In this week’s edition of the NFL Notebook, we look at how three future Hall of Famers made the most of their brief stopover in New England, we hear from Bret Bielema, and we wonder if there’s cause for concern the Patriots didn’t have anyone in ESPN’s under-25 all-stars. But first, with all the talk about Tom Brady playing until he’s “cuarenta y cinco,” we asked a guy who came the closest to starting an NFL game at that age what might be in store for Brady if he wants to play until his mid-40s.
1. Steve DeBerg is well aware that Tom Brady is coming for one of his records — the oldest quarterback in NFL history to start a game.
DeBerg, who played 17 years in the NFL, made the final start of his career on Oct. 25, 1998 for the Falcons against the Dolphins. He was 44 years, 279 days old, and finished 9-for-20 for 117 yards and a pick. (It’s worth noting that he played the rest of that season in a backup role, and threw his last pass on Dec. 27, 1998 in a win over the Dolphins. On that date, he was 44 years, 342 days old.)
With Brady talking about playing until his mid-40s — the quarterback is set to turn 41 next month, but recently joked on Instagram about playing until the age of “Cuarenta y cinco” — the 64-year-old DeBerg thinks Brady has a shot at breaking his mark.
“The main thing? Staying healthy,” DeBerg told BostonSportsJournal.com by phone on Friday. “A lot of that is just luck. Being with a good team helps, of course. I think that Tom can break the record, but there are a lot of things to factor into the equation. You start with health and luck, and you also have to think about whether your family and your wife telling you they don’t want you to play anymore. But he absolutely had the mentality to do it. He prepares well, and is mentally focused on the important stuff. I think he could easily play until he’s 45.”
Of course, there are things you need to worry about in your forties that are second-nature in your twenties and thirties. But between his recovery and his knowledge of the game, DeBerg thinks Brady has found a way to beat the system.
“You don’t recover as fast, and injuries tend to linger longer. But he’s becoming an expert in terms of taking care of his body and recovering faster. These days, everything keeps advancing with training and rehab, and so it’s easier to recover. It’s not that easy, but easier than it used be.
“I think he understands the game better than anyone, maybe ever,” DeBerg added of Brady. “He’s a coach on the field, and he has to be an offensive coordinator on the field. I had that experience — when I played my last game, I had been on the sidelines a few years before as a coach before I came back to playing. And that helped. He’s like that.”
The biggest thing for Brady to be mindful of? Make sure he maintains a consistent drive to improve, every single day.
“During my career, I saw a lot of guys work extra hard and prepare extremely long hours and put in the time with the study and the offseason training and all that stuff,” he recalled. “And I saw them get to a Pro Bowl level, and then, just stop doing the things that got them there. You have to keep that hungry mentality. Even though you’re one of the best, you can’t stop. The best ones don’t stop, even as they get older. Guys like Tom, guys like Peyton Manning, the guys who have a passion for the game, they are the ones who improve throughout their career. Those are the ones who become really special, even as they get older.
“The more success you have, the more distractions show up,” DeBerg added. “The people who continue to improve — even at the end of their careers — are the guys who become legends. Tom. That’s exactly what he is. As long as he keeps that focus, he’ll be able to keep playing at a high level.”
2. Three different Hall of Famers who made pit-stops in Foxborough came across the radar screen this week.
A) On a conference call with the media in advance of his induction in the Hall of Fame next month, Randy Moss said early in 2007, he told teammate Kevin Faulk that the Patriots were going to go unbeaten, and he was going to break the all-time record for most touchdown catches in a season. Reached this week, Faulk confirmed the statement. It’s easy to look back now and say, “Well, yeah.” But Moss was coming off a subpar year where he had 553 yards and three touchdowns. For what it’s worth, Faulk was a guy who became a character reference for Moss in the New England locker room. His words carried significant weight — if Faulk spoke on behalf of someone, it went a long way with the rest of his teammates. That was certainly the case with Moss. Faulk said he’ll be in Canton next month when Moss is officially inducted.
