Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier released a post this morning that states Tom Brady is in decline . . . and that his age is the reason. Our own Tom E. Curran disagrees. Take a look at their fascinating back-and-forth:
So here's an article about Brady's decline, and I have a #Packers article dropping in a few hours. So I should probably just nuke my Twitter account now.https://t.co/IUSN0qdI6d
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
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Hi! Losing Brandin Cooks and Danny Amendola and having a banged-up Gronk are better explanations for the 2017 to 2018 dropoff in length of throw, etc than Brady‘s birthdate. https://t.co/2rXBiK8TAu
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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Hi Tom!
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
Gosh, Brady has never had his supporting cast change before, and Gronk is never, ever injured, so this argument really holds water. Thanks for the analysis! See you in Atlanta!
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Did the cast merely “change” or get significantly worse as well? Have a look at 2013. We’re down the stretch in 2015 when Edelman was hurt and Gronk was dinged up. Ascribing this to age with zero mention of the changes to personnel isn’t telling the full story.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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Right. Because with Brady, we have to micromanage 5 years of injury reports before we dare marshal lots and lots of stats to point out the obvious.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
His stats are down from 2015, when Gronk missed 8 games and Malcolm Mitchell started 8. It's in the article, Tom. And hi!
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Hi! Hello! Marshal away. I’d still say if there’s a precipitous stat drop in a short span it could be traceable to factors beyond age.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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Right. Except that Brady has dealt with ups and downs, injuries and suspensions to his supporting cast throughout the post-Moss years. And is currently having a very down year by every metric despite relative Gronk-Julian health. And it is happening at 41.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
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I can “yeah, but” longer than you can.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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Not sure that's true. But ... be real ... if this was any other aging athlete but Brady, you would not be fine-tooth combing for reasons why this season was so (let's say) unusual. That age is a significant factor is assumed for every old QB but Brady on your stretch of I-95
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
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If you removed age and saw this kind of slide - from landslide MVP and best player in league for 4 seasons to pretty good - I think you’d be looking harder for below-surface reasons ... let’s pod!
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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So, we're supposed to remove age completely from the equation while simultaneously giving full credit for Brady's long track record and reputation.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
Interesting and highly customized rhetorical technique ...
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In answer to your question, any other QB who drops off after several good years is hammered and questioned for turning into a bad QB, not an old one. That's how the non Brady rules operate.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
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I was countering your theory that Brady is only being “defended” because he’s Brady and we are using pretzel logic. In truth, because he’s 41, he gets less excuse-making and less analysis done on his behalf. Yet the reasons, which are laying right there, get ignored.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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Like Green Bay this year? Because that’s not what happened with that guy. And he’s the best comp. Rodgers, the theory goes, isn’t old or bad. Just strapped to a bad coach.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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That's not even remotely true. Good heavens, are you on the same Internet as me? Look at the criticism literally every single other QB gets in a down year. Usually, the home fans are on them harder than those of us trying to look at things objectively and analytically.
— Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier) January 8, 2019
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Loggerheads. Bottom line, discerning why an MVP’s throwing decisions are different this year than last normally invites more analysis, “he’s 41, what did you expect.” Didn’t find that in your story. Interesting numbers though. Used them myself earlier in season.
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) January 8, 2019
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