Max Kellerman won't let go of his awful prediction that Tom Brady's about to go off the 41-year-old cliff

Max Kellerman appears prepared to ride his Tom Brady prediction right over the cliff.

The ESPN talking head has maintained for years that quarterbacks cease to function at age 41, and that Brady would be no exception. On Friday's First Take, Kellerman doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on his questionable prediction, insisting that Brady will indeed suffer a career-ending decline this season, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"Remember the Road Runner cartoons?" Kellerman asked. "And (Wile E.) Coyote would be tricked into running off the cliff? Did he fall right away? No. He thought there was still ground under his feet. He didn't realize there was no ground there. And eventually he looked down and realized there was no ground there and then he fell. … And I think that's where Tom Brady is right now."

While Kellerman's fellow panelists rolled their eyes, he continued undaunted, even after Brady threw a pair of touchdowns in his preseason debut against the Eagles while looking to be in midseason form.

"He looks like he's still got it, but that's the danger of the cliff," Kellerman said. "These guys, all of them, look like they've still got it until they realize, whoa, there's no ground under my feet, and Father Time is undefeated. I don't think Tom Brady will be a great quarterback this season, but I have to admit, early evidence doesn't look good for my prediction."

John Tomase