“You think I’m not excited to play against the GOAT?” Young said Wednesday. “You trippin’. I’m not going to apologize for saying I want Tom. No, I want every quarterback I play against.”
Young added, “Ask any edge rusher in the league who they want to sack, and most might say Tom Brady.”
There’s something unique about the way NFL players talk about Brady. It’s not that Young and others haven’t praised other opponents this season, but there’s an admiration for the 43-year old superstar that’s absent for others. The difference is that Brady has had unprecedented success and unprecedented longevity, making him myth as much as man to players who dreamed about making the league while watching his games on TV. Players often refer to Brady by his full name — the player equivalent of calling a coach “Coach.”
Coach Ron Rivera doesn’t fault Young’s enthusiasm — even though Buccaneers Coach Bruce Arians later said of Young’s comments, “You better watch what you wish for.” In fact, Rivera identifies with the rookie because, he said, “Believe me, I’ve got a little bit of fanboy in me, too.” He said he has, in his career, been excited to meet “cool, iconic players” such as Joe Montana, Brett Favre and Ray Lewis. He believes the zeal is a good thing.
“They want to emulate those guys,” Rivera said of young players. “Who wouldn’t want to be like Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger? Those guys are champions.”
The age difference between the three-time MVP and the defensive players who will line up to stop him Saturday night is remarkable — as many as 22 years in the cases of Young and safety Kam Curl. Young turned 1 two days before Brady was drafted; Curl started kindergarten the year Brady won his third Super Bowl; the oldest starter on defense, 29-year-old linebacker Jon Bostic, graduated from high school the year Brady reached 10 seasons in the NFL.
But perhaps the most remarkable thing of all is that these stats become more normal every year. More than three-fourths of the players on Washington’s roster are closer in age to Brady’s eldest son, 13-year-old Jack, than they are to him.
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SOURCE: Washington Post, Sam Fortier