{"id":103569,"date":"2021-02-03T21:59:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T02:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=103569"},"modified":"2021-02-03T21:59:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T02:59:03","slug":"tom-brady-thinks-hell-be-better-in-2021-hes-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/02\/03\/tom-brady-thinks-hell-be-better-in-2021-hes-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Brady Thinks He\u2019ll Be Better in 2021. He\u2019s Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady<\/a> is pretty good at his job. After spending the first 20 years of his career with the New England Patriots<\/a>, the 43-year old switched teams in the shortened offseason to bring his new franchise all the way to the Super Bowl. While there were some peaks and valleys, Tom Brady ended the season ranked at or near the top of just about every 2021 efficiency stat, which is just pure lunacy. However, despite the success, Brady believes that he can be even better next year.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the six-time Super Bowl champion (as of this posting) said he thinks \u201cnext year\u2019s going to be better than this year<\/a>\u201d, which is truly insane for a soon-to-be 44-year old. However, a further dive shows that there are several reasons to believe Brady will be even better in 2021 than he was in 2020.<\/p>\n

[pickup_prop id=”4397″]<\/p>\n

Tom Brady Says He\u2019ll Be Even Better in 2021<\/h2>\n

2021 Tom Brady Himself<\/h3>\n

First, let\u2019s start by looking at Brady himself. Despite his advanced age, Brady is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league by just about every metric. Overall, Brady ended the regular season ranked fifth in EPA+CPOE composite and EPA\/play, and ninth in ESPN\u2019s QBR rankings. The advanced numbers think Brady still has it, and the film-based grading process from Pro Football Focus agrees. According to PFF, Brady was the second-best quarterback in the league last year, trailing only presumptive league MVP Aaron Rodgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brady can still produce at an elite level, but past production doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to future success. The cliff comes mighty quick for older quarterbacks, as both Peyton Manning<\/a> and Drew Brees<\/a> saw their numbers drop from elite to below-average seemingly overnight. However, watching the film shows that both quarterbacks simply didn\u2019t have their old arm strength over their final years. To make up for their lack of physical gifts, those two all-time greats made it through by simply being smarter than their competition and winning before the snap. So even though their numbers dropped out of nowhere, there were warning signs on both Hall of Famers.<\/p>\n

Brady doesn\u2019t need to worry about this yet. While he is older than both quarterbacks were at their time of (presumed) retirement, Brady still has the ability to beat defenses on all levels of the field. While he might not have the cannon of somebody like Josh Allen<\/a>, he can still stretch the field and force defenses to respect his ability to win deep. After all, you can\u2019t lead the league in average depth of target without being pretty good at stretching the field. Ultimately, he still has the arm and the brain to do just about whatever he wants on the football field.<\/p>\n

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In his 21st NFL season, Tom Brady led all qualified quarterbacks in air yards per attempt (9.6), redefining what can be expected of a quarterback his age.<\/p>\n

Brady stands as an outlier against the QB age curve when it comes to the vertical passing game.#SBLV<\/a> | #GoBucs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/3FcFeCXh87<\/a><\/p>\n

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n