ATLANTA -- You don't have to go back all that far to show examples of how Tom Brady's physical skill set is still more than enough to make him as effective as he wants to be.
In Week 17 against the Jets, Brady made one of his strongest throws of the season at the end of the first quarter. With Shaq Mason in his lap, he threw an 18-yard dart to Julian Edelman over the middle. In the AFC Championship Game, he was mobile enough to scramble, stop when he saw a defender obstruct his path, set his feet and make an accurate throw to James White's outside arm on third down. (That one earned praise from Peyton Manning on ESPN+.)
Some wonder if Brady's physical traits are there as consistently as they were earlier in his career. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're "cliff" truthers.
Count Kurt Warner, now working as an NFL Network analyst, among those who think Brady's skill set might not be exactly what it was. But at the same time, he acknowledges that it doesn't matter because Brady is so proficient in other areas.
"I go back and look at my career, and I don't think I ever threw it as hard as I could in a game in a single situation," Warner said Wednesday. "If you know how to play, if you know how to play with anticipation, you know what you're seeing, it doesn't really matter if your arm strength wasn't quite what it was.
"Like I said, it's not something you're gonna go 'OH MY GOSH, HE WENT FROM THROWING IT 60 TO 35 YARDS.' He's going from 60 to 58 yards. Well, if you're throwing it past 58 yards, you're throwing the ball late, and you're not throwing it where you should.
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"I haven't seen anything that says he's falling off and there's a big drop-off in any one area of what he does. His arm is still strong enough. He can still make every throw. He still thinks and makes decisions as well as anybody."
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Warner admitted that there are factors that have helped Brady get to this point other than his strict diet and workout regimen. His style of play, New England's offensive system, and the rules of the game could help pocket passers play much longer than the younger generation of quarterbacks who often rely heavily on their athleticism.
"I'm not as surprised by it as a lot of people are [that Brady is still going]," Warner said. "I played late into my 30s and I felt I could play four or five more years physically. But it was for other reasons that I walked away. The way guys keep themselves in shape, the way the game has changed, not as much wear and tear.
"To me, the bottom line is he plays the game the same way now that he played it 17 years ago. He hasn't had to adjust the way that he plays even though he's gotten older and maybe the arm strength isn't there and the mobility isn't there. He still plays the game the same way.
"Because of that, I believe that guys like Drew [Brees] and Tom are gonna have the ability to play longer than other quarterbacks that depend on other skill sets and depend on the physical part more than the mental part. I wouldn't be surprised if he plays three, four more years at this level because he's not gonna be doing anything different.
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"He's gonna play with his mind. He's gonna get the ball out of his hands. The majority of his throws are gonna be within 20 yards of the line of scrimmage. I feel like I could go play right now [Warner's 47 and last played in 2009]. I can throw it far enough right now to go play. I don't think those things are gonna be issues for those quarterbacks. It's gonna be more if you can't get out of the pocket, if you can't play with your legs, like we're seeing a lot of these young quarterbacks. Can you play within the pocket like a Tom Brady or a Drew Brees? And if so, you can probably play into your 40s."
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