B) Darrelle Revis was a fun guy to cover for a few reasons, including the fact he always made time for us in the media. Whether it was in a group or a one-on-one setting, he always gave you something interesting, and caused you to go back and look at previous film, or a nugget on an upcoming opponent. In late 2014, we started talking about football books, and he told me he had never read the book “Collision Low Crossers,” a fascinating look behind the scenes with the Jets when he was in New York. I loaned him my copy, and never got it back. The lesson? Only offer to loan a book to a guy who has a contract for more than one year.
C) James Harrison can never be accused of being anything less than completely straightforward, so it was really no surprise when he went on Fox Sports’ “Undisputed” and said what he said about the Patriots, Tom Brady, and the Steelers. "I wanted to hate this dude," Harrison said when he was asked about Brady. "The whole time I'm playing in Pittsburgh I'm like, I hate Brady. Everyone's like 'oh he's such a great guy, he's such a nice guy.' We got LeGarrette (Blount) and I'm like ‘What's up with Tom Brady?' He's like, ‘Oh man he's such a great guy' and I'm like “Stop lying.’” Check out the rest of the video below.
"I'm a Brady fan now; I'm not going to lie. I wanted to hate this dude. He's the ultimate teammate. ... Tom is a great QB -- the best ever. I've never seen anyone with his study habits, his preparation. He's filling up a whole notebook of notes with each game." — @jharrison9292 pic.twitter.com/awpILGJYP7
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 19, 2018
3. Got a few questions this week from Patriots’ fans who were … worried … ESPN’s Under 25 NFL team had no New England players. Two thoughts: One, the Patriots have had a few drafts where they’ve had guys who have played well, but maybe haven’t played at what you might call an All-League level. Malcolm Mitchell has done well, but the fact he missed 2017 set him back when it came to his development. In addition, some of the other high-value picks like Cyrus Jones, Tony Garcia and Derek Rivers haven’t performed to expectations for a myriad of reasons, including injury. And two, the Patriots do have plenty of good under 25 on both sides of the ball (including guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney), but the area that really stands out when it comes to under 25 players is the defensive front seven, a spot where there are some truly transcendent talents. But the truth of the matter is the Patriots have a young group up front. Two years ago, the average age of New England’s defensive line was at 26.4 years old. The departure of Alan Branch and Ricky-Jean Francois played a role, but it currently stands at 24.4. Danny Shelton, Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine, Deatrich Wise, Jr. and Trey Flowers are all 25 or younger, and all have a chance to play a significant role in the success of the 2018 team. So ultimately, while the Patriots' under-25s missed out a shot at recognition via ESPN, that group will still have a chance to make a major impact on the league in 2018.
4. There was a little more information earlier this month about Bret Bielema and his status with the Patriots. We don’t know what sort of title he has in Foxborough — the former coach at Arkansas and Wisconsin was spotted on the pre-draft trail with Bill Belichick, and was a consistent presence throughout the spring on the fields behind Gillette. But he sounds like someone who is really enjoying his time in the NFL. "It's a whole different way to coach (in the NFL),” Bielema told CBS Sports recently. "I understand once they go to that level, coaches don't ever go back. … "One of the most 'a-ha' moments was one of the first drills I did during OTAs," he added. "I had 11 [defensive] guys go through the drills. 'Holy cow, these guys are good.' These are the elite of your elite." While this report says he’ll likely hold some sort of post on defense, one of the things that really stood out to us watching him this spring was how much time he spent with the special teamers. Even though the Patriots are well-stocked at the coaching positions there, Bielema was constantly working with the return units, offering advice on footwork and technique. I wouldn’t hold my breath on an official announcement, but I’d expect him to be a fairly regular presence around Foxborough this season.
