Every time Tom Brady runs out on the field before a game at Gillette Stadium for warm-ups his musical accompaniment is provided by Jay-Z. To co-opt a line from the rap impresario/Brooklyn Nets minority owner, the Patriots have 99 problems and Brady ain’t one.
That’s not to say that Brady was blameless in Seattle. He was far from it, throwing two interceptions, including one in the red zone, and committing a pair of costly intentional grounding penalties, the first of which took an almost certain 3 points off the board right before the end of the first half. His was a hollow 395 yards.
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The Patriots lost their way and became a QB-centric team, i.e. they became the Colts. It became all about the QB and the passing game. A formula that killed them once again in Seattle. They were winning chamapionships when they weren't all about number 12. They were winning championships when the were all about playing good defense and using a ball control, clock control balanced offense. Foolish to say that Brady's play isn't one of the problems on this team. For whatever reason Brady no longer finishes games. There was a time when he was absolute money in the 4th quarter. That's no longer the case and hasn't been for a few years now. 35 year old Tom Brady's ability to handle being the focal point of this team IS a big problem and only a fanboy or a fool like Chris Gasper would argue otherwise. Open your eyes!!!!!!!!!!!
Brady had two groundings in one game! QB's have two groundings per season!! Not to mention a couple other screw-ups! If it isn't Brady's fault, who's fault is it? Is Hillary Clinton's State Department expected to take the fall for this too???!?!?
Chris, while I agree that the secondary is one of the big culprits in their so-so start, you can't dismiss the fact that Brady is starting to look a lot like Tony Eason. I'm not kidding. Watch him in the pocket. He lacks awareness and starts to cave at the first sign of trouble. He was much more confident earlier in his career - now he flinches and hurries his throws or worse just grounds them. The Pats survived and even thrived with a mediocre defense because of Brady. Age catches up to all of us and it's happening to Brady.
Great piece Chris. You know in the end the Pats have ALWAYS depended on Brady. Those defensive players that you named and Bellicheck were going nowhere fast until number 12 took the the start at QB. The team was mediocre and there were even whispers about Belliicheck being fired. What happened to the defensive "genius" that emerged after Brady raised the bar back in 2001? Here's one opinion. He's not a very good coach when it comes to the secondary. On Sundays you can hear every Pats fan scream at McCourty - 'turn your frekin head around dufus! I know it's a bit of an exaggeration but good players make good coaches. Maybe the defensive genius should let someone else pick the groceries? We're all still wondering about the Maroney pick.
The Pats won three SBs with legitimate offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators. They have neither now. Matt Patricia ran about the worst defense in the league last year and then gets promoted??? Simply put the better defenses and coordinators have McDaniels number. Division three graduate assistant coaches put into key NFL postiions don't work out so well.
Blame the defensive backfield and the coaches all you want, but a thirteen year veteran QB caused intentional grounding penalties in this last outing and in the SB, which affected both outcomes.
Right on the money Shoney. ................... The Pats didn't just lose to the Seahawks, they were beaten badly, both offensive and defensive lines............Bill O'Brien figured it out and left.
Gasper, when the Pats had a good defense, half the salary cap wasn't being spent on the Quarterback position! The quarterback was paid almost the minimum for years and that cap space was spent on the defense. Brady has a chunck of the cap, and he needs to play like it...
You're being too kind. Brady has been throwing ankle level passes all season. (Fortunately he has short receivers!) He throws behind the receiver, and on Sunday, how many times did he throw into the dirt? He's a quarterback that is used to throwing short passes, that's the Pats offensive style. How often does he throw the long bomb and how often is it succesful? And, speaking of defense, where was the pass rush on Sunday?
If Ray Lewis actually retires because of his injury, Belichik should pull him out of retirement like he did with Junior Seau and Rosy Colvin!!!!!!!!!!!
Chris, I agree Brady isn't the whole problem. But he certainly was a big part of the problem Sunday. As many have already said here: The Pats have become a Brady-centric team. He cannot be expected to come out and loft 50 - 60 passes. What happened to the running game? Why has management chosen so poorly with regards to the secondary??? These rookies cannot get the job done and should be obvious to both Belicheck and Kraft. They need help in the secondary very badly. The idea that you can roll into town and smother a team with offense is a great idea on paper. Unfortunately, the Pats don't have resources on defense to make it work.