🏈 Tom Brady Opens Up About NFL's Youth Movement

Even Tom Brady, who is now in his 22nd NFL season, can tell the league is trending toward younger quarterbacks.

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In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Tom Brady is struck by the number of young QBs making an impact across the NFL ... we take a look at how Matthew Stafford has the Rams flying high in Los Angeles ... and we are treated to a must-watch interview with a pair of young Oregon football fans. Tom Brady has been making us all think the wrong thing for the past couple of years, but thankfully he was on hand to set things straight this week. Ever since he passed the age of 40, Brady has had us believing the quarterback position in the National Football League was getting older and older, with seemingly no end in sight to the trend and no limit to how impressively he and a group of other old dudes could defy the norms of time. Brady has the magic cocktail of being able to extend his shelf life with his devotion to healthy living and still perform physically at an age (now 44) where his brain’s hard drive of acquired football knowledge is like a veritable encyclopedia.   Yet with Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers now retired, Brady is an outlier, and if he’s still around for a couple more years, he may soon be a complete anomaly. Brady doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, but it would be no surprise to see Ben Roethlisberger (39), Ryan Fitzpatrick (38) or even Aaron Rodgers (37) opt for a career change in the near future. At the other end of the scale, the NFL’s QB corps are swaying young, way young, something not lost on Brady as he put his feet up on Sunday having won the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season opener three days earlier. “I don’t remember this many rookies playing,” Brady said on his Let’s Go! podcast Monday. “Even the second-year guys. Tua (Tagovailoa), (Justin) Herbert, (Joe) Burrow. Trevor Lawrence. (Justin) Fields played a little bit. Trey Lance played a little bit. Zach Wilson is playing. Mac Jones is playing. “That’s a lot of young quarterbacks. Gone are the days of Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning. You know, those are the guys I’m used to hearing about. I'll be forgotten here soon. I'll move on and they'll be onto someone else but that's just the way football goes, as does life.”   Three rookies are currently starting in the NFL, Lawrence in Jacksonville, Jones in New England and Wilson with the New York Jets, and all three lost their first outings. But teams are unafraid to put their faith in youth, and each time a fresh-faced QB replaces a veteran, it lowers the average age. Jones (23) beat out Cam Newton (32). When Fitzpatrick got injured, in came Taylor Heinecke, nearly a decade younger. Rivers, now happily coaching high school ball in Alabama, was 38 when he called it quits after spending 16 years with the Los Angeles Chargers before playing his final season with the Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers incumbent QB, Justin Herbert, is 23 and feels like the team’s forever guy. Baker Mayfield was drafted three years ago, and he’s only the 14th youngest starter in the NFL. The median age for starters is currently 26.5, with Jared Goff (26) and Jameis Winston (27) situated right in the middle of the pack. Having a basis of youth at the most important position of all is exciting because it provides so much to look at. With rookies, of course, there is the ever-present possibility that something could go wrong on account of their inexperience. Sometimes no lead feels secure, sometimes every throw seems like it carries a greater likelihood of interception risk.   Last weekend, Lawrence threw three picks for the Jacksonville Jaguars to go along with his trio of touchdowns. Wilson threw one pick and Jones had none. All three showed glimmers of potential to justify all that draft capital spent on them and when rookies shine it has a thrill all of its own. Keeping the faith through early teething troubles can have its rewards, too. Kyler Murray looks ready to take another big leap forward, while Philadelphia Eagles fans were excited enough by Jalen Hurts’ Week 1 starting performance that his jersey sales skyrocketed. “In an era of unprecedented passing acumen, the NFL is only getting more fun,” wrote Kevin Patra on NFL.com. “Each rookie QB class adding to that signal-calling talent only makes the future brighter.”   Having a starting QB on a cheap rookie contract is one of the biggest potential competitive advantages available to a team. The best of the recent draft crops are perpetuating the thought that modern QBs are better prepared for NFL life than at any time in league history. It is a tough and grueling league and adapting seamlessly right away is just as difficult as last weekend’s rookie results would suggest. Even so, the current markers suggest being a young QB in the NFL is to have time – and the trend of current managerial thought – on your side. Even Brady, the guy who has been around forever and may never leave, can tell which way the wind is blowing.   Here’s what others have said ... Kevin Patra, NFL.com: “Let's get back to Brady's point: Good young QBs dot the entire landscape. He's spot on. And it's beautiful.” Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed (On Mac Jones’ debut): “I would be encouraged because the moment didn't seem too big for my rookie QB. He looked very comfortable and that he's been here, and done that before.” Bucky Brooks, FOX Sports (on Mac Jones): “The Patriots might have come up short against the Dolphins 17-16, but Bill Belichick made the right choice in naming Jones QB1.” New York Jets QB Zach Wilson has followed the mantra “prove them wrong” for years, which is why he might be the guy for New York, Alex Coffey writes. Matthew Stafford has the Rams flying high in Los Angeles, and up the rankings in Colin Cowherd’s latest “Herd Hierarchy.” NASCAR is coming to Los Angeles in 2022, with the Clash exhibition race at the Coliseum. FOX Sports NASCAR Writer Bob Pockrass has the details. While the Oregon Ducks made a huge statement on the field in Saturday’s 35-28 triumph over Ohio State in Columbus, a statement was also made on the field by a couple Oregon fans following the game. That came in the form of a yellow rubber duck being placed in the middle of the Ohio State “O” at midfield. Our very own Charlotte Wilder discovered the duck following the game and made sure to capture it on camera. Given that Wilder found the duck, many thought she might have placed it there. Instead, she discovered who the real masterminds were after their father reached out to her. The culprits turned out to be a pair of brothers, 11-year-old Dublin and 9-year-old Brixton, who managed to pull off one of the biggest viral moments of the young college football season. Read the story and make sure to watch the full interview with Dublin and Brixton as well. We’re still laughing! Colorado Rockies at Atlanta Braves (ESPN+, 7:20 p.m. ET) Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves host the Colorado Rockies. Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) Julio Urias takes the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who take on Merrill Kelly and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Odds provided by FOX Bet Maryland at Illinois: Maryland -8 The Maryland Terrapins have looked outstanding through two weeks of the college football season. Taulia Tagovailoa and co. kicked off Week 1 with an impressive win over West Virginia and then cruised to a 62-0 win over Howard in Week 2. They take on an Illinois team that started the year with a nice win over Nebraska but have since dropped back-to-back games to USTA and Virginia. The Illini looked helpless on defense as Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong threw for five touchdowns and became just the third QB in program history to pass for over 400 yards in a commanding 42-14 win. Look for Tagovailoa and the Terps’ offense to do much the same in this one. Taking Maryland at -8 looks like a good bet. “You have to believe in your process. You have to believe in the things that you are doing to help the team win. I think you have to take the good with the bad.” — Tom Brady Download FOX Sports App: Also available on these devices: Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please unsubscribe. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click here to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900

