The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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150 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 1. QB TOM BRADY, New England Patriots Even at age 42, Brady put together yet another im- pressive campaign in 2019, throwing for 4,057 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 60.8 percent of his passes. Though his yardage total was his fewest since 2016, it still ranked seventh in the NFL. He passed for 300 yards five different times, high- lighted by a 348-yard effort in an blowout of Washing- ton Oct. 6. Brady also threw at least one touchdown pass in all but three regular-season games, but per- haps even more impressively never tossed more than one interception in an outing. Pro Football Focus rated Brady as the game's sec- ond-best player (behind Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald) and the top quarterback heading into 2019, but dropped him down to No. 24 overall (fifth among quarterbacks) entering the 2020 cam- paign, his first with a squad other than New England. "Tom Brady's 2019 season was a major drop-off from his previous baseline of play," they wrote. "When you consider his age, the natural reaction is to believe that Father Time is finally catching up with him and gaining an upper hand in that battle. But the tape shows the root of almost all of his issues — the lack of receiver help. "That's not an issue in Tampa Bay, where the Buc- caneers have two receivers on this top-50 list. Brady can still play, though perhaps not quite at his very best level anymore. He is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league." 2. DE FRANK CLARK, Kansas City Chiefs Clark's debut season in Kansas City was a smashing success, with the Cleveland native racking up 37 tack- les, eight sacks, four passes defended, an interception and three forced fumbles in his first year with the organization. He earned his first-ever Pro Bowl bid as a result. Clark etched his name into Kansas City lore for his performances in the postseason, registering five sacks in three playoff outings en route to a Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He not only set the mark for the most quarterback takedowns ever by a Chiefs player in a single postseason, but also an Arrowhead Stadium playoff record for the most sacks in a single contest, when he tallied three in the club's 51-31 triumph over the Houston Texans in the divisional round. "Clark's postseason was one for the history books for Chiefs defenders," Sam Hays of Arrowhead Report wrote. "His 17 total pressures — including 10 against the Texans — were the second-most of the playoffs, trailing [49ers defensive end] Nick Bosa's 22, and his five sacks — three of which also came against the Texans — made him one of six players since sacks have been recorded in 1982 to have at least five sacks in a single postseason. "Clark became one of the biggest factors, alongside quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and several others, in the Chiefs reaching their ultimate goal: bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Kansas City for the first time in 50 years." Top Five NFL Seasons In 2019 At 42 years old, Tom Brady still finished seventh in the NFL in passing yards (4,057), tied for 13th in touchdown passes (24) and 19th in passer rating (88.0). PHOTO COURTESY NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS/DAVID SILVERMAN