5. This summer, the Patriots will be one of 21 NFL teams that will be “staying home” for training camp. (Teams considered to be “staying home” hold training camp at their respective practice facility, home stadium or at a site within 10 miles of their team headquarters.) It continues a trend started a dozen-plus years ago — in 2000, only 10 of 31 (32 percent) teams stayed close to home. New England was one team that made the switch in 2003, going from from Bryant College in Rhode Island to Gillette Stadium. One thing that was interesting? For all the talk of how Bill O’Brien loves to follow in Belichick’s footsteps, he still takes his Texans away from home for camp. They’ll be going back to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for the second consecutive season. “We really like The Greenbrier,” O’Brien said. “It gives us a chance to get away. I think it was good last year for the team bonding. … We felt like we came out of there with some good chemistry, with guys feeling good about their roles on the team, and The Greenbrier itself is a great place.”
6. Offensive tackle Andrew Jelks — one of a handful of guys who were acquired prior to the start of the 2017 season who never played a regular-season snap last year — was placed on the reserve/retired list by the Patriots late Friday, which will pretty much end his career in Foxborough. The Vandy product, who hadn’t played a game since 2014 because of knee issues, initially signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2017. He had worked with the second-team offense in the spring, but the knee pain just became too great. “Unfortunately, he was just never able to fully recover and was in constant knee pain,” said a source close to Jelks. “He fought through it during OTAs, but he just felt like he wasn't going to be able to compete at level he needed to be at during camp.”
7. The start of training camp always brings some surprises, but one thing to keep an eye on is the transaction wire. At the end of July, there are always a few retirements — last year, that included wide receiver Andrew Hawkins and edge presence Rob Ninkovich, both of whom decided to call it a career in late July. (If you’ve been around here a few years, you’ll remember offensive lineman Joe Panos retiring in July 2001, while veteran Joseph Addai was released in July 2012.) I don’t believe we’ll see any of that in New England this year, but it’s something to keep an eye out for around the league.
8. Five stats from the Patriots’ training camp press release that caught our eye:
A) Brady has started 251 regular season games at quarterback. If he starts all 16 games in 2018 he will move past Manning (265) and be second all-time with 267 starts, behind Brett Favre (298).
B) Brady enters the 2018 season with 559 touchdowns overall (488 in the regular season and 71 in the postseason). He needs 21 touchdown passes in 2018 to move past Manning to become the all-time leader in touchdown passes.
C) Belichick’s next regular-season win will leave him all alone in third place for most regular-season victories for a head coach. He’s currently tied for third all-time with Tom Landry with 250 career regular season wins, behind only Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318).
D) With 10 wins, New England can tie San Francisco (1983-98) for the most consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins with 16.
E) This season, the Patriots will try to join Miami (3) and Buffalo (4) as the only teams to reach three consecutive Super Bowls.
9. Big news from the broadcast booth, as Bob Socci, Scott Zolak and Ninkovich will be the new preseason TV broadcast team for Patriots’ games. Interested to see and hear how the transition goes for one of the best duos in the NFL, and excited for the debut of Ninkovich. The TV holdovers include Patriots Football Weekly writers Paul Perillo and Andy Hart — the Statler and Waldorf of preseason football — who will continue to be part of the broadcast, providing commentary and analysis remotely. (According to Chad Finn, Dan Roche, and Matt Chatham, who were part of the TV broadcast team the last few preseasons, will handle the radio call on The Sports Hub during the preseason, and Socci and Zolak will return to their radio roles for the regular-season games.)
10. A note on our own Patriots’ coverage: the wildly popular "First and 10" will return on Monday. And our positional previews will continue for the next few days, leading up to Wednesday’s media availability when veterans are scheduled to report. Captains David Andrews, Devin McCourty, and Matthew Slater are all set to meet with reporters on Wednesday, along with Belichick. On-field practices start on Thursday, and will be held Thursday through Sunday, starting at 9:15 a.m. On Monday, July 30, there will be an in-stadium, ticketed practice for Patriots’ season ticket-holders and Foxborough residents. Welcome back to football, everyone.