Rob Ninkovich Gives New Opinion On Tom Brady’s Struggles

Patriots quarterback did not look in shape in the team’s Week 16 win over the Buffalo Bills. The GOAT threw for 126 yards on 13-for-24 passing, a touchdowns and a couple of interceptions. When asked about his physical condition, the quarterback said he feels great. Former Patriot Rob Ninkovich has a theory on Brady’s game.

“I don’t know if he’s hurt or if he’s just getting older. Everyone seems to have this false sense that Tom is invincible but he’s 41 years old, playing a position where you get 300 pound guys landing on you, hitting you, big guys all around you. It gets a little hairy in there. I just think that we’re seeing Tom [Brady] slow down a little bit.”

“I see a guy that just doesn’t want to get hit. When you’re in a game where that’s the name of the game and getting hit all the time, I think he’s at the point of his career where he’s like ‘alright, I need to get myself ready for the playoffs, I can’t take unnecessary hits’ in a game where they pretty much had it in hand. I think he was trying to limit the times he was hitting the ground. Anytime you’re 41 years old, the more times you get hit, the more times you hit the ground, the more you’ll feel it. If he can get out of a game with the least amount of hits and least amount of contact, that’s going to help him in the playoffs,” Ninkovich said.

Brady did not take a step back and said he was all fine and healthy.

“Yeah, I mean I was on the injury report for I think three or four weeks with a knee, but I have been practicing every day since I came off that. I feel great. I really do. Everyone has little bumps and bruises. It’s just football. It is a long season, but for this time of year I feel great. I feel ready to go. I am excited for this week. I would like to go out there and play our best game, play a lot better than we did in the pass game and complement our run game and try and go out and see if we can get a really good win against a tough team, a tough division team. Try and make sure we can get ourselves a first-round bye if we get a win.”