Less Stiff, Stronger Arm
August 26th, 2022
“Kyle, I was 24 like you once.”
Joe loves a good and current Tom Brady nugget courtesy of two guys who were around him in New England decades ago.
The two dudes are Bucs GM Jason Licht, a former Patriots executive, and Jim Miller, a New England backup QB to Brady during the Belicheats’ 2004 Super Bowl season.
They sort of gave the same take independent of each other.
Licht was asked this week on The Dave Pasch Podcast whether Tom Brady is the same guy Licht worked alongside in 2002, and then during his second stint in New England from 2009 to 2011.
Licht replied that Brady is roughly the same dude except his arm is stronger.
Today on WDAE radio, Joe’s great friend Rock Riley shared how he was chatting with Miller at a Bucs practice this month. Miller attended two sessions and Rock asked how Brady looks to him as a former teammate. Miller told Riley that Brady looks like his arm is significantly stronger — at 45 years old.
As Joe has written many times, there are no concerns about Brady at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. Joe’s only concerned about the guys around Brady and whether The Goat has had enough time to raise their games for a rough September stretch.
August 26th, 2022 at 4:35 pm
In the GOAT we must trust.
August 26th, 2022 at 4:47 pm
No GOAT, No Cheese. He’s had worse olines in the past.
August 26th, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Little Blue pill ?
August 26th, 2022 at 5:16 pm
Did anyone ever see the Netflix show Living with Myself? There’s a scene in there where the main character goes to a place where they make clones of you and the original is buried in the woods. Well on his way in to the place guess who he sees coming out? Yep Tom Brady it was a pretty funny scene. The show only lasted for 1 season but maybe Tom needed the vacation to go get cloned. š¤£ š¤£
GO BUCS!
August 26th, 2022 at 5:17 pm
Sorry it was called Living with Yourself
August 26th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
Miller refers to Jim Miller from Movin the chains on SXM. The author sorta left that part out.
August 26th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
I can’t believe those Vegas sharks are taking so many bets against our Bucs. 13-4 at least and SB #8.
August 26th, 2022 at 5:22 pm
A we age “less stiff” is the norm…..
August 26th, 2022 at 5:36 pm
I’m a confirmed doubting Thomas but Brady is going to figure it out. It’s almost a guarantee.
August 26th, 2022 at 5:46 pm
The plural of anecdote is not data. š
August 26th, 2022 at 6:05 pm
Pretty dam sure Brady is still the same guy who made us a top contender. Once the game whistle blows the GOAT will rule!
August 26th, 2022 at 6:06 pm
I’m a little older than Brady and was out throwing around the football a few months ago and I can say with authority that my arm hasn’t gotten stronger than when I was 21. It was dramatically more sore however.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:23 pm
And, BucBoy, there is no plural for data.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:25 pm
Hey Rod good thing your not suiting up for the game. I think Brady continues to increase his arm strength with sport specific exercises. That guy doesnāt leave any stone unturned. GOBUCS!
August 26th, 2022 at 6:26 pm
His arm is stronger at 45? C’mon man – as if that were possible. It’s never happened before, so it can’t be true. Except for George Blanda. He could still kick a field-goal around, what, age 48?
Say what you must about the TB12 method and his trainer, Alex. Somewhere those 2 have discovered how to get better with old age.
A stronger arm at 45 – that blows my mind.
August 26th, 2022 at 6:36 pm
Just look at him. Look at his combine pic compared to now. He looks more like a professional athlete today than he ever has. There have been major breakthroughs in physical training and nutrition over the course of Brady’s career and he has taken full advantage.
August 26th, 2022 at 7:01 pm
Brady’s improved his mechanics–to perfection.
It’s not about strength–Rory McElroy drives the longest, at 5’9″ 160 lbs.
Biomechanics.
August 26th, 2022 at 7:38 pm
His arm is stronger. His conditioning is solid. His mental approach is second to none. He loves the game. He is the best football player ever. Without debate.
And he is in Tampa. The story of the greatest football player ever cannot be told without mentioning Tampa.
The Glazers are geniuses.
Folks enjoy this year one moment at a time. Donāt think ahead. Donāt worry about the next game. Watch each play. We are being treated to something special.
