Five Reasons The Kansas City Chiefs Will Win On Monday Night
Sep 21, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts to a failed pass attempt during the fourth quarter against Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots won 16-9. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
3. Tom Brady Isn’t The Same QB He Used To Be
I’ll confess that part of the reason I originally marked this game down as a loss when the Chiefs schedule first came out was because of the mystique of Pat’s quarterback Tom Brady. Brady is a three time Super Bowl champion, a nine time pro bowler, the winningest QB in postseason history, and a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer. You can’t dispute Tom Brady’s place in history. He is one of the greatest QBs of all time, period. There is nothing that Brady can do and nothing that anyone can say that can take those accomplishments away from him.
That having been said, Tom Brady is 37 years old and it is becoming apparent that he is no longer the same QB he was in his prime. It’s easy to think that because Peyton Manning is still rewriting the record books at an age where other QBs have already retired, that any QB can do the same. The fact is, Peyton is an abnormality, and the norm is that QBs are going to regress as the years catch up with them. Tom Brady’s decline has been masked by two things. First, his sterling reputation has caused many to overlook Brady’s recent struggles and give him the benefit of the doubt. If a QB with a lesser reputation (say, Alex Smith) played the same way they would be more scrutinized.
The other reason people may not have noticed Brady’s drop off is that he has been short on offensive weapons. The Patriots let Wes Welker leave town. Aaron Hernandez went to prison. Rob Gronkowski has had a hard time getting on the field due to numerous injuries. This has lead many to point the finger away from Brady when looking at the decline of the Patriots passing game. While those losses have certainly contributed to the decline, it is now simply impossible to ignore Brady’s role as well.
Here are Tom Brady’s stats over the past four seasons.
2011: 65.6%, 327.2 YPG, 8.6 YPA, 2.4 TDs per game
2012: 63.0%, 301.7 YPG yards, 7.6 YPA, 2.1 TDs per game
2013: 60.5%, 271.4 YPG, 6.9 YPA, 1.6 TDs per game
2014: 58.8%, 210.7 YPG, 5.5 YPA, 1.0 TDs per game
Just for fun, Alex Smith (who hasn’t had a fantastic first three games) is averaging the following so far this season:
62.7%, 214.3 YPG, 6.3 YPA, 1.3 TDs per game
So while the average NFL fan continues to question if Alex Smith is a good enough QB to lead the Chiefs for the next few years if they want to content for a Super Bowl perhaps the greater question should be if Tom Brady still has what it takes to lead the Patriots there.