Tom Brady has won three MVP awards and four Super Bowls in his career. But his greatest accomplishment might be what he's doing on a weekly basis in 2015 -- laughing in the face of Father Time.
Brady is 38 years old, an age where even the best of quarterbacks reach the end. Look no further than Brady's longtime rival, Peyton Manning, who is languishing through what will almost certainly be his final season.
Brady's not close to being done. On Sunday, he carved up the New York Jets in a pass-happy attack that showcased both his obvious brilliance throwing the football and the obvious gains he's made in agility and movement in and around the pocket. Brady actually led the Patriots in rushing in Sunday's win, scoring on one of his patented QB sneaks, before scrambling for a key first down to set up another touchdown.
"I think it's different ways to try to improve over the course of my career," Brady told WEEI on Monday. "Trying to find different ways to maintain your, I guess it would be your agility, or maybe some of your speed or quickness, is very important, especially for someone that's getting older like I am.
"You've got to figure out different ways to try to improve. So it's just a concerted effort to make that really a part of your program. Like I've said before, I have a different take on how I need to do those things, and things that really work for me. And I spent a lot of time over the last couple of years trying to really rebuild that part of my game."
Perhaps what makes Brady so special at this stage of his career is that he's looking at the physical preparation of being a quarterback in a way no one has done before him. His intensity and drive may be unmatched, and his work with trainer Alex Guerrero and throwing coach Tom House has become the stuff of legend.
"Tom is pushing back the aging process," House told Sports Illustrated last year. "There's no reason he can't do at 45 what he did at 25."
There's been plenty of talk about Brady playing into his 40s, maybe 10 more seasons, a goal that would have the quarterback on the field at age 48. If Brady is playing like a 27-year-old now, is it that crazy to think he could remain relevant into middle age?
"Age doesn't have anything to do with it," Jets linebacker David Harris said Sunday, via ESPN.com. "He doesn't take a lot of hits. It's pretty accurate when he says he could play another 10 years. He probably could."
Are you going to doubt him?
