7 KEY QUESTIONS THAT WILL DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF THE 2020-21 SEASON PART 1

BY ADAM GREENE

Each year the teams that contend have to answer the one key question they had coming in if they’re going to compete for a Super Bowl. Last year, for the Kansas City Chiefs, it was “Can Patrick Mahomes continue to play QB at that high a level?” The answer was, of course, “yes.”

For the Chiefs opponents in that Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers, the question was “Can Jimmy Garoppolo stay healthy?” That answer was “yes” too and both teams won their respective conferences and faced off for the game’s ultimate prize.

Similar questions need answers for this year’s contenders. Here’s the first one we must consider.

1. Can Tom Brady stave off the football grim reaper yet again?

It happens to every quarterback that overstays his welcome and it always seemingly comes out of nowhere. The 2009 season was one of the absolute best of Brett Favre’s career. He completed a career high 68.4 percent of his passes for the Minnesota Vikings, threw 33 touchdowns and a career low seven interceptions. He led the Vikes to a 12-4 record and, barring a stupid pick in the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints, it would have been the best year of his life.

The very next season, Favre went off the QB cliff. His completion percentage dropped eight points, he threw only 11 touchdowns with 19 interceptions and that was before he got hurt in Week 14, breaking his consecutive starts streak. He went 5-8 as a starter that season, Minnesota finished 6-10 and his NFL career was over.

Peyton Manning, with the Denver Broncos in 2014, completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,727 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. It wasn’t the best season of his life, because he had plenty of those, but it was pretty outstanding. He went 12-4 as a starter, though the team did exit the playoffs early in a loss to his old team, the Indianapolis Colts.

The next season Manning too found himself careening over the ledge with an abysmal season, completing 59.8 percent of his passes while throwing nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions. While he did go 7-2 as a starter he got hurt, was replaced by Brock Osweiler and was a healthy scratch for multiple games once he returned as the team ran with the hot hand. Now, Manning was able to hoist a Super Bowl Trophy at the end of that season, but he was a bit player, a contributor at best. He too turned in his gun and badge at season’s end.

Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Warren Moon, Dan Marino and a list I could continue to populate all went off the cliff, playing just that one year too long.

The guys that didn’t, like Fran Tarkenton, Kurt Warner, Roger Staubach and Joe Montana never careened over it because they knew when to walk away. They hung up their spurs while they still played at a high level

Brady has, thus far, kept away from the gorge’s edge longer than any QB in NFL history. But every year he rolls the dice and the team that sends him out there rolls it with him. I’m not ready to say this is the year he finally slips up and plummets into the pit, but no one would be surprised if it happens.

Nobody except Brady, who right now is choking down his 1,000^th almond of the day before plucking the seeds for the nearest strawberry.

As of this writing, Brady is at +1200, tied with Dak Prescott, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson in the odds for league MVP.

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