Is Tom Brady finished? The question arises after his poor performance in the New England Patriots final game of the season yesterday when he threw for a paltry 154 yards and never looked comfortable.

Oh, and the Patriots were hammered by the Baltimore Ravens, a team they would usually beat in their sleep.

Brady was playing injured of course, he has been most of this season, but he refused to blame that as the reason for his poor performance.

"I think injuries are a bunch of b.s.,’’ he said. “When you can play, you play. When you can’t play, you can’t play. I think we all deal with injuries, I really do. There’s not a guy in the locker room who’s not banged up. We all fight through it, and that’s part of playing football.

“I was able to play 16 games,’’ he said. “That’s the only way a quarterback can display toughness is to be out there. We don’t hit anybody, we don’t block, we don’t do that stuff, and I want the team to be able to rely on me and count on me, whether it’s practice or the game.’’

All very well but the Tom Brady the team has to rely on is not the Tom Brady of old.

He effectively missed last season of course, because of that freak injury and his body seems to be wearing down. He is 32 now, and has suffered the blows and batterings of a ten-year NFL quarterback. He won three super bowls but this is a harsh game that only wants to know what have you done lately.

That would be a tough question to answer apart from marry a super model and have a baby. No one begrudges him that, but the great playing days are behind him now.