By now you’ve heard of Tom Brady’s record setting performance on Monday Night Football in week 1. 517 yards and 4 touchdowns to the tune of 34 fantasy points (standard scoring) is absolutely amazing. And his timing was great too. Just one day after people gushed over Cam Newton’s performance and commented on how he passed for more yards (422) in his first NFL game than Brady had in any game of his Hall of Fame career (410), Brady decided to show everyone how it’s done. He set a team record for passing yards and shattered his previous career high by over 100 yards. He looked every bit the master of his trade, and certainly no QB put up a more dominant performance in week 1 than Brady.
So… that’s why you should trade him. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not just saying that because I’m in your league and I was totally beating your team this week until that (expletive) 99-yard touchdown bomb to Wes Welker. No, no, no… don’t underestimate me like that. I am a Yahoo! Contributor, and we dig a little bit deeper than that.
The reason I am advocating that you, Mr. Tom Brady owner, trade him is simple.
Fantasy football is like the stock market — you make every attempt to buy low and sell high. Everybody knows this. However, with just one NFL week under our collective belt (size 42), people’s perceptions of the values of their players tend to be skewed. If you own a Chris Johnson or a Ben Roethlisberger, you would have to be quite the Stoic Stanley to not be even a little worried. On the other hand, if you drafted a Ray Rice or a Steve Smith (the good one), you would have to be quite the Stoic Stewart to not be even a little excited for their prospects. Even if we know with our logical and rational brains that 150+ yards and 2 TDs is not going to happen every week, we still get excited because we think we struck fantasy riches. Our typical reaction to having a top fantasy performer on our team is “Yeahhh! I totally called it! I’m like a prophet!” even if it was totally a fluke and you can’t even predict what you’re going to have for dinner. In other words, there are a lot of wild hopes and expectations for the new season that can cause elation (if met) or mild depression (if unmet). I mean, we’re all human. We’re all emotional beings.
But I digress…
The point is, Tom Brady, who accounted for more yards by himself than every single other NFL team did in week 1, is at an all-season high right now. His value absolutely cannot get any higher. And even though other owners in your league know this fact in their brains, their hearts will still skip a beat if you offer Brady to them in a trade (unless their names are Stanley or Stewart). This is because Brady has been absolutely great in the past, and everybody knows it. He actually could be almost as good for the rest of the season because he has the track record to back it up. But even so, this is his high point. He will not pass for 500+ yards and 4 TDs again this season. Therefore, Mr. Brady owner, you are in a unique position: you could offer Brady for any player in the league right now, and that owner would at least think about it. Nobody is off limits. I don’t think you could be in a much better position than you are right now. All you have to do is shoot for the stars with your trade offers. Don’t settle. Best case, you cash in on Brady’s awesome game. Worst case, you’re stuck with a guy that could have starred in The Cove with the way he ripped apart those Dolphins.