August 26th, 2022 at 7:51 pm
The key to Brady’s “stronger” arm, is his mechanics. I seriously doubt that he can chuck it as far, as accurately, as he did in his 20s. He’s been able to mitigate the loss of arm strength through rigorous training methods. The stats clearly show, that Brady has lost some arm strength, especially on deep throws. Where he hasn’t lost arm strength, is on short and intermediate passes. Nobody has a stronger arm in his mid 40s, than he did in his mid 20s, without artificial enhancement. Not even the great Tom Brady. What Licht is seeing is essentially an optical illusion.
August 26th, 2022 at 8:02 pm
Bro GOB,
Aint no optical illusion.
Any reasonable person, especially over the age 40, would agree with you. We all know decline is normally rapid after 40. Brady is no exception, EXCEPT, that when Brady must throw a fast-ball, he still can, and that is an exception, and quite remarkable.
My evidence:
Replay the 2nd tuddie to Gronk in the SB win over the Chiefs (icing the game, guaranteeing the W). That was a throw with MASSIVE velocity, not to mention perfect placement. It wasn’t a 50-yard bomb, but still, it one of the best throws I’ve EVER seen a QB make. It was darn-near perfect.
Let’s see if Mr. Time still has it this year, the only year that counts. I’m betting he still has “it.”
August 26th, 2022 at 9:48 pm
Nolan Ryan still had a strong arm in his 40’s and as stated earlier, Brady wasn’t exactly a physical specimen in his 20’s. He’s clearly.in better shape now than his 20’s so why wouldn’t his arm be stronger as well? And of course he still works on his mechanics too so that has to help.
August 26th, 2022 at 9:53 pm
D-Rok my friend, no doubt Brady can still spin it. I think we’re talking around each other. I’m too lazy to recite the stats, but they clearly show a loss of arm strength into his late 30s/ early 40s, it’s statistically undeniable. He’s just become “better” because he’s throwing to recievers who can actually get open. This rejuvenation has much more to do with the talent around Brady, then most like to admit. It’s okay to say he can’t throw it as far as accurately, as he once did.
August 26th, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Hmm, GOB’s passive aggressive armchair QB opinion or Licht and Miller’s professional opinion? Tough one.
August 26th, 2022 at 10:09 pm
Should we trust the Litch and Miller or a random GOB and D-ROCK. Stats and evidences show that velocity of his fastball is actually higher than his 20 and higher than other current QBs. Like a pitcher, you can improve velocity via perfecting mechanics. QBs usually donāt train the mechanics seriously, because they use their legs to run around. But Brady rely on his repeated mechanics and he throws the ball as a pitcher.
August 26th, 2022 at 11:15 pm
What I gathered from all this talk about Brady’s arm strength is simple.
No one should be worried about Kyle Trask and his arm strength. It can and will get stronger.
That one is for all the critics of Kyle’s arm strength.
August 27th, 2022 at 3:16 am
D-Rok – Sounds impossible, I agree, but Brady absolutely throws the ball harder now than he did earlier in his career, and zip on the ball is how you measure arm strength in the NFL. I mean right now, for every down plays, he’s one of the hardest throwing QBs in the NFL, and when he was younger he was considered to have a weak arm.
In term of pure distance, it seems Brady maxes out around 60-yards or so, which, by NFL standards, might be on the lower end, but who cares? How often are you throwing more than 60 yards in the air?
August 27th, 2022 at 3:19 am
CrackWise – I was very concerned about Trask’s arm based on his cupcake college film where he’s throwing Danny Wuerffel rainbows on every play. But this preseason I’ve seen him make some longer throws on a rope with good velocity, so he does have the arm. The issue is, late in the game when the Bucs were down and he was getting tired and was rushing, he reverted back to his college marshmellow throws and literally all of them were incomplete. BUT, to me, the big thing is just show you can do it, then you can work on consistency. Trask has a very long ways to go still, but he’s shown progress, even with last week’s ugly game he looked better this preseason than last preseason.
August 27th, 2022 at 5:57 am
I doubt his arm is actually stronger. I think he’s throws deep more often so it seems that way. If memory serves the Patriots offense was mostly short passes back then.
