Looking back at Tom Brady's performance in this past AFC Championship Game

[twnickels2014]

For the last couple of days, I took some time to look back at the live chat/analysis on ESPN Boston and the Boston Globe for that game (since I can’t access the game on the Internet for free).


It looks like Tom Brady had a total of 4.5 bad throws in the game. The .5, if you're wondering, was for the Slater incompletion. While the ball was slightly underthrown on that play (Slater gained a little separation, but definitely wasn't wide open), I saw it being more of a bad decision by Brady on that play (he should've thrown to Amendola underneath on third-and-3, which would've guaranteed a first down). I also partially blame Josh McDaniels' play-calling on that play (why is Matthew Slater the go-to receiver on 3rd down? Also, that's a pretty low-percentage option). Of the other 4 bad throws, 2 were intended for Edelman: the infamous one in the first quarter, and 1 in the fourth quarter (which came on the Patriots' first touchdown drive). Another bad throw was intended for Vereen (it also came on the Patriots' first touchdown drive). The last bad throw, of course, was to Collie right before the end of the half (which prevented a last-second field goal).


Overall, of all those bad plays, I feel like the Edelman overthrow in the first quarter was the only one that actually had a good chance of being a game-changer. Had Brady made that throw, that's a touchdown. I don't see the Collie overthrow as much of a game-changer, because the Patriots would still have been down 13-6 at halftime, and the Broncos were already dominating the Patriots in every phase of game.



I thought that some analysts after the game (such as Mike Reiss, Tom Curran, and Mike Greenberg) were too overcritical of Brady’s performance (Curran said that Brady played like Blaine Gabbert, which is completely false; Greenberg said he was “lousy regardless,” which is BS as well). Overall—in my opinion—Brady’s performance wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. “Mediocre” is probably the best classification.



I think Brady played better than some people are giving him credit for.

 

[PATS16N0]

For the last couple of days, I took some time to look back at the live chat/analysis on ESPN Boston and the Boston Globe for that game (since I can’t access the game on the Internet for free).


It looks like Tom Brady had a total of 4.5 bad throws in the game. The .5, if you're wondering, was for the Slater incompletion. While the ball was slightly underthrown on that play (Slater gained a little separation, but definitely wasn't wide open), I saw it being more of a bad decision by Brady on that play (he should've thrown to Amendola underneath on third-and-3, which would've guaranteed a first down). I also partially blame Josh McDaniels' play-calling on that play (why is Matthew Slater the go-to receiver on 3rd down? Also, that's a pretty low-percentage option). Of the other 4 bad throws, 2 were intended for Edelman: the infamous one in the first quarter, and 1 in the fourth quarter (which came on the Patriots' first touchdown drive). Another bad throw was intended for Vereen (it also came on the Patriots' first touchdown drive). The last bad throw, of course, was to Collie right before the end of the half (which prevented a last-second field goal).


Overall, of all those bad plays, I feel like the Edelman overthrow in the first quarter was the only one that actually had a good chance of being a game-changer. Had Brady made that throw, that's a touchdown. I don't see the Collie overthrow as much of a game-changer, because the Patriots would still have been down 13-6 at halftime, and the Broncos were already dominating the Patriots in every phase of game.



I thought that some analysts after the game (such as Mike Reiss, Tom Curran, and Mike Greenberg) were too overcritical of Brady’s performance (Curran said that Brady played like Blaine Gabbert, which is completely false; Greenberg said he was “lousy regardless,” which is BS as well). Overall—in my opinion—Brady’s performance wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. “Mediocre” is probably the best classification.



I think Brady played better than some people are giving him credit for.

I had never, ever not finished a Patriot game to the end. In all honestly, when we were down 24-0 against Denver at half time, I still absolutely knew we were going to win that game. That's no exaggeration. I didn't like how it started, but I also saw why it started that way, and I didn't doubt their comeback for a second. I didn't have the same level of certainty against the Niners in 2012, but I was honestly still confident. Actually, you could tell, so was Chris Collinsworth.

When Brady missed that pass to Edelman, I knew we were done.

I shut the TV off right there, that early into the game, for the first time since the start of the Brady era (excluding 2008). I knew immediately we were finished. Team was on fumes, had nothing left.

I turned it back just looking to validate that instinct right in time to see Talib get taken off the field and left the house.

It's still the only Brady game I've never watched.

Any other opposing QB and I would of stuck it out, but I couldn't bare to see Peyton get such a win over such a depleted Patriots team in the AFC Championship. Gut wrenching.

 

[RayClay]

I shut the TV off right there, that early into the game, for the first time since the start of the Brady era (excluding 2008). I knew immediately we were finished. Team was on fumes, had nothing left.

 

[Joker]

hey...what is that???

there's a band playing on a horse drawn wagon...what's that supposed to mean?...a band...and a wagon...I don't get it....

 

[RayClay]

hey...what is that???

there's a band playing on a horse drawn wagon...what's that supposed to mean?...a band...and a wagon...I don't get it....

