Mankins: Brady still elite, has "wizards looking after him"
"Why would someone ask me that?" was Mankins response when the subject was broached by reporters last week at the team's OTA's.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and some people are just wrong a lot of times, but in my eyes Tom Brady is elite. He's still got it. He has a great arm still. He's smarter than probably 99 percent of the quarterbacks. He's the same old guy. He's here, working hard, he has a command of the system, and we truly appreciate blocking for him."
"He's dedicated. His body, he takes good care of it and he's got all these wizards, or whatever you call them, taking care of him. He still has the love of the game and I think that's what motivates him to stay in top condition and to keep pushing himself."
Mankins is right. It speaks volumes about Brady's career accomplishments that a 25 touchdown, 11 interception, 4,343 yard 2013 qualifies as a down year, and that's before taking account some faulty protection (his 40 sacks were by far the most he's taken since 2001, his first year as a starter) and lack of reliable outside targets. Anyone who thinks Brady has fallen out of elite status wasn't paying attention during November, when Brady started to get weapons like Rob Gronkowski and Shane Vereen back in the lineup and the offense instantly returned to prolific levels of production.
No word on whether Mankins' hatred of the Jets stems from them being a bunch of f*cking muggles.
