mb6592

When even you see this, as you almost always give all things Patriots the benefit of the doubt, it has to give even the most ardent Brady apologists pause.

OneMore87

I think we are forgetting the team around him. In past years it was so much better. He can't do it alone. Yeah he has come up big in some spots, but he's also had guys who blocked him better to have more time, guys who didn't drop key catches and a defense that required he score less than he has too now.

I think Brady's big game ability has slipped, SLIGHTLY, but not a lot.

The team AROUND him is what has slipped a lot.

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mb6592

I don't see how this is remotely debatable. There's two "oh sh-t" types of moments I've experienced these last several years. The one where you just know the pass rush & the defensive backfield will not hold up and the one where it's obvious that Brady is not going to be Brady, I swear it's palpable. I mean that debacle to end the 1st half, if that had been Sanchez or Manning, I'd still be laughing at that choke job (excuse me, I mean that underperformance).

supafly

I think this really wraps up the thread to be honest.

As much as people complain about Brady lately, they may not be remembering the fact that he had to win a LOT of games to get us to these big SB's and AFCCG's.

That had to happen both in the regular season AND the postseason too.

I still wouldn't want anyone else in there as the QB, and I think that once they'd rattle off 3-4 victories in a row again, he'd have a lot more confidence instead of pressure to carry the team by himself.

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supafly

Actually DaBruinz, I think that you could easily answer "yes" to the questions above. He certainly is always his fiery self, and he is always on the sidelines getting everyone amped up. He's always a vocal leader.

In the NYG SB 2007 it sure showed a lot to lead what should have been the game winning drive of yet another SB in the waning moments of the 4th quarter with less than 3 min remaining. To me that's fiery, especially considering that should have been the 4th consecutive late game winning SB drive out of 4 appearances if not for the helmet catch.

How about last year's SB, being 20/24 at one point with a record setting 17 straight completions and 2 TDs? Was it fiery to bring his team 98 yards to close out the half by gaining momentum and having the lead? Was it fiery to do the exact same thing coming out of the locker room to start the 3rd quarter too? How many times are we going to lose when we score back to back TD's at the end/beginning of the halves? Not many...

I think that BOTH of those SB's had a lot to do with the ball bouncing the wrong way, and a lot to do with the defense not being able to make stops to end the game and win it. I actually think that we should, in all fairness, throw both of those SB's right out of the conversation.

In last yr's AFCCG he didn't play "well," that is understandable. We can also point to his 4th down plunge over center where he scored the game winning, come from behind TD to go to the SB as being "fiery" and proving that his head and heart are in the game.

That takes us to the 2010 NYJ game where he threw 2 TD/1 INT, which to me is not up to the insane standards set for Brady, but still not necessarily a 'bad' day for a playoff game. IIRC, his QB rating in the Jets game was right around his regular all-time range in the mid to high 80's, but I could be wrong.

Really, that only leaves us with Baltimore in playoff games, and even then you'd have to give some credit to their good defense and also take into acct the fact that Brady's top weapons in Welker/Gronkowski were both out with injuries too, even though I agree with you that both of those games were bad Brady performances.

So in all actuality, it very well could be that Baltimore is the key factor here, as Brady has had 3 sub-par games vs them in the playoffs. Nothing else. It really could be just as simple as that.

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Deus Irae

Because a breakdown of the latest Patriots v. Ravens contest shows nothing of the sort.

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Zeus

You may have noticed that none of the so-called elite QBs are sailing through the post season year after year. Not Rodgers, not Peyton, not Brees. Hell, Eli can't even get out of the regular season on a consistent basis.

Brady has played well enough to get the team to the big games and has done so more consistently than any QB in the history of the game. The big games are a crap shoot because the level of competition and intensity are so very high.

So, yeah, Brady's had some tough games in the playoffs, last week included. He's still 3-2 in the Super Bowl and 5-2 in conference championships. This team has problems but Tom Brady isn't one of them.

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Tunescribe

From what I saw at the game through binoculars (watching Brady pre-game, during it on the bench and between plays, etc.) plus hearing him in the huddle on NFLN's Championship Game Sound Effects segment, I would say yes to all.

Be careful here, because this can be interpreted more ways than one and doesn't necessarily mean impatience in the pocket. I take it to mean that he's getting impatient to win it all again.

You mean, it looked that way on television? if you had a full view of the receivers running routes like I did, you would've seen that the Pats were blanketed more often than not and Brady was forced to thread the needle on a majority of his completions. The Ravens made defensive change-ups that worked well (this has been verified by both teams). Granted, Brady made a few bad throws that could've otherwise been completed, but nothing I saw suggested he was off his game aside from what Baltimore dictated. He still threw for 320 yards en route to a 400-yards-plus offensive output. They moved the ball well enough, just didn't produce in the red zone. Baltimore is a TOUGH OPPONENT!

I absolutely agree that there's way too much pressure on Brady's shoulders to carry the team, but that fault lies with the scheme and the coaches. It's been that way since 2007.

What you consider to be "plain as day" is purely a matter of perception and more often than not, highly subjective conjecture. Unfortunately, there's no objective basis for determining these things. Whenever someone starts making declarative judgments about a player's mental or emotional state based on what they see or hear on television, credibility can be an issue.

But the bigger point I think you are missing regarding Brady's play lies with how the team has been built since 2007, which more or less requires New England to score in the 30s to win games, and score those points mostly through the air. It just wasn't that way in the Super Bowl WINNING years, when BB and staff put greater emphasis on ball control, special teams, field position and opportunistic defense. Too much has been placed on Brady's shoulders and it ain't his fault. (And don't forget, the guy still can amaze in spite of things, as when he set the Super Bowl consecutive completion record last year vs. the Giants.)

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PATSNUTme

Because of some complaints sent I have gone through 9 pages of this remarkable thread

It's full on everything. Personal insults. The usual people who only come on the board just to agitate. And the word "homer' used about 100 times. And then someone has to start bringing Manning into the conversation when this thread has nothing at all to do with Manning.

For now we will keep the thread open. But STOP THE NAME CALLING.

This is going to be a long off season.

Triumph

LOLZ

The only thing that could make up for these last years is to win the next SB vs the Giants at their house. That would truly be sweet.

Bradys 4th Championship celebration in Rex Ryans locker room.