You're not supposed to get it, you fossil. I bet you're like me and you were still trying to figure out how many touchdowns the Pats needed in the 4th quarter of the Bears Super Bowl...

 

[BingoBrown]

The Pats were pretty much screwed when Talib went down.Of all
the AFC champ.games this on was the least painful.

 

[Joker]

laugh all you want, but...Champagne Tony is lucky beyond all the stars in the universe that I was nowhere within earshot of his life. I've never felt more embarrassed and humiliated by a single player's performance in any sport in my life.

 

[PATS16N0]

Not true.

 

[RayClay]

laugh all you want, but...Champagne Tony is lucky beyond all the stars in the universe that I was nowhere within earshot of his life. I've never felt more embarrassed and humiliated by a single player's performance in any sport in my life.

I can't figure out why. Those bears defensive linemen seemed like nice gentle guys.

 

[Sciz]

I've said it many times and I'll say it again. The offense was the least of their problems in that game. The defense allowed an average drive length of 9.4 plays. That makes the scoreboard look like the offense was at fault, when really it was a low scoring game because neither team had very many drives. Between the defense managing to only stop the Broncos once and only one member of the receiving group making it through the year unscathed, this was a game where, to put it into Gisele's words, Brady would have had to both throw and catch the ball for the Pats to win. He wasn't perfect, and that's what it would have taken. I think he played about as well as you could expect given his surrounding cast.

 

[Joker]

I posted right here before the game, multiple times...knock Manning off his spot, we have a chance to win...we never even breathed on him....and then to add emphasis a week later...

 

[supafly]

A couple of thoughts, if I may:

1)--I do agree that our defense was so insanely pathetic, that it made the offense look even worse. That said, the offense was pretty limited in my opinion, particularly in the passing game. The options just weren't there. Like many, I did not feel too confident in this past AFCCG, although I could never imagine myself turning the TV off either (no offense meant to PATS16NO).

I can agree with the OP's thought about "running on fumes." The loss of Gronk, injury to Dobson, and lack of sufficient receiving options allowed the Broncos to scheme against us fairly easily, in my opinion.

2)--I don't necessarily agree that Brady wasn't bad in THIS particular AFCCG, because I think he was definitely off. I do not think that that some past playoff losses had warranted so much controversy about Brady, however. The NYJ and one of the BAL games (along with the SB loss in #46) had statistics that showed a mediocre to even "good" performance in those games, and yet all we heard about was Brady's poor play. When your QB throws for 300 yrds, 2 TDs vs 1 INT, it should not be considered a "bad" game.

I do agree that Brady hasn't been his usual super-human self in some of the playoff games lately, which is probably to be expected; after all, it's a team game. I'm assuming that things would look a lot better with a stingier defense and some real targets. As usual, health is key in these situations.

 

[SB39]

I had never, ever not finished a Patriot game to the end. In all honestly, when we were down 24-0 against Denver at half time, I still absolutely knew we were going to win that game. That's no exaggeration. I didn't like how it started, but I also saw why it started that way, and I didn't doubt their comeback for a second. I didn't have the same level of certainty against the Niners in 2012, but I was honestly still confident. Actually, you could tell, so was Chris Collinsworth.

When Brady missed that pass to Edelman, I knew we were done.

I shut the TV off right there, that early into the game, for the first time since the start of the Brady era (excluding 2008). I knew immediately we were finished. Team was on fumes, had nothing left.

They're losing 24-0 against Denver, playing horribly, turning the ball over left and right, but you just "knew" they were going to win. Then later that same season against the same team, you see an incompletion in the 1st quarter of a 3-0 game, and you just "knew" they were going to lose.

Ya I'm calling 110% b.s. on the above.

 

[PATS16N0]

They're losing 24-0 against Denver, playing horribly, turning the ball over left and right, but you just "knew" they were going to win. Then later that same season against the same team, you see an incompletion in the 1st quarter of a 3-0 game, and you just "knew" they were going to lose.

Ya I'm calling 110% b.s. on the above.

Bet your soul on it. So will I. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[TonyTucker]

The offense and defense both sucked in that game. After pansy Talib went out with his little boo boo, it was pathetic watching Forehead just pick apart the defense. At least he's good, though. These past few years, we've seen Belichick's defenses get ripped apart by the likes of Mark Sanchez (3 TD's, no picks, 127 QB rating), Joe Flacco (3 TD's, no picks), and Eli Manning (75 percent completion for a bum with a 58 percent career completion percentage).

Offensively, it was just as sad. 3 points before garbage time. Brady's stats were decent, something like 24-38 for 275 yards and a TD, but it was all stat padding. He hasn't exactly showered himself in glory since 2005 either, with the awful pick six in 2005, 3 INT's against the Chargers twice, four turnovers against the Ravens in 2009, the terrible pick that set the tone for the 2010 Jets playoff game, a safety on the first play and a horrendous fourth quarter pick against the Giants, and another stinkbomb against the Ravens.

Our hall of fame coach routinely gets his defenses' ass handed to it by these crappy QB's, and our hall of fame QB has stunk out the joint more often than not since 2004. No more excuses for these two. You've got the talent around you now.

