Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said last week that he wants to play for another 10 years and then offered up the latest example of how little age has taken away from his game by leading the Patriots past the Jets on Sunday.
Brady threw for 355 yards and could have had even more if Brandon LaFell and other Patriots receivers had shown better ability hanging onto the ball. He also led the team in rushing on a day when they rarely handed the ball off and showed off mobility that Brady believes is better now than it was earlier in his career in the process.
During an appearance on “Dennis and Callahan” on WEEI on Monday, Brady repeated his goal of playing another decade -- “What else am I going to do?” -- and said he thinks he’s better now than he was five years ago.
“I think so,” Brady said. “I don’t know. I try to be critical of myself. I think I’m making all the throws I need to make. There can always be things I can do better. I’ve worked hard always on my throwing mechanics. I worked hard this offseason on them. Playing quarterback is throwing the ball accurately, being able to make the throws, being durable and making good decisions. I try to take care of the good decision part, I try to take care of the accurate part, I try to take care of the durability part. Then it comes down to leadership and relating to your teammates and all those things that are different challenges that you face as you get older.”
The age gap may be growing as Brady starts playing with teammates who were barely out of diapers when he joined the Patriots, but leadership from the quarterback position doesn’t seem to be much of an issue in New England. Neither do the physical or mental parts of the game, which makes Brady’s contention about being better now than he was earlier in his career tough to argue with even if another 10 years at something close to the same level still feels like a long shot.