Let's think about the things that matter to playing QB. Number one: arm strength. Brady was drafted into Major League Baseball as a catcher, a position for which the main requirement is having a rocket arm. He was still throwing a football 60mph past age 40, which is right there with the very strongest (and much younger) arms in the league. He obviously has incredible perceptual and leadership skills, but all this talk about how he's not a good athlete because he sucks at the 40 lacks a focus on the actual attributes of a quarterback. He's 6'4" with a cannon arm. If he'd been drafted to play running back (or centerfield) he'd have been in trouble.
No one has brought up accuracy and that’s a skill that is mostly genetic. Guys like Falco and Tebow could practice for hours a day and not be accurate. I’ve read that Tebo would actually bounce passes during practice. A quick release also comes from genetics.
Calling BS on accuracy being "genetic". Josh Allen was not considered accurate in college. I think he is considered pretty accurate now.
Same for quick release. That is a skill that can be learned and developed as well.
I played QB on a HS state championship team back in the late 70s & had a stint as a HS QB coach & OC.
Brady is not an athletic QB nor a mobile pocket passer - he never was coming out of Michigan. He has a slow 40 (5.28) & 20 yard shuttle run. However, he had elite size for the position (6-4, 225 lbs).
Brady was a traditional pocket passer which is being phased out of the league in favor of mobile pocket passers (e.g., Mahomes, Allen, Stroud, Mayfield, Purdy, Nix, etc) & dual-threat RPO QBs (e.g, Jackson, Hurts, Murray, Fields, Daniels, etc).
Brady had an above-average arm strength that could effortlessly make all the NFL throws plus a good deep ball. He has great accuracy & ability to throw into tight windows. But his arm strength was not elite & not in the all-time best category:
In the high-stakes theatre of the NFL, arm strength is a prized attribute that separates the good quarterbacks from the greats. The ability to throw a football???
No one has brought up accuracy and that’s a skill that is mostly genetic. Guys like Falco and Tebow could practice for hours a day and not be accurate. I’ve read that Tebo would actually bounce passes during practice. A quick release also comes from genetics.
Calling BS on accuracy being "genetic". Josh Allen was not considered accurate in college. I think he is considered pretty accurate now.
Same for quick release. That is a skill that can be learned and developed as well.
Definitely accuracy can be developed. Arm strength not so much.
Allen had elite size, arm strength & good athleticism coming out of Wyoming but there were some issues with accuracy & ball placement into tight windows.
But that was developed in the NFL. Now you have one of the strongest arms in the history of the game with excellent accuracy. Add in his athleticism/mobility & ability to effectively run the ball - you have one of the best QBs in the league.
With Allen you basically have a TE that can throw the heck out of the ball.
Let's think about the things that matter to playing QB. Number one: arm strength. Brady was drafted into Major League Baseball as a catcher, a position for which the main requirement is having a rocket arm. He was still throwing a football 60mph past age 40, which is right there with the very strongest (and much younger) arms in the league. He obviously has incredible perceptual and leadership skills, but all this talk about how he's not a good athlete because he sucks at the 40 lacks a focus on the actual attributes of a quarterback. He's 6'4" with a cannon arm. If he'd been drafted to play running back (or centerfield) he'd have been in trouble.
I would push back that the most important trait is arm strength. I bet over Brady's career close to 100 guys had "stronger" arms than Brady. In something as dynamic as QB, I am not sure what the most important attribute would be. Processing speed would be high up there for sure.
Also, more to being a catcher than having a strong arm, but certainly something that scouts would evaluate.
Google "Tom Brady 61mph" ...he has one of the strongest arms in NFL history
In it, Marra raves about how athletic the United players are and talks about Tom Brady
Harry Marra said:
“Everybody says Tommy Brady is a great athlete. Tommy Brady is not a great athlete. “ He’s not fast. He’s not very strong. He’s not very agile. But, boy, does he have phenomenal competitive skills and hand-eye coordination. That guy can thread the needle with that football. And he’s cool as a cucumber.
Stop acting like you watch or care about football, I'd be willing to wager that you are black out drunk every Sunday morning before the first game even starts.
In it, Marra raves about how athletic the United players are and talks about Tom Brady
Harry Marra said:
“Everybody says Tommy Brady is a great athlete. Tommy Brady is not a great athlete. “ He’s not fast. He’s not very strong. He’s not very agile. But, boy, does he have phenomenal competitive skills and hand-eye coordination. That guy can thread the needle with that football. And he’s cool as a cucumber.
He’s correct on all counts. Brady is great at the game of football, but he’s a solid B- “Athlete”.
Tom Brady is more athletic than 99.9% of people. He played football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He even got drafted in the MLB and got a D1 scholarship to Michigan.
I don't think that's a controversial take, if "not a great athlete" is simply being defined as not having great athleticism. It's obvious Brady wasn't the most physically gifted quarterback. Brady himself says in this video that the things that made him great were his meticulous preparation and his ability to read the opposing team's defense.
"It wasn't how fast I could run. It was how fast I could diagnose what they were doing."
“Everybody says Tommy Brady is a great athlete. Tommy Brady is not a great athlete. “ He’s not fast. He’s not very strong. He’s not very agile. But, boy, does he have phenomenal competitive skills and hand-eye coordination. That guy can thread the needle with that football. And he’s cool as a cucumber.
No lies detected. 👆
Brady is very good at a game. Truly superlative, in fact.
A game in which his position simply does not require incredible athleticism in terms of speed, strength, or agility.
Something that is not mentioned often is that Brady did not get too greedy with his salary allowing them to afford a great offensive line which is paramount to a QB's success.
No one has brought up accuracy and that’s a skill that is mostly genetic. Guys like Falco and Tebow could practice for hours a day and not be accurate. I’ve read that Tebo would actually bounce passes during practice. A quick release also comes from genetics.
In it, Marra raves about how athletic the United players are and talks about Tom Brady
Harry Marra said:
“Everybody says Tommy Brady is a great athlete. Tommy Brady is not a great athlete. “ He’s not fast. He’s not very strong. He’s not very agile. But, boy, does he have phenomenal competitive skills and hand-eye coordination. That guy can thread the needle with that football. And he’s cool as a cucumber.
this guys a crank and a clueless coach if he wants to measure his performance at Man United
currently 14th in the league, producing a catalogue of "worst ever" stats - least goals, most defeats, lowest league position. team has no energy or attacking threat, a real bore to watch
below the like of Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace in the league. this guys done a terrible job
In it, Marra raves about how athletic the United players are and talks about Tom Brady
Harry Marra said:
“Everybody says Tommy Brady is a great athlete. Tommy Brady is not a great athlete. “ He’s not fast. He’s not very strong. He’s not very agile. But, boy, does he have phenomenal competitive skills and hand-eye coordination. That guy can thread the needle with that football. And he’s cool as a cucumber.
