New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was supposed to fall off “the cliff” this past season, and late in the year, he was showing some signs of a decline.
However, Brady once again proved all of the doubters wrong, leading the Patriots to their sixth Super Bowl title and taking out some high-powered teams along the way.
But Brady will be turning 42 years old in August, so as much as we would like to believe that he will keep warding off Father Time, one of these years, it is going to overtake him.
So, just what will Brady do in 2019?
Here are three early goals for the future Hall-of-Famer.
3. Throw for Over 4,000 Yards
This would normally be an incredibly easy goal for Brady to achieve. After all, aside from the 2016 campaign when Brady served a four-game suspension for Deflate Gate, he has thrown for over 4,000 yards in seven of his last eight seasons.
But here's the thing: Brady will be another year older this coming season, and I'm not sure he has ever had less weapons at his disposal.
With tight end Rob Gronkowski retiring, wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson leaving via free agency, and fellow wide receiver Josh Gordon serving an indefinite suspension, Brady does not exactly have a lot of targets to throw the football.
Sure, he still has Julian Edelman, and incoming rookie N'Keal Harry looks impressive, but there are a whole lot of question marks in New England's receiving corps.
That's why if Brady throws for over 4,000 yards in 2019, it would be a heck of an accomplishment.
2. Throw Less than 10 Interceptions
Brady threw 11 interceptions in 2018, which marked the first time he threw 10 picks or more since 2013.
With the Patriots' offense certainly looking a bit thinner than it has in years past, it would certainly behoove Brady to keep turnovers down, so it would definitely be preferable for the all-time great to keep his picks in the single digits this coming season.
We know Brady has the ability to do it. He is an incredibly accurate passer, boasting a career completion percentage of 64 percent. Plus, he has kept his interceptions under 10 in six of the last eight years.
So, obviously, Tom Terrific is more than capable of taking care of the football.
Without that many reliable options in the passing game in 2019, it would behoove Brady to make much more careful, precise throws rather than testing the defense by trying to go for broke with bombs or attempting to squeeze passes into small windows.
1. Connect with N'Keal Harry
For the first time in 23 years, the Pats used a first-round draft choice on a wide receiver, taking Arizona State's N'Keal Harry with the 32nd overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft last Thursday.
Receiver is an obvious need for New England, so there is some pressure on Harry to come in and produce right off the bat.
That means it's on Brady to make the kid feel comfortable and to take him under his wing. Of course, Edelman will probably assume the role of mentor, as well, but this is really about Brady connecting with his rookie wide out.
Harry is coming off of a terrific junior year with the Sun Devils in which he hauled in 73 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns, marking his second straight 1,000-yard season.
He certainly has the talent to come in and make an immediate impact, and if Brady makes him feel at home, No. 12 may have a new top target on his hands.
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