NFL exec draws interesting Tom Brady-Stephen Curry comparison

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Tom Brady has garnered pretty much every superlative in the book. But we don't we've heard this one before.

The Athletic's Mike Sando spoke to 55 NFL coaches and executives to compile his 2019 "Quarterback Tiers" survey. Brady obviously landed in Tier 1 -- behind only Aaron Rodgers -- and while addressing the "holes" in his game, one NFL executive compared the New England Patriots quarterback to Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.

"You can try to find something,” the exec told Sando. “Brady is like Steph Curry. The first quarter might look like crap, but you’d better have a big lead because when it comes to nut-cutting time, he is going to make it happen."

It's an unexpected comparison, but we get the point: Curry (a fellow Under Armour athlete) occasionally takes a while to heat up, but as one of the best shooters of all time, he's nearly impossible to shut down for an entire game and is clutch while it matters most.

The same obviously goes for Brady, who has led an incredible 35 fourth-quarter comebacks in his 19-year career and most recently helped the Patriots overcome the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of the AFC Championship Game.

Curry is only 31, though, and the obvious question for Brady is when he'll fall off the "cliff" as he approaches his 42nd birthday in August.

Given the way TB12 is taking care of his body, one defensive coach isn't holding his breath.

"I don’t see a drop-off without a catastrophic injury or, like the great pitchers, if he loses his legs," the coach said.

"I believe he is increasing his fitness. And then he has the best footwork, the best execution of the screen pass, and if you watch the cutups of his fakes, it is like a f—ing magic act. Beyond that, I’m not sure the game has seen a competitor that exceeds him."

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