decline:
Mariano Rivera had a 1.76 ERA at 39 Years old.
Over the next five years until age 43 he missed much of one season but had ERA's of 1.80 at age 40, 1.91 at age 41 and 2.11 at age 43. Pretty much pitched the same workload and had the same number of saves and the same strikeouts per 9 innings from his late 30s straight through to his last year.
Thats the exception I can think of. Age 43. imho he would not have had a good age 44.
Father Time, even for the greats and the lucky ones, is undefeated
Ps..I doubt tom even can last 6 or 7 imo
At 39, Henry Aaron hit .301 and had 40 home runs. He never ht higher than .268 nor had more than 20 home runs ever again although he played to 43.
Pete Rose hit.325 at age 40. Never came close again although he played until he was 46.
Ted Williams had a great age 40 of 29 home runs and a .316 BA. in the last year he played but said he knew he could no longer play at the level he wanted to be remembered for.
Different sport but the point is that the decline is often sharp.
The great ones self explain the first bad year as an injury or fixable in the offseason. Some flashes and streaks show they still can win so they keep going.
But Father Time bats 1.000
I have seen only one exception..although if you followed closely you knew there was a decline:
Mariano Rivera had a 1.76 ERA at 39 Years old.
Over the next five years until age 43 he missed much of one season but had ERA's of 1.80 at age 40, 1.91 at age 41 and 2.11 at age 43. Pretty much pitched the same workload and had the same number of saves and the same strikeouts per 9 innings from his late 30s straight through to his last year.
Thats the exception I can think of. Age 43. imho he would not have had a good age 44.
Father Time, even for the greats and the lucky ones, is undefeated
Jerry Rice is an interesting case study for father time discussion.
Always was super disciplined about offseason workouts and nutrition. Tremendous offseason shape, ran that notorious hill that other players couldn't handle. He had such low bodyfat, his trainers told him to eat ice cream.
At ages 39 and 40, Rice put up 1000+ yard seasons for the Raiders, at over 13 yards per reception. Comparing the passing league then to now and how a shocking amount of WRs never have a 1000 yard season in their lifetime, it's ridiculous what he did.
Age 41, he dropped under 1k for 869 yards, but that was still better production than his last two years with the 49ers.
It wasn't until age 42 where he dropped to 429 yards (split amongst OAK & SEA in a mid season trade), his lowest ever for a season outside of 1997 when he missed nearly the entire season to injury.
The next offseason at nearly 43, he no longer had it. In training camp with Denver, Mike Shanahan told him at best he was the #4 WR. At this point Rice simply retired.
So if you want to talk about a starting, productive WR in the NFL, Rice set the bar at 42. A QB you could argue could sustain the level a bit more since the physicality demands of the position are a bit less, speed and agility wise.....just a question of arm strength.
And of course are we talking 6-7 years as a player or a starter. I absolutely think Brady could be a backup till a pretty advanced age, but not sure he wants to go that route.
I see that Steve DeBerg retired at age 44 after taking a few years off. Don't know if anyone played QB older than him.
Johnny Unitas last played as a starter at age 37-38 although he continued ( oft injured) until age 40. Sonny Jurgenson was last a full year starter at age 36 although he retired at 40. Fran Tarkenton at 38
The other guy I thought of was George Blanda. Blanda threw his last TD at age 46 in 1973 as a back up for the Oakland Raiders.
He was a QB and a kicker. Kicked until he was 47 in 1974
Starting QB until he was about 39 years old.
Had a 55% completion percentage until he was 44 and then never completed more than about 30% of his passes.
He did not end as a starting Qb so its hard to clearly document his years of decline but it seems sharp ( which is the point we are making and it certainly did not extend past 43.)
The other reasonable conclusion is that any good year after 39 is a good year for a QB. But a risky year for a team. Granted Johnny U, Sonny and George Blanda took shots that no Qb alive takes now. And I dont know about Johnny U, but George was a hard living guy and Sonny was a major party animal.
However, I remember analysts saying that the year we beat them in the playoffs he was already easier to defend because he could not hit the mid range or long range sidelines. As a result safeties had less ground to cover and CBs could look in and cheat to the inside and LB could drop back and towards the center of the field.
Second hand, what i understand is that the first to go is zip to the sidelines...not the fade...not the long ball on occasion...the dart to the sidelines. Payton could not make that throw when he came back from the injury. Could he win big games? Yes. Did he need a better defense and supporting cast especially at TE and down the middle? yes
I'd expect him to play well next season, but you just never know....and then there is always the injury factor. And it's the nagging injuries that probably get to him.
