It always starts and ends with Tom Brady. Even with Rob Gronkowski no longer playing in the NFL, as long as the Bucs have Tom Brady a return to the Super Bowl is always within reach.

On Monday’s episode of Good Morning Football, the panel discussed how the Bucs will get back to the Super Bowl this year. The hosts of the show, Sarah Walsh, Jason McCourty, Kyle Brandt and Peter Schrager, all gave various opinions, but the general consensus was the health of Brady for the season.

Turning 45 years old in August, Brady is still playing at an all-time high. His 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdown passes last season led the NFL as Brady came in second in the MVP voting.

“This guy defies everything,” Walsh said. “I see him up close, he looks 32. Yeah, it’s relevant to question his age, but he’s already proved we’re idiots for questioning him at this point. There was a point last year too that he couldn’t throw the deep ball anymore, right? And then how many touchdowns did he end up throwing? They get this corrected.

“There was this panic, the world’s falling apart, and the he’s second in MVP voting at the age that he was at. I think we’ve all learned we can’t doubt him anymore. He could be 50 and I’d go ‘Yeah, okay, well we learned out lesson.'”

Other Bucs Needs For A Super Bowl Run

While the conversation about Brady was the focal point of the segment, the analysts did talk about other factors to the Tampa Bay’s success this year. After Brandt made his point about Brady, McCourty still felt that the Rams are the team to beat in the NFL this year, so if they stay out of their own way, it’ll be tough for the Bucs to overcome a team that’s been a thorn in their sides for years.

Schrager discussed the importance of head coach Todd Bowles being able to out-coach Sean McVay and others. Some of have felt that the game preparation has favored the McVay and the Rams over the Bruce Arians and the Bucs in recent years. But with Bowles in charge, there’s a possibility it could change next season.

Walsh was very complimentary of the Bucs’ offensive line, acknowledging that as long as they’re healthy, it’ll allow Brady to play his best football again.

You can watch the full segment from GMFB talking about the Bucs here.