SAN DIEGO — An asteroid didn't have to strike Earth to get rid of the NFL's last living dinosaur, after all.
Although denying he's made an absolute decision after word of his retirement broke, it seems apparent Tom Brady, 44 yet far from extinct, has decided to go out on his own — while he's "Still walking around," as the great Jerry Magee would say.
The news came Saturday, the day before conference championship games, and the NFL doesn't like playoff interruptus. When the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry raged, they'd always break something during Super Bowl Week, ticking off The League to no end.
I'm sure the Park Avenue suits would have preferred to see the big news occur during this coming dead week. But that's a shame.
It appears Brady also wants to announce it following the playoffs (and probably will). But old ESPN reliables Jeff Darlington and Adam Schefter decided not to wait for the official word from the quarterback, who, with a total cast of 310 players, won seven of his 10 Super Bowls — six in New England, one in his adopted Tampa, where he led a reform.
If true — and it certainly seems so — I'm happy for Tom, who can go out whole. I am happy for myself, because, quite frankly, although I rarely tire of watching greatness, enough. I've had enough Brady.
Is he the greatest of all time? That's for you to decide. I know one thing, if he were drafted in '60, '70, '80, maybe even '90, he wouldn't have played 22 years — unless he kicked.
But that doesn't take anything away from what he accomplished, which was Beamonesque. And he didn't do it all with great players. He lost the Super Bowl with his best team, the 2008 Patriots, and won one with the talented Bucs, who dominated a Chiefs team without an offensive line. He also won a few he shouldn't have (but he did).
There were strong hints from him following Tampa's divisional playoff loss to the Rams. He admitted his wife, Gisele, who makes more money than he does, was tired of watching him get hit.
I also got the impression that, if it were not for his family, we wouldn't be talking about this today.
"It's not always what I want," he said, adding he needed time to decompress after six months of day-to-day football. "It's what we want as a family, and I'm going to spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what's next."
Turns out "the future" probably covered less than a week.
I always thought he'd go out on top. But he did have a big-time year, one of his best, leading the league in passing yards and touchdowns. Just a remarkable, brilliant career, one in which he never lost it.
The NFL may go on until Judgment Day and most of his records won't be broken. Why should quarterbacks making $40 million-plus a year want hazardous duty pay until they get Pines of Mar Gables senior early bird meal deals?
What I'll never forget is that Tom could have played for the NFL Team That Used To Be Here — you know, the Judases/L.A. Lodgers/Defendants.
Mike Riley, who head-coached the Judases in 1990, confirmed the story.
Riley was offensive coordinator under John Robinson at USC and personally recruited Brady out of San Mateo Junipero Serra High. Robinson finally told Riley they were going to pass on Tom, and Riley, the good guy, personally flew to the Bay Area to tell the Brady family. Tom went to Michigan, where his career was not distinguished.
The Judases had three sixth-round draft choices in 1990, and when it got to that round, Riley pleaded with GM Bobby Beathard to take Brady. Beathard refused. Imagine not doing your head coach a sixth-round favor.
Bill Belichick, certainly expecting camp fodder and not the Lost Dutchman Mine (coaches/GMs who believe they see a great player don't wait through five rounds to get him), then gave the Patriots' 6 for Tom.
Later, Beathard used his third 6 on Florida A&M quarterback Ja'Juan Seider, who didn't make it out of camp. Alas, I can't help but think that, given the way the J's have succeeded under Fredo, Brady wouldn't have made the team and ended up in New England, anyway.
As Magee also would say: "See ya, Tom."
