Tom Brady speaks to the media after losing to the Dallas Cowboys. Picture: Julio Aguilar Source: Getty Images “I’m going to go home and get a good night’s sleep, as good as I can tonight,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of focus on this game, so it’s just going to be one day at a time, truly.”
Brady also declined to offer an assessment of his own form during the season, adding: “We lost tonight, it’s a team sport.
“I’ve never considered individual things like that. We came up short as a team and that’s all that matters and all I’ve cared about … Obviously, tonight wasn’t one of our best nights.”
Brady then brushed aside a question around if this end-of-season emotion felt different to last year before thanking reporters for their hard work.
“I just want to say thank you guys for everything this year. I really appreciate all your effort,” he said.
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“I know it‘s hard for you guys too, it’s hard for us players to make it through and you guys have got a tough job and I appreciate all that you guys do to cover us and everyone who watches. We’re very grateful for everyone’s support.
“You know, hopefully, you know … I love this organisation, it‘s a great place to be. Thank you everybody for welcoming me, all you regulars. I’m just very grateful for the respect and hope I gave the same thing back to you guys, so thank you very much.”
The Buccaneers’ season-ending loss will spark an off-season of speculation about the future of Brady, who appears genuinely undecided.
He could remain in Tampa for a fourth season, while he’s been heavily linked to three rival teams: The Titans, 49ers and Raiders. Or he could retire (again) — this time for real.
However veteran broadcaster Joe Buck believes Brady will play on.
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“When I talk to people about it, people inside the game believe he‘s coming back for another year,” Buck told ESPN. “Whether that’s here in Tampa Bay or that’s with some other organisation, nobody knows.
“But I will go back to what we said in the game. Unless he‘s a great actor, he had a real heart-to-heart conversation with us about this. I think he’s been through a lot off the field and probably more than we give credit for. I’ve talked to these players and people on this coaching staff tonight before the game, they said Brady’s kind of been back to himself over the last three weeks, which tells me for a while he was really out of it, dealing with everything that was going on with the team and everything that was going on in his life.
“So I believe him that he doesn‘t know if he’s coming back to play and we’ll just have to all find out at the same time together.”
Brady threw for 351 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Remarkably, he attempted a whopping 66 passes during the game, of which he completed 35.
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Former quarterback Aikman, who played 12 seasons with the Cowboys, said Brady would be in-demand if he continued his playing career, but suggested he looked every bit his age during the Buccaneers’ loss.
“You don‘t play until you’re 45 years old unless you just really love the game. He obviously does, I mean he’s done it all. But tonight, let’s be honest, he looked like a 45-year-old quarterback,” Aikman told ESPN.
“I think if he comes back, we do know that if he was available and teams out there needed a quarterback, Tom Brady would be probably at the top of the list. He‘s well-regarded and he can still play at a high level.
“But he‘s got to have those pieces around him … If that’s in Tampa, great, but you can’t throw the ball 66 times and expect to do anything – and he’s been doing that for the last couple years. He’s led the league in pass attempts for the last two years at 44 and 45 years old. Whatever the reasons are, that has to change wherever he is.”
Dual NFL MVP Steve Young said Brady was still physically capable of starring at NFL level next season but questioned whether he’d be mentally up for a 24th season.
Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throws a pass against the Dallas Cowboys. Picture: Mike Ehrmann Source: Getty Images “For Tom, physically he still has it. You can see it,” Young told ESPN.
“I‘ve watched him warm up today and he can throw every ball. In today’s game, you don’t have to go very far, you’re going to be protected, you can play if you want.
“The emotional part of the ball-game – that‘s the part that I worry about because as I got older, that was the harder part of it … That’s the thing that he’s going to take some time (to ponder).”
“He talked about: ‘I am not going to make the same mistake again, I‘m not going to announce something quick, I’m going to take some time, let it all sink in.’ At 45 every option is open, right?”
— with AFP
