A few months ago I stumbled into a post on Reddit that for whatever reason has stuck with me ever since. The thread was called “What two famous people lived at the same time in history that people wouldn't think were alive at the same time?” and it’s pretty self-explanatory, and also a little mind-blowing. For instance, did you know that Charlie Chaplin (who died in 1977) and 50 Cent (who was born in 1975) were alive at the same time? So were Betty White and Alexander Graham Bell; William Shatner and Thomas Edison; LL Cool J and Helen Keller; Tina Fey and Pablo Picasso. To be honest I’m not exactly sure what the point of this exercise is. Maybe in some ways it shows how long a lifetime really is, or maybe it’s that a long time isn’t that long at all. Either way, I found it really interesting. And in this case it’s a transition into an excuse to bring up one of my favorite random fun facts about Tom Brady.
Of course there are a lot to choose from because Brady’s had a lot of fun in New England and he’s been here a long time. This is his 16th season with the Patriots, and while it hasn’t felt like forever -- Drew Bledsoe isn’t exactly Steve Grogan -- think back to what you were doing in April 2000. Think about everything that’s happened since. I mean, Brady was drafted a year before Apple released the first iPod, two years before the first camera phone and five years before YouTube. That feels like another lifetime ago. It’s legitimate history. So in that sense it’s no surprise that Brady is now a piece of living history. But sometimes it’s still a little jarring to take a step back and process the magnitude of his NFL existence and just how large of an imprint he’s going to leave on the game.
With Brady it obviously starts in the playoffs. That’s where he’s always made his mark. Assuming he stays healthy -- while knocking on an enormous pile of wood -- Brady will start his 30th playoff game this season. No one else has more than 24. He’s already won 21 playoff games. No one else has more than 16. He’s thrown 53 playoff touchdown passes. No one else has thrown more than 45. He’s amassed 7,345 playoff passing yards. No one else has more than 6,800. He’s also the all-time leader in Super Bowl appearances and tied for the lead in Super Bowl wins. It’s all just so ridiculous. But at the same time we’re long past the point of defining Tom Brady’s greatness merely on playoff credentials. In reality, those credentials are probably all he needs. But in his reality, it’s only a portion of the pie.
As you know, last week Brady became the fourth player in NFL history to throw 400 touchdowns. As you know -- again, assuming he stays healthy while knocking on an enormous pile of wood on top of an enormous pile of wood -- he’ll most likely finish this season with more career touchdown passes than Dan Marino. Dan Marino! Beyond that, Brady only needs 630 yards to become the fifth player ever to throw for 55,000, and at his current rate, he'll rack up those 630 over the next two games.
That might actually be the craziest thing in all this. That right now, at 38 years old, Tom Brady is having the best statistical season of his career. And yeah, I know, it’s only been three weeks, and it’s a long year, and the weather will change and blah blah blah. But just for fun, consider that Brady is on pace to throw for 5,931 yards this season. That would top Peyton Manning’s NFL single season record (5,477) by nearly 500. Consider that despite throwing a league-high 133 times, Brady’s 72.2 completion percentage would break Drew Brees’ NFL single-season record of 71.2. Consider that Brady still hasn’t thrown an interception. With all that in play, at this point Brady’s making history just about every time he takes the field, and when the Pats return after the bye, that history will hit much closer to home.
That’s because when Brady’s crouches under center two weeks from now in Dallas, he’ll break Bruce Armstrong’s record for most career games in a Patriots uniform. Once and for all, he’ll become the consummate Patriot. And of course he deserves. Certainly no one else does. But before Brady adds another notch to his belt, let’s take a quick second and give it a little love to Bruce Armstrong.
Armstrong was a great Patriot. He gave this team 14 fantastic years and was part of so much history. He bridged the gap from Raymond Berry to Bill Parcells to Bill Belichick. He played with both Irving Fryar and Terry Glenn; with Andre Tippett and Tedy Bruschi; with Steve Grogan and Drew Bledsoe. And most notably and surprisingly for these purposes, in his 14th and final season with the Patriots, Bruce Armstrong shared a locker room with Tom Brady.
New England Patriots
That fact always blows my mind. Those are two Patriots players that were active at the same time that I’d never think were active at the same time. What it means that they were, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s just another reminder of how unbelievably long Brady’s been a part of this team and this community. Maybe it's a sign that the long lost days of Bruce Armstrong, Andre Tippett and Steve Grogan aren’t that long or lost at all. Either way, I just found it interesting, and look forward to two Sundays from now in Dallas, when the most historic New England Patriot officially takes the crown.
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