Drew Brees vs. Tom Brady: Who wins the race?
If not for Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees would be the undisputed top-two quarterbacks of their generation, but nobody ever played the game the way The Sheriff did. End of story there.
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But with Manning retired, the 37-year-old Brees and soon-to-be 39-year-old Brady are clearly on their last arms in the NFL. Peyton Manning could barely survive an age-39 season, and Brett Favre couldn’t play at age 40.
So it’s safe to say we’re seeing the end of these two sooner rather than later. NFL.com pointed out how both guys have 428 career touchdowns, and asked seven experts to debate who would finish with more.
Four of them picked Brady, though two were former Patriots Heath Evans and Willie McGinest (that’s okay, probably some Patriots homerism there.) Here is why I believe Brees will finish with more.
Younger
Brees is 37, Brady is about to turn 39. If past quarterbacks are an indication of anything, Brees probably has two more years of high-level play than Brady does. Also, Brady could still be suspended for the first four games of 2016.
There’s no reason to think Brady, at two years older, will throw far more touchdowns than Brees over the next two seasons. That’s his only shot: Brady has to play until he’s 41. Brees has to stop playing by 39. And Brady has to have more touchdowns throughout the next two seasons.
Unlikely.
Better health
Brees missed one game with a shoulder injury last season, but aside from that, he’s been fully healthy for his career, and that is thanks to one of the NFL’s premier offensive lines.
Max Unger and Terron Armstead protect him like few other o-lines ever have. If you re-watch Brady getting battered by the Denver Broncos in the 2015 AFC Championship, it’s not hard to understand how those hits will take a toll on him, and slow him down faster.
Conclusion
People always overlook the fact that Brees and Brady are even when it comes to stats. If Brees had a decent defense like Brady always had, then he’d be fighting for a conference title every year, too.
Brady’s always had Bill Belichick. Brees has always had Sean Payton in New Orleans. Brady’s had Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Randy Moss.
Brees has made great weapons out of everyone, and at this point, it’s hard to believe he won’t finish with more touchdowns than Brady. Book on Brees to have more when all is said and done.
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