Brady discusses the advantage of his age.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and his two backups Brian Hoyer (8) and Ryan Mallett (15) run sprints at the end of practice during NFL football training camp in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012. FOXBOROUGH --Tom Brady recently turned 35, but the line of questioning he received Sunday may make you think that the only thing his future holds is a rocking chair and a handful of hard candies.
Coming off a season where he passed for 5,235 yards and completed 65 percent of his passes for the third consecutive season, any talk of his imminent demise seems premature, but that didn’t stop an endless stream of inquiries about his age.
Brady was good-natured about it but had enough of the ribbing when two former teammates, Vinny Testaverde and Doug Flutie, both of whom were 42 when they landed in New England, were introduced to the conversation.
“I’m a long ways from 42,” he said after stating how much he learned from both players. “Hopefully, I’m still talking to you guys when I’m 42.”
While Brady would like to stay forever young, one advantage to his age is that he no longer has to spend endless hours in his playbook or worry about what he’s supposed to be doing on the field. He has those things down cold, which allows him to worry more about his upcoming opponent and executing plays.
That experience and familiarity is likely the reason that he seems to keep improving with age.
“I know what we're doing, I know why we're doing it. I know the calls,” Brady said. “It's more mentally making sure you're bringing emotion and energy and making sure you have the enthusiasm and the execution is good . … Trying to be a good leader and trying to set a good example as a quarterback. I think that's my challenge to come out here every day and bring everything I have to try to make us a better team.”