Knew he was a QB and kicker towards the end, but didn't know he threw a TD pass at 46. Very impressive.
Also eerie seeing his career span as far back as 1949 all the way up to 1975 when the Super Bowl era was several years underway.
Another old but still good player was Jackie Slater, OT for the Rams. 1976-1995, no other teams. So he played a rather physical position until 41 years old.
Darrell Green, played until he was almost 43 years old. Cornerback.
So to recap:
Blanda - 47
Deberg - 44
Green - 42
Rice - 42
Slater - 41
Brady being an all time great playing in a safer league for QBs has a shot to start at least 3 more years.
I dimly remember Blanda being on Sunday TV as a child and playing QB with grey hair and his last TD was a dart to Cliff Branch that won an important game.
But his greatest achievement was coming in during a five week stretch to relieve Daryl Lamonica at age 43.
With the help of some Oakland Tribune archives:
1. Oct. 25, 1970 at Oakland: RAIDERS 31, STEELERS 14
Blanda, then a 43-year-old kicker and backup quarterback, took over for starting quarterback Daryle Lamonica and threw three touchdown passes to lead the Raiders to a victory over the stunned Steelers. Archived Tribune game story.
2. Nov. 1, 1970 at Kansas City: RAIDERS 17, CHIEFS 17
Blanda’s 48-yard field goal barely clears the crossbar and the finger tips of the Chiefs’ 6-foot-9 Morris Stroud, who was positioned under the goal post in order to swat the kick away. Archived Tribune game story
3. Nov. 8, 1970 at Oakland Coliseum: RAIDERS 23, BROWNS 20
Blanda relieved Lamonica and threw a TD pass with 1:34 left to tie the game and then kicked the game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining that prompted King to call him “King of the World.” Archived Tribune game story
4. Nov. 15, 1970 at Denver: RAIDERS 24, BRONCOS 19
Coach John Madden summoned Blanda into the game for another crack at a mircle and George didn’t disappoint. He threw a 20-yard TD pass to Fred Biletnikoff with 2:28 left in the game to give the Raiders another come-from-behind victory. Archived Tribune game story.
5. Nov. 22, 1970 at Oakland Coliseum: RAIDERS 20, CHARGERS 17
The miracle worker story angle was getting nearly as old as Blanda himself by the time his 16-yard field goal with eight seconds left beat the Chargers.
The Raiders first season in the new combined post merger NFL. They lost the AFC to Baltimore who went on to win the SuperBowl.
After that he was pretty much just a FG Kicker
He can keep playing for a while if he isn't getting hit. The recovery time is the big issue.
Maybe they start resting him during the year to keep him fresh. I could see BB playing another QB late in the year to keep Brady fresh for the playoffs.
What I think shoud be interesting is to see how BB handles him. It may give clues to what they really think of Garrapolo. Hypothetically, say the win it again this year, but Brady shows decline, or they don't win because of him not being his usual self, do they ask him to retire? And if he says no, release him so Garropolo can move into the job?
And then, does Brady keep playing with another team?
Rice was as close to "Gretzky dominant" as any other athlete. Timing helped and Rice was definitely drafted by the right team with the right QBs but so what. Rice just owned the NFL for 15 years.
What I think shoud be interesting is to see how BB handles him. It may give clues to what they really think of Garrapolo. Hypothetically, say the win it again this year, but Brady shows decline, or they don't win because of him not being his usual self, do they ask him to retire? And if he says no, release him so Garropolo can move into the job?
And then, does Brady keep playing with another team?
That's true, but I'll tell you, Blanda was clutch with a
capital C! He bailed out the mad bomber (Daryle Lamonica),
more than once in his career. I had to marvel at Blanda at times, even though he wasn't a starter as you said.
BB is not going to ask Brady to retire, if they don't trade
Jimmy G, he is FA after next season. You don't put a FT on a
backup either, that's jut crazy. I've heard some in New England mention something like that, you don't pay TWO QB's.
I don't see Brady hanging around as a backup down the road.
The analogies were to guys who declined way before 6 or 7 more years.
No one is knocking Brady. I am in doubt that he could play as a starter 6 or 7 more years other than as a third QB in the years past 43...for no team belongs depending on anything but a precipitous decline in a 40 plus player.
No team would depend on a 43 year old kicker either.
The ideas that "they can still play" and a "team can depend on this continuing" are two different things. As decades of data in most major sports indicates, that age is about 40 and almost never above 43.
That's the only comparison that was made.