In the Long run: The Brady bus is still goin’

Another year, another New England Patriots Super Bowl victory. This seems like an every-year thing, right? In the last 18 years, quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick have led the Pats to nine Super Bowls, winning six of them. Now, people seem to think that he should end on that high note, and I don’t get it.

Brady is arguably the best quarterback to play the game. I’m a firm believer that you can’t label someone as “the greatest of all time” in any sport because everyone plays during different times against different people and in different circumstances, but man, Brady makes me want to bend that personal philosophical pillar.

This year, Brady got his sixth ring, giving him the most by any player in NFL history, and more than 30 other NFL franchises. That one is crazy. One man has more championships than 30 out of the 32 teams in the league.

Championships are his specialty, but in order to get there, you have to outperform everyone else, and Brady has done that. He has the most regular season wins as a starting quarterback (207), the most playoff wins (30), the most playoff passing yards (11,179), the most playoff touchdown passes (73) and became the third quarterback to reach 500 passing touchdowns.

His records for regular season stats are lacking, but it’s clear that he wins in the postseason which is where it matters. Again, I don’t want to say anyone is the GOAT, but I’m okay with saying Brady is the greatest at winning.

However, he’s not exactly the young buck he used to be. The man is 41 now and has been in the league for 19 seasons. That’s a crazy amount of time considering the beating that NFL players take on a regular basis. Even though he’s a quarterback and takes significantly less hits than most players, a big hit from a 300 pound defensive lineman would send a ring all through a mid 30-40 year old man’s body.

Despite all of this, Brady has already said he plans to play into his mid 40s, but he’s getting flack for this decision. People who want him out of the league keep saying, “What does he have left to prove?” To this I say nothing. He has nothing left to prove, but that’s not what it’s about.

Brady is a pure competitor, and is not worried about the fact that most of the country just wants him out of the league so that their team has a better shot at a championship. All he wants to do is continue winning with a team which has winning culture pouring in through the vents and who’s to say he can’t?

Let’s say Brady plays until 45. The Pats still have a good offensive line to protect Brady, a very nice looking rookie running back, great offensive targets in Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski (maybe) and a football genius as head coach. That’s all that’s needed to win when you take into account the way the Patriots’ organization live and breathe winning, so that’s probably another two Super Bowls for Brady.

So, why should he stop just because “It’s a nice place to end,” or “He has nothing left to prove?” He’s in a great position to win a couple more rings, so quit pouting that he’s choosing to pursue them. He’s great but old, the throne will be open for business soon enough.