Perfect Tommy

It’s become one of the locker room clichés of the Belichick era in New England. Regardless of the question asked, a Patriots’ player is likely to answer, “I’m just trying to get better…” Watching New England's second preseason game, I couldn’t help but wonder; has Tom Brady actually gotten better? I don’t mean better than 2001. I mean better than 2007; better than his unanimous MVP season of 2010. I’m not saying he’ll throw 51+ TD passes and no more than 3 INT in 2013 (though that would be crazy delicious). How about another cliché? There’s more to playing the position than numbers.

I know…

It’s only the preseason. It’s a small data sample. It was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary, largely famous for not being good. Tom Brady looked incredible Friday night. He opened the game with 11 straight completions, throwing a dart up the seam to Danny Amendola for a TD followed by a Did I Just See That? pass to Zach Sudfeld for a two-point conversion. Maybe Brady was right about his strong right arm, after all.

I know…

I angrily dismissed the notion that this could be Peyton Manning’s best season ever just a couple of weeks ago. (Am I really counting on an Andy Reid team to keep Manning and the Broncos out of the playoffs? I suspect alcohol may have been involved.) Now, here I am hinting that Brady could have the greatest season of his Hall of Fame career at the age of 36 with a completely revamped wide receivers position. The difference here (yes, I do have a self-justifying rationalization for this seeming inconsistency) is that – as noted above – I’m not talking about numbers. The numbers will undoubtedly be there (though I’m guessing a 92% completion rate is unsustainable for a full season) but I’m talking about Brady’s mastery of the game of football. Do those rookie wide receivers look like rookies? Well, okay, yes they do at times but they also look much better than any of us had a right to expect. Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Zach Sudfeld and Josh Boyce should all start planning their Christmas presents for Tom Brady now.

What do you get for the man who literally has everything?

Okay…

Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are all great quarterbacks; great tacticians as well as great passers. And yes, I’m saying Tom Brady is better. And no, I’m not going to argue with you. Okay, I will mention this. I can’t remember the last time Brady threw a pass across his body. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Peyton Manning.) Brady is not the athlete that Aaron Rodgers. On those rare occasions when Brady breaks the pocket and runs I’m reminded of Bill Parcells “If you’re a giraffe, be a giraffe” quote as Brady looks as improbable as the gangly gallop of a giraffe when he does run the football. Instead, he will shuffle around in the pocket to keep a play alive rather than make a run for it. He’s remarkably consistent in his sublime mechanics and looked as good throwing the football last night as he has at any time in his 14 years in the league. 

He goes by many names in my house. The Icy Commander, Perfect Tommy, TB12 and Tom Terrific of course; when he grew his hair long my wife started calling him Young Odin (he does seem like the hero of an Icelandic saga at times). We’ll refer to him conversationally as Tom or Brady, as if we know him personally, as if only yesterday we were sharing a microbrew with him at Pepperland. As Stevan Ridley said after the Wednesday scare, we’re all riding with Brady. All the way.