The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady is 38.

That means in the real world Brady might be climbing to the top of the proverbial hill and facing a mid-life crisis.

In the NFL world he should be showing signs of slowing down. His skills should be deteriorating.

But through two games of 2015, Brady is having none of that.

New England’s quarterback is off to a phenomenal start while leading the Patriots to a 2-0 record.

No. 12 has completed 63-of-91 passes (69.2 percent) for 754 yards, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions, for a 119.9 rating. He leads the league in attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns and is No. 6 in rating.

After an offseason spent defending his legacy and credibility throughout the Deflategate scandal, some will say Brady’s early season performance which has him on an early pace for 56 touchdowns is a result of the off-field motivations.

But those around him know what he’s this good at this age — seemingly winning the theoretically unwinnable battle with Father Time — because he works all year round to be this good.

“He’s a tremendous worker,” said Josh McDaniels, the Patriots offensive coordinator. “He spends the entire year preparing his body and his mind, and I would go so far as to say some of his emotions and those types of things that we have to put into this job, and he has to put into it as a player.

“He spends a huge chunk of time getting himself prepared and ready to do the things that he wants to do, and he has high expectations and high goals for himself. He knows that it’s going to take a tremendous amount of work to continue performing at the level that he wants to play at, and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Of course it helps that Brady gets to throw to All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski and a 100-catch slot machine Julian Edelman.

Brady has had various weapons over the years and various passing attacks, but through it all he’s been the one constant and that shows no sign of changing.

Whether it’s a Week 2 battle against a supposedly elite, confident defense as he faced in Rex Ryan’s Buffalo Bills last Sunday or a home battle against a young, hungry, unfamiliar foe like the Sunday’s meeting with Jacksonville Jaguars, Brady seems to always be up for the challenge.

Brady is 16 years into his NFL journey. He’s on the cusp of his 400th passing touchdown. His hand displays four Super Bowl rings, his mantle three Super Bowl MVPs trophies.

Although, Brady has nothing left to prove, he still clearly has plenty he wants to do and is proving that he’s still very much capable of doing it at an age when he’s supposed to be fading.

“I don’t think we have enough time to discuss all those things,” Brady said of beating Father Time with what’s known as his TB12 Method that’s overseen by his personal body coach Alex Guerrero. “I think it’s just I try to prepare myself year-round for the marathon of the NFL. I have a routine that works for me. It’s a process and it’s cumulative effect of a lot of different things. So I’m excited to be feeling the way I feel.

“I think football is something I love to do and I want to do it for a long time. You have to take a different approach than what’s been taken in the past or else you’ll probably get the same results as everybody else. I’m just trying to be the best I can be.”

In doing so he’s proving once again he might just be the best there is in the game today. At the age of 38.

Father Time still has a ways to go to catch up to Brady, who continues to perform at a high level and prove himself arguably the greatest quarterback who has ever played the game.

But that description might have to wait until Brady is done playing. Meaning it may have to wait a while.