August 27th, 2022 at 8:09 am
@Jack Burton. The whole dink and dunk thing was alway a causal observation. Brady has played in multiple systems in NE with 3 different OCs. The biggest myth in sports is that Brady never had a strong arm, and that he never threw deep. When he was given a deep threat in NE, he threw deep. Is he supposed to throw deep to small slot receivers? He broke records with Randy Moss. Their 2007 offense was one of the best in the NFL history.. Brady was throwing bombs to Moss. Moss had his best season with Brady. He still holds the NFL record of 23 Tds. When he had Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan two guys who can stretch the field, guess what? He threw deep more often. When Josh Gordon played briefly, Brady threw deep to him. My point is with the Patriots their personnel dictates how they attack offensively. Brady has also mastered the art of surgically moving the ball downfield with short and intermediate passes. In my opinion, that’s more impressive than deep shots every down.
And people are confusing throwing the ball deep and actually throwing with velocity. Even the most noodle arm QB can throw deep. They just don’t have the velocity to make the tough throws. Licht was probably referring to his velocity. His velocity was clocked at 65 mph on Next Gen. That’s insane for a senior citizen.
I would argue that Brady’s arm is stronger than some younger QBs in this league.
August 27th, 2022 at 8:41 am
“D-Rok Says: BucBoy, there is no plural for data.”
That’s why there is no “s”. Thanks for playing, though.
August 27th, 2022 at 8:52 am
“Rod Munch Says: I was very concerned about Traskās arm based on his cupcake college film where heās throwing Danny Wuerffel rainbows on every play.”
You keep saying that, but its’s BS.
First, Trask didn’t throw “rainbows” on every play. I watched every one of his throws at Florida in person or on live TV.
Second, video playback is often misleading as it seldom is replayed at the same speed as it was recorded (different formats, different playback technology, etc.). I know this for a fact from years of video recording baseball pitches.
Third, many throws are DESIGNED to be rainbows. Hell, Brady threw a HUGE rainbow in practice just a few days ago and the video was put up either here or another Bucs site – don’t recall where I saw it – and everyone was gushing at how beautifult the pass was! He da GOAT!
That’s how it is, though. Trask rainbow, bad. Brady rainbow, he da GOAT! Trask sack or incomplete, he suk! Brady sack or incomplete, da line suk!
Pfft.
August 27th, 2022 at 9:10 am
Good discussions and conversations on this thread!!!
GO BUCS!!!
August 27th, 2022 at 9:10 am
I would also add that “arm strength” is grossly overrated and often is a tool raised when someone simply doesn’t like a quarterback. Most NFL fans don’t realize that NFL quarterbacks throw within a relatively tight velocity window, from low-50s-mph to low-60s-mph. Brett Favre had the highest recorded velocity, at 63 mph; on the other end is Drew Brees, in the low 50s. Both won Super Bowls and both are in (Favre) or will be in (Brees) the NFL Hall of Fame.
August 27th, 2022 at 2:37 pm
BucBoy – Instead of getting triggered, you should have kept reading what I said, because I addressed that you numskull. I said Trask HAS proven he has an NFL arm and can throw with zip. Idiot.
August 27th, 2022 at 2:45 pm
Rod,
Not triggered, just disproving your repeated claim about Trask that “on his cupcake college film where heās throwing Danny Wuerffel rainbows on every play.ā That’s simply false, no need to keep sayin it. Idiot.
August 27th, 2022 at 2:46 pm
Bucboy. I agree with you on both of your postes and I will also add I hope they keep the same energy when it’s Brady. When Brady plays bad it’s the team and coaches fault. When the bucs win it’s all because of Brady but that’s the narrative that Joe has pushed since Brady got here. Trask has not gotten a real chance since he was drafted to the bucs. Ira Kaufman has been criticizing Trask since he was drafted and now to the fan base is doing to the same thing because of Ira. He knows the fans on this site doesn’t think for them selfs and they believe every narrative that’s been push . Ira has made Brady bigger than the whole team and the fan base on here has done the same thing.
August 27th, 2022 at 3:08 pm
Oneil, good post. In tonight’s game, if Brady has a rough night, it will be interesting to see how Joe and the Haters respond. I suspect they will blame Giselle for taking him to the Bahamas where the sun drained his energy, or blame the patchwork offensive line, or blame bad play calling, or blame our dropsy receivers . . . all of course excuses not available to the guy who wasn’t allowed to play last year and allowed to play this year only with scrubs.