Tom Brady's plan to play until "he sucks" is an honorable one in today's NFL, and has us believing that it might take a few years before we seriously entertain his decline, especially after such a dramatic turnaround this year.
But the interesting thing about longevity is that it varies so much from player to player.
There is no secret, otherwise Brett Favre would still be playing (maybe for the Jets again?). But Brady thinks he's doing his best to gain an advantage.
"I do go to bed very early, because I'm up very early," Brady told WEEI-AM, via ESPN.com. "I think that the decisions that I make are always, they always probably center around performance enhancement, if that makes sense. So whether that is what I eat or what decisions I make or whether I drink or don't drink, it's always football-centric. I want to be the best I can be every day. I want to be the best I can be every week. I want to be the best I can be for my teammates."
While Brady's answer sounds like the kind of thing you'd make up to tell your 9-year-old to get him to bed, it's fascinating to hear him talk about the difference between himself at 25 and at 37 and how it has impacted his career.
"The 25-year-old Tom Brady had a great time. I probably wouldn't change much in those days," Brady said. "It was a different time than it is now, because there's so much attention now and I don't know how these young players do it."
The younger players aren't going to bed at 8:30 p.m., that's for sure. But if it keeps Brady around a little longer, we'll spare the jokes. He's worth watching almost every Sunday.
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