Tom Brady's 2nd best year was LAST YEAR! - Page 3 - New England Patriots Forums

RayClay · 03-20-2010, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B.

Brady's biggest problem last season: no run support. No QB can have success without a decent running game. How many second half losses could have been avoided if the Patriots could have run the ball effectively in the second half. At least two, the Bronco game and the one in Miami where we gave up leads in the second half. Getting a big strong running back should be a priority in the draft. The Patriots should be able to land a good one in the second round.

While I agree, the quarterback has to actually hand the ball to the running back in the second half.

We often ran rather successfully then completely stopped running in half #2.

***convertedpatsfan*** · 03-21-2010, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KontradictioN

Brady had an excellent year statistically and I would not want to go into a season with any other quarterback. However, he made some mistakes last year that were completely uncharacteristic of him. He, at times, tried to fit the ball into double coverage and make a couple of boneheaded plays in the red zone which resulted in interceptions (the Bucs game is a good example). How much of this had to do with having a year off, coming back from/being injured, and the lack of a viable receiving option outside of Welker and Moss, we'll find out. I have a feeling we'll be seeing an even more improved Brady this year, though.

I agree 100%. He also missed a few wide open guys (Galloway against the Jets, Welker vs. the Broncos come to mind) that he wouldn't normally miss. We also had some awful play calling, which was very predictable and involved way too many pass attempts. But he was still quite productive in terms of numbers, and I have no idea why some think we need to get rid of him. I expect a much better year this year, maybe not in terms of numbers, but in terms of accuracy and good decision making.

***DaBruinz*** · 03-21-2010, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B.

Brady's biggest problem last season: no run support. No QB can have success without a decent running game. How many second half losses could have been avoided if the Patriots could have run the ball effectively in the second half. At least two, the Bronco game and the one in Miami where we gave up leads in the second half. Getting a big strong running back should be a priority in the draft. The Patriots should be able to land a good one in the second round.

This is a falsehood. The Pats had the 9th best running game in the league. The problem is that they didn't use the running game enough because the run-blocking was so inconsistent.

A big strong running back won't mean a damn thing if the line is letting the defense 3 yards in before the RB gets the ball. It also won't mean anything if Brady audibles off the run to a pass and confuses the TEs, causing a penalty.

***Tunescribe*** · 03-21-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snake Eyes

Numbers only tell part of the story, did he get things done when we most needed him to?

For ***** sakes, the guy doesn't operate in a vacuum! I agree with the point the OP is making, and I've made it myself: There was absolutely nothing about Brady's play last year that hurt the team's chances at any stage except for a subpar performance vs. Baltimore in the playoffs. Even then, a better effort by his surrounding cast might have saved the day. Brady did not singlehandedly lose any games and was a primary reason why we were competitive in most of them.

RDS11 · 03-21-2010, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill B.

Brady's biggest problem last season: no run support. No QB can have success without a decent running game.

This is one of football's biggest myth. For example, this year the Chargers and Colts had the 2 worst rushing average in all football (less than 3.5 yards per carry) and the 2 least amount of rushing yardage. But they were number 1 and number 4 in net yards per pass attempt. They were a combined 27-5 in regular season, and the Colts reached the Super Bowl.

Having a good running game certainly helps an offense, but you can succeed without one. Passing efficiency is much more important.

PATSYLICIOUS · 03-21-2010, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RDS11

This is one of football's biggest myth. For example, this year the Chargers and Colts had the 2 worst rushing average in all football (less than 3.5 yards per carry) and the 2 least amount of rushing yardage. But they were number 1 and number 4 in net yards per pass attempt. They were a combined 27-5 in regular season, and the Colts reached the Super Bowl.

Having a good running game certainly helps an offense, but you can succeed without one. Passing efficiency is much more important.

Agreed. And if I may add 2 words to further illustrate this point:

Antowain Smith

Snake Eyes · 03-21-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tunescribe

For ***** sakes, the guy doesn't operate in a vacuum! I agree with the point the OP is making, and I've made it myself: There was absolutely nothing about Brady's play last year that hurt the team's chances at any stage except for a subpar performance vs. Baltimore in the playoffs. Even then, a better effort by his surrounding cast might have saved the day. Brady did not singlehandedly lose any games and was a primary reason why we were competitive in most of them.

Why don't you answer my question: would 09 Brady have been your #2 choice (limited to Brady) as QB for a team?

He doesn't operate in a vacuum, but neither does the rest of the team, so what's your point? That means when he's successful credit should go to others on the team, right? It seems you want him to get all the credit but when things go wrong it's the other player's fault. Yes, a better effort by others might have saved the day but a better effort by Brady might also have saved the day.

If worshiping certain stats makes you feel better about Brady, go ahead.

letekro · 03-21-2010, 11:12 AM

Proof that stats don't tell the whole story.

He played admirably coming off a major injury and being without an experienced o coordinator, but he made a number of bad throws/decisions that cost the team big time. This was by no means his second best season.

I expect him to be fully back this year.

glm · 03-21-2010, 11:15 AM

People don't realise how hard the psssing defense was that Brady had to face this year was. Supposedly the hardest in the last 15 years.

The league wide defensive passer rating this years was 81.241.

Brady's was 75.318.

***Tunescribe*** · 03-21-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snake Eyes

Why don't you answer my question: would 09 Brady have been your #2 choice (limited to Brady) as QB for a team?

He doesn't operate in a vacuum, but neither does the rest of the team, so what's your point? That means when he's successful credit should go to others on the team, right? It seems you want him to get all the credit but when things go wrong it's the other player's fault. Yes, a better effort by others might have saved the day but a better effort by Brady might also have saved the day.

If worshiping certain stats makes you feel better about Brady, go ahead.

How do YOU measure a quarterback? If he has high completion/low interception percentages (accurate passer), relatively few sacks (good pocket awareness), is among league leaders in yards, touchdowns, etc., etc., he's likely carrying his share of the load. You can say, "Well, I measure them by wins and championships." That's fine if you want to oversimplify the discussion. But for all intents and purposes, Brady held up his end of the bargain in '09 with what statistically was the second-best season of his career. Making it most remarkable was his coming off a major injury while missing nearly a full season. What more could be asked of the player, OR the QB position?

To answer your question, I would've taken '09 Brady with ANY team.