1986 Mets Doc Is Worth Watching

Plus, Champions League group stage continues and Red Sox, Mariners fight for wild card.

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1986 Mets Documentary Showcases Historic, Entertaining World Series Champs

Kevin Sweeney

Somehow, we're already at the halfway point of September. That means MLB and WNBA playoffs are coming, football season is in full swing and the Champions League is heating up. So while it may be getting darker a bit earlier every night, there's plenty of sports content to sink your teeth into every evening. Today's slate includes the second day of the group stage in the Champions League and the wild-card chase in MLB continues.

Here's what I'm watching today.

MUST WATCH

30 for 30: "Once Upon a Time in Queens"

John Iacono/Sports Illustrated

No, it's not The Last Dance. But I had a lot of fun watching the first two parts of ESPN's newest documentary on the 1986 Mets. The players interviewed are equal parts compelling and entertaining, and the exploration of a team with a swagger rarely seen in baseball (especially in that era) is well worth watching. The third and fourth parts of the four-part series air tonight, while the first two parts are already available on ESPN+ after their premiere last night.

8 p.m. ET, ESPN, watch on fuboTV

READ MORE:

• SI Media Podcast With Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Traina)
• Good to the Very Last Out (Ron Fimrite)

LINEUP

• Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners | These two teams are fighting for their playoff lives and have split the first two games of this important series in Seattle. A series win would be huge for either club. 4:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, watch on fuboTV
• New York Liberty at Connecticut Sun | The Liberty have everything to play for in this one, as they sit a game out of eighth place with two games to play. Will the Sun take their foot off the gas after clinching the No. 1 seed in the playoffs? 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network, watch on fuboTV
• San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants | Five straight losses for the Padres have been the latest hurdle in a second half that has seen the team hit roadblock after roadblock. Now a game behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot, San Diego simply has to find a way to turn things around. 9:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Bay Area/Bally Sports San Diego, watch on fuboTV
• PSG at Club Brugge | Lionel Messi looks to make his PSG Champions League debut in Belgium against Club Brugge to begin a campaign that feels like championship or bust for Paris. 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+/Univision, watch on fuboTV

HIDDEN GEM

AC Milan at Liverpool

This match kicks off what should be an incredibly entertaining Group B in the Champions League, with Atlético Madrid and Porto rounding out perhaps the deepest group in the field. AC Milan will be without Zlatan Ibrahimović in this one, delaying his return to the Champions League. Still, Milan is off to a strong start in its Serie A campaign with three wins in three matches and should provide a stiff test to Liverpool at Anfield, which is coming off a 3–0 win over Leeds on Sunday.

3 p.m. ET, Paramount+

Think we missed something worth watching? Reply to guide@si.com and let us know what we should be looking out for and why.

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