Tom Brady: Two Rings For One Perfect Season?

Tom Brady is still chasing goals after all these years.

In a previous posting regarding the accolades still left on the table for Tom Brady to achieve, the perfect season was mentioned, as well as its chances to happen this upcoming season. Writing then that Brady was a gluttonous QB and was still searching for records to break–a big reason for not retiring yet–but surprisingly, many protested and instead argued it was for the love of the game or that playing football had become as synonymous as breathing air and that’s why this man was still playing. In that sense none of this is unusual. After all one wouldn’t tell a 43-year-old working as a stock broker that ‘come on now it’s time to retire! This is a young man’s game.’

But thankfully, Brady chimed in on this one and, in a way he hasn’t in the past, really put down a firm message for the fans at home. 1) The 2007 postseason really affected him in a way we may never fully grasp. 2) Perfection. Records. Sports immortality. Are some of the main drivers to his longevity… not necessarily just haphazardly falling into Championships, or treating this like a 9 to 5 job.

The comments came from a draft-a-thon the league put together in an effort to raise funds for pandemic relief. Several stars were there like Michael Strahan, who was the man Tom Brady was addressing at the time. Tom laughed and said, ‘I’d give you two… I’d give you two back for that one!’ which Strahan gleefully accepted. The comments came late last week but were somehow just making the rounds on ESPN and other sports news outlets now.

Of course, the comments were said in jest. This was not a “heart-to-heart” with Tom on Lifetime, but the honest observer would have to admit there was sincerity there as well. After all it’s often said that all good jokes contain at least some level of truth.

Tom Brady still hurts over the missed perfect season

It’s truly hard to imagine that after all the success that followed–and success that is still very much continuing–Tom could still carry such regret around. In a horribly coached Super Bowl with admittedly less than stellar quarterback play from both sides, three and a half hours defined two careers in perpetuity. The counterpart to all this, Eli Manning, simply responded with a tweet saying “Never”.

However, the story doesn’t have to end there! As was mentioned at the top, it’s the chase that is a huge reason Tom keeps suiting back up year in and year out. The chase for perfection. Rather than living in constant fear of the past, there is renewed determination for the future! Tom just had arguably his best year, apart from that 2007 season, and that was in the first year of a Bruce Arians system where QBs have historically struggled in at first, before blossoming in the subsequent year(s).

The organization has done everything down to a ‘t’ that this man has asked of them. Even going as far as to put future years in a real financial pinch for the franchise, just to capitalize on the here and now. And why not? The NFC South is a power vacuum the Bucs have aggressively filled with the collapse of the Saints. Rodgers looks to be on the way out if you believe recent reports. The NFC is about to be positively depleted. Tom is very aware of this, mark my words. This is his absolute best, and very likely last chance for perfection. After another monster draft, that shored up our special teams (the one consistently bottom-half portion of the team for us last year) and our positional depth, it would be hard to argue this team is not easily a clear upgrade from its previous self.

Buccaneers fans: I’d look for a genuine run coming up next season. Tom needs a fairytale ending to a fairytale career… and 20-0 doesn’t sound too shabby!