Good news, PETA.
Last week, Tom Brady broke the record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
I know what you're thinking: so what?
Well, let's dissect this milestone. Did you stop to consider that, first and foremost, an interception is a turnover. I'm not a huge stats guy, but any football expert will tell you that turnovers are the game's most important statistic. You can outgain your important by hundreds of yards and lose. You can do better in the red zone and lose. You can commit more penalties and win. But very rarely do you turn the ball over more and win.
Furthermore, an interception-free streak is one of the toughest to keep intact. So many things, a hit from a defender while throwing, a receiver who misread his route, a gamble that didn't pay off, a corner who just seems to be having a career day, or the good 'ol Hail Mary, can break it up.
And it's not like Brady isn't performing in a risk-free way. Generally, with 3,701 yards and 34 touchdowns comes a decent amount of picks in the process. But not this time.
Let's not forget that Brady has the Patriots sitting atop the AFC, while his biggest competitor for the award, Michael Vick, will more than likely have his Eagles settle for the 2 or 3 seed. And Vick has the advantage of throwing to Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, while Brady is flinging the ball to mostly no-names and young players. Sure, there's Welker, but he hasn't been healthy all year. And the other big name, Deion Branch, wasn't doing so hot before he was the Patriots acquired him (coincidence?).
Tom Brady has the award seized in a stranglehold. Heck, at this point, he's giving his 2007 self a run for his money.
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