Is Brady Just Average?
July 12th, 2020
“‘YAC?’ Stay away from that avocado ice cream, Tom!”
Given the NFL history of quarterbacks in their mid-40s, expecting park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring Tom Brady to set the NFL on fire with his new Bucs team and virtually no offseason may be a stretch.
That doesn’t mean he cannot still be good.
Looking at some of Brady’s advanced stats in Warren Sharp’s 2020 Football Preview, Joe sees several in which Brady is at or near the league average.
In one such category, Brady was a hair above league average in 2019 for yards-after-catch (YAC) from his receivers. Now what does that have to do with Brady? Well, one of the biggest gripes from fans about Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was that his perceived inaccuracy meant he couldn’t hit receivers in stride. Thus, how could you expect receivers to get any YAC?
Brady, these same folks will say, has no such issue.
Some suggest Brady’s OK YAC from receivers may have been because he had such poor receivers and seemed allergic to relying on young, quicker targets.
Brady’s receivers averaged 5.2 yards a catch. The NFL average is 5.1. (By comparison, Jameis’ YAC was 5.1, right at league average.)
So Joe decided to study the 2019 YAC of Brady’s top Bucs targets.
Ronald Jones 9.7
Chris Godwin 6.8
O.J. Howard 4.8
Mike Evans 4.1
Rob Gronkowski (2018) 4.0
Scotty Miller 2.9
Cam Brate 2.75
Can these guys lift Brady’s YAC? Well, the way Brady likes to use running backs and the way RoJo got production in the passing game, it’s reasonable to expect, yeah, Brady could get better YAC out of the Bucs receivers.
July 12th, 2020 at 7:20 am
I’ll take an average Tom Brady over most other QBs any day
July 12th, 2020 at 7:23 am
Too many variables to isolate to look at stats like this and determine anything about Brady…other than the one stat. We certainly can’t look at YAC comparatively from Brady and last QB here in town (that the QB whisperer couldn’t fix). It is meaningless given all other variables for what makes a QB effective. Brady may be average in YAC with better accuracy and lower caliber receivers. But even if all that is a wash, Brady still blows the last QB away with experience, maturity, decision making, and leadership…which in his case has proven to be “wins,” the most important stat of all. Stats are for losers. I’d rather not look back and look forward.
This is back to one simple situational question. You are one TD down in the game and need to go the length of the field to win. Make your list of QBs; include anyone you want on the list, plus Tom Brady. Who do you send out onto the field.
July 12th, 2020 at 7:45 am
Brady is kore accurate and makes quicker decisions.YAC will
Improve.
Jameis has a strong arm, but it’s not always consistent with placement.
How else could D-Jax catch only 2 TDs in two years from Jameis, but catches 5 from Fitzpatrick in less time?
I bet Brady hits lore receivers in between the number s. Just wait.
July 12th, 2020 at 8:59 am
If any QB can still play at a championship level at the twilight of his career, it is Tom Brady. I do love the doubters though as they fuel his determination to dominate in Tampa.
July 12th, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Mike “Tecmo Bowl” Evans will almost certainly improve his YAC with a more accurate qb.
July 12th, 2020 at 11:07 pm
Will be fun to see.
Just think if JW were avg at turnovers, our record would’ve been better, he’d probably still be our QB and we would not have been in the Brady sweepstakes, much less actually land him!
In BA I Trust!