Tom Brady Taking Nothing For Granted At Age 42 In NFL: 'It Is Something That I Treasure'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- For the past several years, just about every time Tom Brady's stepped behind a podium in Foxboro, he's been hit with at least one question about his age. Evading hulking pass rushers has been a bedrock of his Hall of Fame career, but standing still behind a microphone, there's not much Brady's been able to do to avoid such inquiries.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 42-year-old quarterback fought back.
"You guys are kind of old, too," Brady replied when asked about being the "old guy" on the roster. "So I'm not the only old guy in here. Just, for the record."
Such a response was overdue, considering the sheer volume of questions directed at the quarterback regarding his age. Despite the tongue-in-cheek clapback, though, Brady was reflective on the aspects of his job and his career that he does not take for granted, even after all of these years.
"Being out there ... I think one thing I've gained over many years is appreciation for doing things that I love to do, and how fortunate I am to have found a profession that I love the little nuances to the position, the nuances to the sport, to the scheme, the chess match between offenses and defenses," Brady said. "So many great players have played this game, and to still be doing it is something that I treasure."
That answer came after a question about what it would mean for Brady to become the first 42-year-old to start all 16 games in a season at quarterback in NFL history.
"I love being available to the team," he said. "I think that's been something I feel like is a very important part of my job. I can't help the team if I'm not out there, and I work pretty hard to make sure that I am. A lot of that prep comes in advance. It's been well-documented over the years."
Later, Brady continued: "I love being quarterback for this team, and hopefully I can stay healthy. There's a lot of things that go into that. You take some pretty tough hits, as many people do over the course of the season. There's some luck that's involved, but I try to put myself in a position where I can withstand those hits and the physical nature of the game so I can go out there and be there for my team each week."
Brady, of course, has not missed a game due to injury since suffering a torn knee in Week 1 in 2008. He's played in all 156 regular-season games plus 23 playoff games since 2009, minus the four-game suspension to start the 2016 season. He has led the Patriots into February in four of the last five years. Prior to that 2008 injury, he had started 111 consecutive regular-season games, plus 17 postseason games.
Having entered a season as the starting quarterback now for the 17th time, Brady was asked if he remains territorial about keeping his job.
"I think that's the nature of this position. It's a very competitive position, and I think it's a great privilege," Brady said. "And I've always felt when a team trusts you to be the quarterback, and they put the ball in your hands, it's a great show of trust that they have in you, and I think that you need to earn it every day.
"So I don't think that you can rest on things that have happened in the past or things that people may project onto you," Brady continued. "You just have to go out and try to make the ... you're tasked with a big burden to help the offense, be in the right play. You touch the ball on every play, so you have the opportunity to distribute it how you see fit. So with that trust comes a lot of responsibility. I think that's a big responsibility I take with me."
Brady also reflected upon how life in the NFL has changed, from when he was a young player leaning on veteran quarterbacks for guidance to recent years, when he's been the wise veteran.
"I was a young player once, too. And I had a lot of older players that I worked with. So I think that I learned from those experiences, and I had some great mentors, people that really taught me how to play the position," Brady said before tapping into a Patriots wayback machine. "It was great at a young age to have John Friesz and Drew [Bledsoe], and then to have Damon Huard, and then to have Vinny [Testaverde], and then to have Doug [Flutie]. And then all of a sudden it flipped, and then it was Matt Cassel to Brian [Hoyer] to Jimmy [Garoppolo], [Matt Gutierrez] was in there for a little bit. So I've played with so many great guys over the years."