Grogan backs Brady

[Drewwho]

...I have to say, so far this is the most reasonable account of Tom Brady's play thus far this season. I am completely amazed by the comments from the media and ESPECIALLY the fans that are completely throwing Brady under that damned bus.

_____________________________________________

RRM: The media made a big issue of Brady’s demeanor each time he left the field after an unsuccessful series. His head was down and his shoulders were slumped, as if he was personally taking the responsibility for the failure of his offense. Is that how you saw it as well?

SG: I think they are reading way too much into that. Brady’s the kind of kid that when things aren’t going well when he’s going off the field with his head down he’s thinking about what’s taking place and what he needs to do. That entire issue is way overblown. Many of the TV media people were saying that he was missing a lot of his throws and had a bad game and man, I didn’t see that at all! When you throw for 300 yards and you have to throw it 55 times you’re making a lot of your throws. What’s happening out there right now isn’t his fault and he knows that, but he is such a competitor he wants to get his offense going.

Right now Brady’s getting a lot of pressure in his face and the first two weeks they had a running game that took some of the pressure off the passing game (although he was still getting hit a lot). He got hit a lot Sunday night, and this time there was no running game (only 50 yards rushing). When you’re throwing 55 times a night and you are getting knocked down on half of them it rattles your aim a little bit, and to be honest with you they just aren’t getting guys wide open as they have in the past. They definitely have a lot of work to do.

RRM: John Madden pointed out that Tom Brady is only the third quarterback in NFL history to lead the league in passing and not have his two top receivers return the following season. As a quarterback, is it that crucial an issue?

SG: I think it is. I think Tom Brady is still trying to find himself with these new guys. I thought the rookie Chad Jackson being out with that bad hamstring hurt them, because it looked like they had a little something going last week and now he’s out again. Doug Gabriel had a nice home debut grabbing four balls on that scoring drive, so maybe that’s a combination that can become something in time. It just takes time for any quarterback to get used to working with a new receiver, and Brady is trying to get used to a whole bunch of them. But the timing isn’t there right now because they haven’t worked together that long and it is not an easy task, believe me.

 

[Digger44]

why wouldnt he back brady?

 

[Drewwho]

why wouldnt he back brady?

Why would he? He is under no obligation to do so.

 

[italian pat patriot]

i always love Steve Grogan comments (this time too)

no reason to panic yet (are we 2-1 ?)

 

[patsox23]

The point about adjusting to the new WRs is a belabored, but important, one. Brady is having to get in sync ON THE FLY, with new receivers, and with an OL that seems to be randomly having trouble pass blocking.

I hesitate to write this, given the myriad threads on this topic, but the one person most to blame for this, honestly, is Deion Branch. That's a terrible job by him, and the team is suffering for it now. Brady will have to get on the same page with his WRs and it's just going to take some time. Any wins we can eke out during that process will be gravy.

 

[Digger44]

Why would he? He is under no obligation to do so.

Because he has a brain and understands that an SB MVP with 3 rings has tough games. Grogan isn't ******ed. Duh. Why is this so hard to get? Why is it so tough to understand that this is a work in progress?

 

[Digger44]

Lackluster game plan.
Failure to adjust until after it was 17-0.
Horrendous play calling, trying the same plays that failed and expecting a different result.
Pass routes that even Brady said were horrible...
No slants or crossings...which were successful up until last season when McDaniels scrapped them from the play book, for the most part.
Too many out patterns in mid range , the type Brady has NEVER been able to complete, along with deep sideline fly patterns.

When thing aint workin' you don't keep trying em.....You scrap em early and move on. McDaniels waits far too long to make adjustments or changes, far, far too long to wait.

I have said before that this will come back and bite them in the ass because there are always going to be that you just cant come back against..and that your defense wont help you out against...Denver is one of thos teams.

McDaniels did nothing to allow the Pats to get the early edge on Denver and then, when they were behind, he waited far too long, and too late, to adjust.

You are right, but you need to understand this is a learing process for him as well. He learned tons this week, and wil improve each game.

 

[Oswlek]

IMHO, Grogan usually is a little too homerific on his grades, and it has caused me to stop reading them. For whatever reason I did take a look at it this time and I have to say, it is a very good account of what went on in the game. His take on how NE didn't have a good backup offensive game plan, and the searching for answers being one of the factors as to why NE looked so out of synch is quite good. He is tough on the areas that did poorly, while being objective and giving Denver credit.

I might just have to resume the weekly reading of his grades.

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

IMHO, Grogan usually is a little too homerific on his grades, and it has caused me to stop reading them. For whatever reason I did take a look at it this time and I have to say, it is a very good account of what went on in the game. His take on how NE didn't have a good backup offensive game plan, and the searching for answers being one of the factors as to why NE looked so out of synch is quite good. He is tough on the areas that did poorly, while being objective and giving Denver credit.

I might just have to resume the weekly reading of his grades.

I'm not sure how old you are Oswlek, but if you had seen Grogan (and hopefully you did), he was one of the last QB's in the NFL to call the majority of his own plays. He was a crafty bastard. My favorite memory of his playcalling was the 4th and 1 where we would stack the line and his play fakes were unbelievable. Everyone on the D would dive for the RB and Grogan would be holding the ball behind his back. Even the camera operators were constantly faked out.......and lo and behold, there would be Grogan, lofting a soft pass out to the endzone were a completely wide open reciever would be standing......Touchdown. Or the naked bootlegs.....He was great.

