Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/68104
yards and five touchdowns. In his first year with the Jaguars, he caught 32 passes for 346 yards. The next year, Brady had a career-high 64 receptions and 729 yards. During his first four seasons in Jacksonville, he averaged 44 receptions for 480.5 yards. "There were a couple of years in my early years with the Jaguars where I had the opportunity to play both roles," Brady said. "Coach [Tom] Coughlin gave me my best opportuni- ty to flourish as a dual-role tight end. He believed in me not only as an in-line blocker, which at that point in my ca- reer I kind of already had proven, but he believed in me as a receiver, in my ability to get open and have a big im- pact on the passing game in all differ- ent types of routes – short, medium and long. Not many tight ends are catching the ball for 40 yards down the field. Even long balls to receivers are usual- ly caught more like 25 to 30 yards downfield. He gave me the opportuni- ty to get downfield, try to get past the linebackers and make the catch." It was after his year with the Patri- ots that Brady knew it was time to re- tire and get on with his life. "The wear and tear of a 13-year ca- KEEPIN' IT TEAL Brady was drafted ninth overall by the Jets in 1995, but he played most of his career in Jacksonville. He enjoyed his best pro- fessional season in 2000, catching 64 pass- es for 729 yards. Photo courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 2 29 reer started getting to my body," Brady admitted. "The average NFL ca- reer is only four years, and there are a lot of reasons for that, not just in- juries. Sometimes you don't fit into a new system, or they find a guy to re- place you because it's cheaper. But if you've been a player up on the front where you're banging every day in practice and banging in every game, it wears on you once you start getting into the double digits in years. It's not like you're a kicker or a quarterback where you're really not taking many hits other than on game day. You're in the trenches every day, battling it out, two-a-days and all that stuff, and it re- ally takes a toll on your body. "Some of the signs of wear and tear were really starting to show during that last season. I missed a good bit of the preseason with a knee injury, and then I did some damage to my shoulder that was pretty significant and I still live with now [because] it wasn't really even repaired. I always said to myself in the course of my career that I wanted to maintain a sensitivity and awareness of when it was time to move on, and not try to deny those signs when it be- comes apparent it's time.