Nevius: Rules protecting quarterbacks are helping Tom Brady, Drew Brees thrive in NFL

We will hear all manner of happy nonsense during the AFC and NFC championships this weekend. Among the classics:

“To him, age is just a number.”

This feeds our much-beloved story about how old so-and-so has been in the league X number of years, but hasn’t lost a thing.

Unfortunately, he has. Aging is as real as a wrinkle, as inevitable as the next truck commercial on TV. As we get older, our skills decline incrementally. This can’t be a surprise to anyone.

But you know where we are headed. The playoffs feature Tom (41 years old) Brady and Drew (just turned 40 last week) Brees. They are the two oldest starting quarterbacks in football. And, according to Yahoo Sports, if their Patriots and the Saints make it to the Super Bowl, they will be the oldest quarterback duo ever to start an NFL playoff game.

Bravo. All credit to them. But I think you’ll find that rather than defying the mystery of time and space, Brady and Brees are more reflective of where professional football is now.

For starters, this is a reminder of how incredibly daunting, demanding and difficult it is to play QB. It is probably the toughest job in all sports. It is split-second timing, strategy, leadership and the kind of throwing accuracy that intentionally throws to one shoulder or the other. All of which happens as big, angry men are trying to knock you over.

And trust us. If there were better options, they’d be out there. Brady is 18 years older than Kansas City’s Pat Mahomes. The year Brady was drafted, Mahomes was five.

There have been waves of young guys coming up to take their jobs. And the typical NFL team, as sentimental as a badger, would have had no problem cutting an older guy. And his high salary.

And yet the dudes abide.

It isn’t just that they were born with golden arms. Brady, we’ve heard, holds to a demanding physical requiem that involves chugging - I think this is right - sea urchin milk. Or is it sea slug?

Anyhow, the point is Brady is deeply invested in keeping himself fit, and it has paid off.

What I didn’t know was what a workout grinder Brees is. The Saints, it seems, have an annual fitness challenge. Brees told a New Orleans reporter that in 13 seasons he’s never finished out of the top five.

So obviously, these are two 40-plus athletes who are committed to stay in shape. Good for them.

But I’d also say some of this is a product of the shift in focus in the game.

It is pretty obvious that the guys in the glass offices in New York have decided there is only thing better than offense - more offense. They want to give football fans those big splash plays - the long sideline bombs and the 15-yard posts that put a fast, elusive runner out in space.

True, teams are still running the ball. A case could be made that these four finalists are here because they were able to run the rock.

But no one is making calls to actively benefit the run game. Whereas, now we’re kind of surprised when pass interference isn’t called. And remember, it’s not a 15-yard penalty, like in college. In the NFL, the penalty is stepped off to the point of the foul.

Clearly, the chances of a good result from throwing a 50-50 ball down the sideline have increased dramatically. If a penalty is called, you could gain 40 yards on an incomplete pass.

So if you have someone who can consistently throw a spot-on, back-shoulder, 50-yard jump ball, you’d hang on to him. Ergo, Brees and Brady.

Not everyone is on board with the increase in penalties. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin is among those who questioned the way the game is being officiated.

And he’s right, things have changed.

The ban on helmet-to-helmet hits this year created a lot of the controversy - personally I still don’t think they are calling it enough - but don’t overlook the change for quarterbacks.

The late hits, the forearms to the face and the helmet pile-drivers are all penalties. Perhaps more significant is the rule that defenders can’t pancake the quarterback.

Until this year, the pass rusher could wrap up the QB, throw him to the turf and then belly-flop on him.

When the flopper outweighs the flopee by 100 pounds, it takes a toll.

The rule change has to have helped the Sunshine Boys. Although you also notice that neither Brady or Brees tend to take one of those thundering C.J. Beathard hits, either. A little guile and a quick release pays off.

But this all seems to lead back to the old wheeze of how these two have turned back the hands of time.

Good luck with that. I’d say they are two remarkable athletes who have maximized their skills and benefited from the new, pass-happy NFL.

But I’d also say that we have seen deep throws from each of them that didn’t make it all the way to the target. It happens as you get older.

You can say age is just a number. I’d say it’s still undefeated.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cw.nevius@gmail.com. Twitter: @cwnevius