Snarf

First, this is NOT a knock against TB. TB is the best ever. Just something I've noticed over the years....

He either has a game where his passes are almost PERFECT each play, or he has a game where almost EVERY pass is off / low / high / intercepted every play. The next week it will be one or the other, and the week after tends to have little correlation to the one before.

I've very rarely seen Brady have a game "in the middle". He tends to play either extremely well, or fairly mediocrely.

Does anyone have any idea why this might be? Is it psychological? Is it his "probable" shoulder injury that is ok some days, and not others?

mtbykr

I heard a reporter say yesterday that many scouts think TB has a shoulder problem....and if it's true it makes what he's doing even more amazing!

__________________
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits". - Albert Einstein

oldskool138

Yeah, the same shoulder problem since 2002.

If that is the case, he needs to get it looked at seriously this year. Personally, I'm sick of the "Brady- Probable, Shoulder" on the injury report. Okay, Bill! We get it. You don't the NFL's injury reporting system. You can stop now. Jeez!

__________________
You can't be two feet tall and expect to take over the world...unless you're Doug Flutie. -MST3K
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


"You're all a bunch yahoos, hero worshipers and gutless suck-ups." - Tony Massarotti

BelichickFan

I think things bother him more than the average QB. That's why I think fixing our field helped up more than the opponents - I think the field had deteriorated to the point where it really bothered Brady. I also think that's why Brady has struggled more with new WR than some QB do.

I don't mean this as a slam on him - I just think he lets things bother him more than other QB. It's also why I feel good about this week. He's faced the Colt defense a lot. He's faced the Cover Two even more. He's reasonably comfortable with the WR now. He is comfortable on turf. Get Tommy in his comfort level and he's great - and he should be comfortable this week.

Tunescribe

I tend to think most of his games are "in the middle," so to speak. His stats tend to be remarkably similar from week to week -- usually something like 24-for-35, 242 yards, 2 touchdowns/1 interception. He'll go through periods each game where he's terribly off-target (usually over-throwing people), then put it together for stretches with remarkable throws. He's more erratic than Peyton Manning, but more "clutch" than Manning as well.

BelichickFan

If he had a significant problem, he wouldn't have been throwing the ball 51 times last week. He may need a little touch up in the offseason but the Chargers aren't impossible to run on - a run based gameplan was fully reasonable last week. Putting the whole game on Brady's shoulder shows me that he's healthy enough for it to not be a big factor.

NE39

The reason Brady is listed is because he misses practice time. For the last few years Belichick has had Brady sit out some passing drills in practice each week so his arm doesn't get worn out. Because the NFL requires any player missing a portion of practice to be listed, Brady is listed. The fact he isn't really injured and is just sitting as a precaution doesnt' matter.

Brownfan80

I agree with the rest of your post except for this. I think that this year is proof that Brady does pretty well no matter who the WR are.

The team is fielding an 80% new group from last year and Brady's stats barely took a dip. His numbers are VERY close to his 'normal' high rate of play.

In the past some new WR didn't work out (Bethel, Hayes, etc), but that probably should be put more on the WRs not meshing than on Brady 'struggling' with the new WRs.

Look at this season. Gaffney and Caldwell have both done well as 'new WRs', but Gabriel and Jackson have not. Gabriel and Jackson have different reasons why, I'm sure, but I doubt that either of those guys have been left out of the offense because of Brady.

I think Brady has done a magnificent job this season. He's had his basically his entire passing game replaced, but still has kept up his stride. And lets not forget that his 'stride' is a very high rate of play.

He still threw twice as many TDs as INTs and still threw for close to his normal yardage.

All while adapting to not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but SIX new regular season wideouts. (Caldwell, Gaffney, Gabriel, Jackson, Childress and Kight). I may actually be forgetting somebody in all of that, I can't remember.

But either way, what Brady has done this season is nothing short of astounding. The fact that he's got us into the AFCC again with the changes he's faced in his passing game is truly amazing.

Jacky Roberts

To me, its uncertainty about his wideouts. He's accurate as hell when he needs to be (The Caldwell catch vs. SD late is a perfect example)

__________________
"Spirituality, Faith, and Democracy are the cornerstones of our country. We are all Patriots, and tonight the Patriots are World Champions."
-Robert Kraft, 2/3/2002




To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

hwc

Are we sure that we aren't trying to hold Brady to some mythical standard of perfection?

I've never seen a QB who plays every game like a robot. To absolute perfection. Hitting every receiver in stride. Go back and check the tapes. I recall Montana having a few plays here and there that he probably "wished he had back".

It's football. It's ugly. Imprecise. Improvised. Dirty. It ain't a performance of the Nutcracker Suite.