Hypothetically, can a 41 year old QB... (1 Viewer)

[SaintsFan11]

Hypothetically, can a 41 year old QB do anything to meaningfully improve arm strength in the offseason? If strength is declining, could you combat that by doubling down on strength building workouts? Or is the arm like a tire, where the tread gets worn down and it’s done.

I mean, you have all of these baseball players who became home run kings when they were well into their thirties. Of course, they used steroids, but theoretically one could accomplish naturally what one could accomplish with steroids, given enough time and the right training regimen. Right?

And, hypothetically, you don’t need the 41-year-old QB to launch it 50 yards downfield 12 times a game. You just need enough steam to keep defenses honest.

 

[PXSaber]

Is it really missing strength?
For me it looks like he can still throw it down the field, but once he reaches 30+ yards, his accuracy goes down drastically

almost every Int he threw the last two seasons were misplaced deep balls

 

[sammymvpknight]

Not really. It’s not really a matter of strength, it’s body mechanics. The biggest guys on the field aren’t necessarily the furthest throwers. I’d imagine that Brees is about as fine tuned as he’ll ever be. If Brees tries to start throwing it further than his body allows, he’ll probably get hurt.

 

[NatureBoy]

Drew is a fitness and nutrition freak.

In my mid 50s, I made a decision to get stronger, especially my upper body. In short, I got very strong, the strongest I had ever been in my life, but my flexibility was affected.

I’m sure Drew is already on a fitness program that involves eating, working out, flexibility drills, etc. that allow him to get the most out of his body. Throwing isn’t just done with the arm either. He’s working core and legs too.

And as we get older, it’s about technique as well. We learn to work smarter. Drew has mastered that aspect.

You can bet that Drew is getting the most he can get through a combination of fitness, nutrition, technique and repetition.

 

[Heartbreak Kid]

They’ll run some more screens and whatnot, no one will notice his arm strength. His stats will be incredible and all will be thrilled

 

[newiberiasaint]

He threw a beautiful long pass right on target in the Pro Bowl.

 

[BuddyDeesGhost]

Man it's not the arm strength I'm worried about, I'll settle for the accuracy over arm strength any day. That said, the legs and mobility are what we should be concerned about. I'm not saying Drew should be able to take off like Taysom, but simple QB rollouts and dancing around in the pocket is just not there anymore.

That said, I think the real question we have to ask is can a 41 year old man improve his footwork? Just look at George Foreman when he returned to the ring. He could still punch harder than almost any man on the planet but he moved like a drunken ground sloth.

 

[Zztop]

deer antler spray

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Both the short and long answer is “no”

Search Underhill’s article about it from the summer - he talked to the guy training both Drew and Brady
Said it’s really not a matter of strength but arm speed
And that arm speed can be maintained at their age but really not increased

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

Hypothetically speaking, yes, I'd think it is theoretically possible to add maybe a bit of strength at his age with the right program. Strength isn't really the problem, though. It's fatigue and recovery, which is much tougher on an older athlete.

 

[Super]

I wish i felt today like i did when i was 41.

 

[sammymvpknight]

There was that 2002 sports drama “The Rookie” starring Dennis Quaid that was based upon a true story about a 40+ year old pitcher who started throwing it 100 mph. Likely not going to happen though.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Hypothetically, can a 41 year old QB do anything to meaningfully improve arm strength in the offseason? If strength is declining, could you combat that by doubling down on strength building workouts? Or is the arm like a tire, where the tread gets worn down and it’s done.

I mean, you have all of these baseball players who became home run kings when they were well into their thirties. Of course, they used steroids, but theoretically one could accomplish naturally what one could accomplish with steroids, given enough time and the right training regimen. Right?

And, hypothetically, you don’t need the 41-year-old QB to launch it 50 yards downfield 12 times a game. You just need enough steam to keep defenses honest.

It's not arm strength that's the problem. Plenty of videos from last year with Drew chucking it 50 yards down field. The issue is location of the deep throw...if you notice they don't go to the sidelines anymore like they did in our heyday with Meachem/Henderson. The deep throws are now deep post to the middle of the field. When he does throw to the sideline say the Kenny Galloday TD it's more in the range of 35 yards or about a medium throw where Drew is still pretty accurate at.

If you want it in madden terms his Throw power is still about an 88 his Deep ball accuracy is about a 79.

 

[BoNcHiE]

No and he doesn't need to. He just needs to play within himself and he's still better than about 25-28 other QBs in this league.

 

[meily]

Father time is undefeated, Brees is losing ability but not enough to warrant replacement, but at the same time we don't want to end up like New England who lost there heir to Brady by trading him to SF and now Brady and the Pats may be parting ways and like the Saints in later years of the franchises respective HOF QB careers cant keep talent around them because they eat up so much of the cap space.