And with that in mind, I thought that when our QB coach died, Grogan would have been a great man for the job.....but BB and Pioli have really never given it thought....He is a guy out of the Charlie Weiss play calling theology.....Keep 'em guessing.

 

[Oswlek]

I'm not sure how old you are Oswlek, but if you had seen Grogan (and hopefully you did), he was one of the last QB's in the NFL to call the majority of his own plays. He was a crafty bastard. My favorite memory of his playcalling was the 4th and 1 where we would stack the line and his play fakes were unbelievable. Everyone on the D would dive for the RB and Grogan would be holding the ball behind his back. Even the camera operators were constantly faked out.......and lo and behold, there would be Grogan, lofting a soft pass out to the endzone were a completely wide open reciever would be standing......Touchdown. Or the naked bootlegs.....He was great.

And with that in mind, I thought that when our QB coach died, Grogan would have been a great man for the job.....but BB and Pioli have really never given it thought....He is a guy out of the Charlie Weiss play calling theology.....Keep 'em guessing.

The first Pats game I ever watched was the Chicago SB, so, sadly, I missed his best years.

I still chuckle at how long I had absolutely no idea what the hell first and 10 meant. :singing:

 

[FloridaPatsFan]

The first Pats game I ever watched was the Chicago SB, so, sadly, I missed his best years.

I still chuckle at how long I had absolutely no idea what the hell first and 10 meant. :singing:

Wow. If you stayed a Pats fan after the that superbowl....Well then, you know the agony of defeat.

But Grogan was great. He once ran for nearly a thousand yards in the NFL.....As a QB! When he got older he couldn't run for a bathroom, but he would stay in the pocket and hold the ball until that split second needed for the WR to make his cut and he would get the ball there......and then get absolutely pounded into the turf....get up, and do it again. The guy left body parts on the field at Shaefer Stadium.

I just always thought that Brady could look up to a guy like that and work with him. Grogan could still get it done in the NFL long after his body was wrecked because he knew how to keep defenses off balance. The way Charlie Weiss did.

 

[lobster]

Searching the web on Grogan, he holds the single-season record for a rushing for TD's by a QB - he rushed for 12 touchdowns as a rookie in 1976. He also said he played for the Pat's for 16 years, still the longest of any player, and he is very proud of that.

I read his Q&A column every week, and now Patriots.com Video has an interview with him every Wed. We will see how his grade of "F" for the Offense goes over! Grogan has said his preferred style is to run the ball and throw it long.

 

[Murphys95]

Searching the web on Grogan, he holds the single-season record for a rushing for TD's by a QB - he rushed for 12 touchdowns as a rookie in 1976. He also said he played for the Pat's for 16 years, still the longest of any player, and he is very proud of that.

I read his Q&A column every week, and now Patriots.com Video has an interview with him every Wed. We will see how his grade of "F" for the Offense goes over! Grogan has said his preferred style is to run the ball and throw it long.

Grogan actually had 13 touchdowns in 1976. During a run he fumbled the ball and picked it back up and ran for a score - it was marked officially at a return.

On another note - I don't know how anyone can complain about offensive playcalling, especially receiver routes, cause you can't see the darn things on TV! If you watch the game on television, the simple truth is, once the play starts, the camera always zooms in toward the quarterback. But I guess it makes some fans happy to second guess the team all the time.

 

[PatsSteve1]

The main 2 WR's, Gabriel and Jackson aren't just new WR's in name, they are new WR's in abilities. Niether one is going to replace Branch. Branch was a fast, quick, in and out of breaks, type of WR. Both Jackson and Gabriel are bigger, longer striders that are going to be better running different types of routes. That doesn't mean they can't try the routes Branch ran, but they aren't going to run some of them as well. And they are going to run some routes Branch wasn't as good at, better than Branch did. Not all WR's can run the same routes as well. IMO, it's one reason they aren't seeming to be running the same O as last year. They aren't. BB showed a tape of Tiger Woods and how he changed his game and therefore how people can change thier game and be better and play well. I suspect this was part of it because he knew he had different kinds of players and that the team was going to change. Not the defense, which has almost all the same players, but the offense. It's going to take some time for them to execute it properly no matter what plays they call. No matter what play they call, if it isn't executed properly, it isn't going anywhere.

 

[Patti37]

IMHO, Grogan usually is a little too homerific on his grades, and it has caused me to stop reading them. For whatever reason I did take a look at it this time and I have to say, it is a very good account of what went on in the game. His take on how NE didn't have a good backup offensive game plan, and the searching for answers being one of the factors as to why NE looked so out of synch is quite good. He is tough on the areas that did poorly, while being objective and giving Denver credit.

I might just have to resume the weekly reading of his grades.

Maybe his grades are "homerific" but his analysis is not. He understands and appreciates the game and what it takes to be an NFL QB. I respect his opinion.

Grogan was as tough as nails and respects that quality in Brady. However, if Brady is having a bad game, Grogan is not afraid to say so...

 

[Dagg]

Grogan is one of my all time favorites it used to pain me when they tried to install Cavanugh or Eason over him. Maybe we need him at Offensive coordinator, I think he was one of the last guys to call his own plays.