Will Tom Brady’s Arm Fall Off?
October 11th, 2021
The headline is sarcastic — a nod to the legions of analysts who say Tom Brady’s arm might not hold up if he throws too many passes this season.
Joe is not a doctor, unlike other local journalists. However, Joe does know Brady leads the NFL in pass attempts through five weeks with 225. A guy half his age, Justin Herbert, is second with 207 attempts.
At this rate, Brady will throw 765 passes this season. He’s never thrown more than 637 in a regular season and 613 is his high as a 40-something quarterback.
So the question remains: Is there an endurance/strength issue to be concerned about? Is it realistic to consider that Brady’s arm could weaken at this pace?
Perhaps the best answer lies with Brady’s team of personal training gurus, along with the medical staff and sport science experts at One Buc Palace. Joe assumes those groups have hard answers to those questions.
Consider Brady came out firing yesterday with about 10:45 remaining in the fourth quarter despite holding a 38-17 lead. He went 3-for-3 on the 59-yard drive without handing off and the Bucs took a 45-17 lead.
Does Brady do that if anyone at One Buc Palace cares about how many pass attempts Brady has? Joe highly doubts it.
Of course, Bucco Bruce Arians wants to limit potential hits on Brady to keep him safe. More handoffs is the way to do that. But Joe is not buying that Brady needs a pitch count on game days.
If he does need one, rest assured nobody with the Bucs will ever admit it.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:07 pm
pretty sure it’s attached at the shoulder.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
His form is about perfect. So if anyone’s arm can hold out, I’m pretty sure his can.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Did Nolan Ryan care about pitch counts?
October 11th, 2021 at 1:15 pm
Thanks god Kevin Cash isn’t the coach.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Another reason why getting the running game turned up would be a great idea. If the defense does not improve, we’ll need to keep throwing a lot OR control the clock on the ground. Maybe our best defense would be ground and pound, and keep the defense off the field. Then save Tawmy’s arm for the playoffs.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Can the average person comprehend the number of passes Brady does in practice?
I am getting a sense from some in sports media that they are tired of Brady, many of them were embarrassed last season, heck for the last decade waiting for him to “Fall off a cliff”
I can even imagine some of them with little TB12 voodoo dolls that they stab every night before going to bed.
Tom Brady when he is on, throws one of the nicest looking balls I have ever seen.
Haters are going to hate. So I might as well be gleeful in their misery 🙂
October 11th, 2021 at 1:52 pm
Nope…..but something else may fall off….married to Giselle….
October 11th, 2021 at 2:09 pm
After the Chiefs loss last night, sports betting now have the Bucs as the favorites to win the Super Bowl, with the Bills right behind us.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:27 pm
@shaz. I agree. and I think the ref’s agree as well, because they have been less than kind this year.
and the games are not on every week like last year down here in S. FL. think they did that to get customers back…..and now it’s like…..you gotta get the nfl package. pffft.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:33 pm
ROFL @ Anonymous
October 11th, 2021 at 2:34 pm
I remember when we were so bad, Joe had to bus fans down to Fort Myers (2 hours south of tampa) just so fans could watch the game on TV…. boy have times changed.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:46 pm
Ssquach nailed it. Pass to score, run to win.
Ground and pound, control the clock, mix in some play action too.
Gotta figure at least one of the three amigos or a TE will be open if we force their D to stop the run.
Thought yesterday was a big step forward in play calling.
October 11th, 2021 at 3:23 pm
They do realize he throws three times as many passes in practice, right?
October 11th, 2021 at 3:40 pm
If I can play two hours of pickleball a day, Brady can throw a few footballs and be fine.
October 11th, 2021 at 6:12 pm
Throwing short passes to your RBs isn’t the same as throwing bombs – but it opens up the passing the game for those bombs. If Fournette can keep catching the ball like he did yesterday, and Gio is healthy and be that 3rd down back, then that gives Brady a lot of easy passes – which count as attempts, but shouldn’t really break down his arm much.
October 11th, 2021 at 6:13 pm
Also, if you’re doing a pitch count, the easiest place to do that is in practice. But Brady knows himself more than anyone, so I’d let him figure out what he wants to do. There has literally never been anyone else like him, so rules that did apply to others, don’t seem to apply to him, so let him decide what he wants to do.
October 11th, 2021 at 8:21 pm
Pitchers throw 100 pitches every 5 days with higher velocity. QB throws it more in practice. It is a non issue
October 11th, 2021 at 9:08 pm
Posey times have changed because the nfl did away with that outdated rule of home sellouts years ago. The bucs were not selling out 7 years ago but we got to watch the home games. No need to go down south a long time ago. Hats off to joe though for organizing those road trips th a decade ago though