(Photo courtesy of Yahoo Finance) “Quarterback Tom Brady leaves the field after surprising loss to division rival Carolina Panthers.”
Tanner Hume
Connector Editor
A new era has dawned upon the NFL landscape, and with it, a massive culture shock affecting some of the best players that are still active. More specifically, the aging legends of the game. One of these legends being affected is none other than former Patriot and current Buccaneers quarterback Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.
Currently, Tom Brady is 3-5, and he looks terrible. His ability to perform at a level seen in years past is waning, and his time may be coming to an end. In some way, this is not his fault, mainly because of a defense that keeps getting injured and a wounded offensive line. It also doesn’t help when his receivers are injured or getting suspended, limiting his ability to sling the football. But as much as his on-field struggles have to do with him being under .500 through the first half of the season, off-field troubles may play a part too.
When Brady unretired during the offseason, things got very tense between Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen. They allegedly got into a heated argument over the whole ordeal, which caused Gisele to travel to Costa Rica for a while to clear her head. Brady had football to play, but in some ways, you cannot blame the man for having that distraction in the back of his head throughout the beginning of the year. After a few weeks of football had gone by, it was reported that Gisele filed for divorce. Fans have probably seen a Tom Brady ring joke being thrown around in some week-in-review articles. That is where those jokes have stemmed from.
Back to the on-field issues, Tom Brady just could not find receivers open on multiple occasions, leading to him being sacked over, and over and over again. And as of this season, he has become the most sacked quarterback of all time, being sacked a total of 556 times in his career. Holding such an accolade must be troublesome, but when the offensive line is injured and replaced by second or even third-string positions, things tend to get dicey and fast. Both of those played a big role in his on-field struggles as of late. Just as much as that impacted his game though, something else was brewing off of the field.
Back to the Gisele drama, the reports of the divorce seemed vague, and many fans did not believe the news. This past week however, Tom Brady announced the finalization of his divorce with Gisele. For any married person, this can be the most difficult time in someone’s life; best of luck to you on that front, Tom.
A lot of factors can be attributed to what appears to be the current downfall of Tom Brady and the record the Buccaneers have. With time, the career of Tom Brady will decide which path it will go down. But it probably will be towards retirement. At age 45, he has done everything to earn himself a golden jacket and a place in the Hall of Fame. Only time will tell.