 

[SB39]

Bet your soul on it. So will I. We'll see how it turns out.

Do you think responding in a ridiculously defensive manner to my comments makes others more likely to believe you?

 

[SB39]

Offensively, it was just as sad. 3 points before garbage time.

********. They scored a TD with 4 minutes to go which could have cut the score to 8 points with a successful conversion. That's not garbage time.

I guess that touchdown they got against Cleveland with 3 minutes to go to cut the lead to 5 was a garbage time touchdown too? All you have to do is conveniently ignore the fact that they got another score and won that game. That TD which gave them the lead must have been garbage time too.

Our hall of fame coach routinely gets his defenses' ass handed to it by these crappy QB's, and our hall of fame QB has stunk out the joint more often than not since 2004. No more excuses for these two. You've got the talent around you now.

You just don't have a clue, do you?

 

[PATS16N0]

Do you think behaving in a ridiculously defensive manner to my comments makes others more likely to believe you?

I was on my way out the door to get an ice coffee.

I didn't see what you saw in the first half against Denver. I saw the Patriots moving the ball fine, like they always did against Denver, and then I saw helmets knocking balls out of hands, strip sacks, and our defense having to keep Manning from going a mere 20 yards or so to score, if they had a chance to take the field at all. Were you really that surprised when they came out in the 2nd half, stopped gift wrapping Denver free points, and everything changed? Not even the announcers were.

"You know, you didn't want to say anything, but you just knew this (Tom Brady breathing fire and touchdowns) was coming." - Collinsworth.

After San Fran in 2012 especially, I don't know how anyone could have been surprised, especially playing Peyton in THAT weather (who had what? one good drive?), against a team that has NEVER defeated us with Gronk on the field, that Tom Brady's Patriots were going to come roaring back to life.

I thought it was obvious? I did a lot of pacing behind my sofa, and walking around my living room (that's how I watch the magic games), but I still knew we were taking that. My only real surprise was that we didn't put it away in the 4th.

What was different in the AFCCG? We were going in basically hoping to win with Blount. That's where the Patriots were at the end of the season. They took the field and nothing looked good. It didn't look like Patriot football at all, and it was pretty obvious, pretty quick, that we weren't winning with Blount.

The team was just obviously done. They shut down our running game and what options did we have? And what did those options look like after Brady missed a wide open Edelmen by 8 yards for a TD? That pass sucked the wind out of whatever fools hope I had for a W.

The team was just done. Too many injuries, too many miracle come backs, too much season adversity to overcome a talent stacked offense in a stadium Brady hasn't historically played well in. I'm as optimistic as the most optimistic when it comes to Patriot football but I think most anyone should have been able to see early on that the ride was over here.

I'll sit in the rain and -0 degrees and watch the Patriots lose by 40 points, but after 20 straight weeks of slavish media Peyton worship, I just didn't have it in me that day to sit through that.

Sorry you don't believe me, but I don't really care that much.

 

[TonyTucker]

Some of Tom Terrific's playoff performances since 2004:

DEN: 20-36, 341 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's
SD: 27-51, 280 yards, 2 TD's, 3 INT's
SD: 22-33, 207 yards, 2 TD's 3 INT's
BAL: 23-42, 154 yards, 2 TD's, 3 INT's (I'm sensing a trend)
BAL 22-36, 239 yards, 0 TD's, 2 INT's
BAL: 29-54, 320 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's

And we've already seen Belichick's defenses at work. Joe Flacco x2, Eli Manning x2, Mark Sanchez.

 

[PATS16N0]

Some of Tom Terrific's playoff performances since 2004:

DEN: 20-36, 341 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's
SD: 27-51, 280 yards, 2 TD's, 3 INT's
SD: 22-33, 207 yards, 2 TD's 3 INT's
BAL: 23-42, 154 yards, 2 TD's, 3 INT's (I'm sensing a trend)
BAL 22-36, 239 yards, 0 TD's, 2 INT's
BAL: 29-54, 320 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's

And we've already seen Belichick's defenses at work. Joe Flacco x2, Eli Manning x2, Mark Sanchez.

You can't take six football games in ten years and call it a trend unless you're just trolling.
Baltimore's Ray Lewis defense had always given Brady fits. It was just the way it was, and that doesn't mean "good defenses" given him fits, because Pittsburgh had always had a great defense and Brady had always made them look silly. One of those games was in what was essentially a rebuilding year (we go to the play offs during those), the war we had with Baltimore in 2011 I don't think was a bad game at all on Brady's part. In fact, I think he played that one like a freaking warrior. It also saw a Gronk injury which made things even more difficult.

The last game Gronk wasn't even on the field, and Baltimore's D wasn't really the type you could go after with the smurf attack. It was as smurf attack immune as any D in the league.

Eli Manning won on a miracle play. It's considered the greatest play in Superbowl history for a reason.

Because it was absolute BS and you couldn't repeat it if you tried a thousand times.

Joe Flacco was facing the most pathetic secondary in the league.