Fencer

To this point in his career, Brady's accuracy on deep passes has NOT been spectacular. Last offseason Josh McDaniel supposedly did some film work to diagnose the problem, but the effect didn't show on the field during the season.

So -- now that he has Stallworth, is that finally going to change?

Canada's #1 Pats Fan

It seemed to be pretty good in the Charger game. I know 1 pass doesn't make the passer.

Remix 6

Brady has overthrown a lot last season..high balls..a little deep. i think its familiarity with the receivers..he did well with Deion remember STeelers game but he knew Deions speed and when he can get there

Canada's #1 Pats Fan

Maybe this was because of his 3 year long shoulder injury that made him probable every week.

3 to be 4

yeah, I think they should get a REAL Quarterback!

Fencer

Long before Manning deserved to be viewed as a Brady peer, he was superior to Brady in one regard -- the in-stride TD passes to Harrison. Manning has narrowed the gap in a lot of the areas where Tom has always been ahead.

It's reasonable to wonder how far Brady will improve in what is pretty much his last remaining not-so-great area.

dhamz

There is a perception that Brady can't throw the deep ball. There is also a perception that Peyton Manning can throw the deep ball. The reality - in the last 4 years each guy has hit 35 passes of 40 yards or more. Both guys throw it deep just fine.

Another reality is that no QB throws the deep ball with a high degree of accuracy. Carson Palmer probably does it best and he hit 15 deep balls in 2006 - less than 1 a game and the prior years were 9 and 8. When you think of how many deep shots they take in that offense, his completion percentage on them is probably less than 50%.

Fencer

Interesting. You're claiming Brady has already caught up.

Maybe I'm guilty of thinking highlight plays are more frequent than they are ...

upstater1

I saw a lot of deep balls thrown well by Brady last year but our WRs couldn't get under them. You really have to stride for that ball and time it. No QB in football can throw a ball that the receiver runs to at full speed. Receivers, instead, adjust to the ball. Marvin Harrison is so good and has such great body control that he makes it look effortless. On multiple occasions last year I saw Gaffney wide open for deep bombs but he was completely unable to get his body set to make a long grab. Or look at Terry Glenn. The guy used to excel at catching a ball 40 yards downfield, but he always lost his legs in doing so.

Seneschal2

At least Stallworth knows how to run routes (not only the deep ones), has the ability to get open, and a league-wide respect for doing so. TC and pre-season will be spent developing that timing between QB and WR. Accuracy can be developed with numerous reps, provided the ingredients are present. Brady does have the arm strength necessary, while DS has the above skills. I'm hopeful.

Even if Stallworth doesn't catch many deep balls -- he's a threat to. And that ought to be the ONLY point regarding his value. All it takes is for Brady to connect with him on a few deep passes, and they're now on film, leading to a gameplan awareness by opposing defenses. At the very least, this is all BB is hoping for .

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