Is Brady actually choking?

[BSR]

I'm not quite ready to have Brady fill out his AARP card but you can count on one hand the number of QBs at 36 or older that have reached the SBs.

1970-Morrall/Unitis
1983- Plunkett
1997, 1998- Elway
2008- Kurt Warner
2002- Gannon
1976- Tarkenton

LOL...The six fingered man! I am Inigo Montoya...Prepare to die!

As for Brady choking...its a choke if you consider that there are 31 choking QBs every year. This team had some glaring weaknesses on offense once Gronkowski went down. I still can't believe how far they made it given how paper thin they were at receiver. They lost to a team that more talent on both sides of the ball. That isn't a choke.

 

[IllegalContact]

The idea that a Hall of Fame quarterback with MANY playoff wins under his belt (including last week) suddenly can't handle the pressure and "chokes away" a chance to win is pure nonsense. It's a team game and if you want to call that a cop-out, so be it. You need all hands on deck in championship games and the Pats were short-handed this time around. No, Brady was not at the top of his game last night but you can blame several others along with him for poor execution, including Wes Welker. Nevertheless, the Pats still out-gained their opponent while amassing 428 yards (including Brady's 320 passing). Far from a "choke job." Plenty of points were left on the field and laying it all at the feet of one guy is myopic at best.

stop blaming injuries......the ravens are without jemeel mcclain and ladarius webb.., so stop....that's why there's a 53 man roster.......you want to add some blame to BB because he had zero WR depth, that's fine (excuse me, but edleman has been hurt enough times where they should have moved beyond him to a real #3...no excuse for that, either)

go back and watch the games, but if you mean to tell me that when the chips are down and things get rough, that brady plays with the same confidence as he did 8-10 years ago, then you're just lying to yourself. the pats got lucky in the AFCC game a year ago......this time they were clearly outplayed by what I call an inferior team.......football is simply not meant to be played that carefully, that cerebrally

 

[RobertWeathers]

What more offensive talent is going to make him better?

He's got one of the better running games with some very young, talented runners, he's got the best tight ends in the NFL, one of the best, if not the best, slot receiver in the NFL. He's got a better than average outside receiver that makes some of the most difficult catches you can make, and his line pretty much gives him as much time as he wants.

You can't expect him to have a HOFer at every position.

I expect the team to have a better defense and in order for the Patriots to win the team does not NEED Brady to have a great game.

Allowing 3 2nd 1/2 touchdowns is completely unacceptable.

 

[PatsFan2]

Brady has been good as his outside WR's which have been exactly nothing the last two years. Lloyd was a step up from Ocho but that's not enough.

 

[RobertWeathers]

stop blaming injuries......the ravens are without jemeel mcclain and ladarius webb.., so stop....that's why there's a 53 man roster.......you want to add some blame to BB because he had zero WR depth, that's fine (excuse me, but edleman has been hurt enough times where they should have moved beyond him to a real #3...no excuse for that, either)

go back and watch the games, but if you mean to tell me that when the chips are down and things get rough, that brady plays with the same confidence as he did 8-10 years ago, then you're just lying to yourself. the pats got lucky in the AFCC game a year ago......this time they were clearly outplayed by what I call an inferior team.......football is simply not meant to be played that carefully, that cerebrally

A team experiencing an injury earlier in the season, and making the adjustments (Webb, Gronk, McClain) is one thing.

A team experiencing and injury during a playoff game is another.

Losing Talib and Jones only playing 2 snaps really hurt this defense big time.

Are their injuries the reason that they lost? No but losing them during the game didn't help matters.

 

[RobertWeathers]

LOL...The six fingered man! I am Inigo Montoya...Prepare to die!

As for Brady choking...its a choke if you consider that there are 31 choking QBs every year. This team had some glaring weaknesses on offense once Gronkowski went down. I still can't believe how far they made it given how paper thin they were at receiver. They lost to a team that more talent on both sides of the ball. That isn't a choke.

I edited the post after I read it....It's Monday.

 

[moejr]

Teams finally know how to play against Brady; they know his strengths and weaknesses well. That's the disadvantage of being a highly experienced QB. I don't think Brady has lost much as a QB, it's just that our opponents have a deeper understanding of how he plays, what he does well, and what he does not do so well.

I don't think it is Brady's weaknesses as much as it is our teams weaknessses as a whole. WE have no one down the sidelines so the Ravens started clogging the middle and taking that away from us. That's our bread and butter. WE get a deep threat or 2 like Moss and that loosens up the middle. Another thing is our coaching has been mediocre at best in big games the last few years. Great regular season and as the playoffs wear on we start not scoring points as well. I mostly blame the Peyton Manning type OC's we have had the past 8 years. Great in the regular season but choke in the playoffs.

 

[IllegalContact]

A team experiencing an injury earlier in the season, and making the adjustments (Webb, Gronk, McClain) is one thing.

A team experiencing and injury during a playoff game is another.

Losing Talib and Jones only playing 2 snaps really hurt this defense big time.

Are their injuries the reason that they lost? No but losing them during the game didn't help matters.

mcclain started 13 games this year, so it wasn't that early...the pats had plenty of games without gronk and edelman, so there should have been plenty of offense cooked up with the guys that they had.

face it, they just didn't show up last night.......from a player perspective I put that primarily on their MVP....you can certainly say that he did not go down swinging.......the accepted their fate the moment it was 28-13......

the defense wasn't the problem until the offense could not hold onto the ball in the 2nd half. how many games would the pats have won this year only scoring 13 points?

 

[BSR]

What more offensive talent is going to make him better?

He's got one of the better running games with some very young, talented runners, he's got the best tight ends in the NFL, one of the best, if not the best, slot receiver in the NFL. He's got a better than average outside receiver that makes some of the most difficult catches you can make, and his line pretty much gives him as much time as he wants.

You can't expect him to have a HOFer at every position.

What game where you watching? Of course Brady made his share of mistakes, but you also had RBs fumbling and failing to convert 3rd and short and in the red zone. You had one TE out and the other failing to get out of bounds at the end of the half. You had the slot receiver dropping two passes on 3rd down. And a outside receiver that made no difficult catches.

I've said it after last years superbowl, but at some point somebody has to step up and make a play. Break a tackle..force a fumble...make a difficult catch. They just don't have enough players making big plays.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Definite Brady misplays:

• Time management at the end of the first half.
• Several missed throws (some badly).
• Botched scramble (not the hit the ref one -- that was bad luck).

While it's tough to tell from the TV, I further suspect he overlooked a bunch of open receivers (and not just ones wildly out of his progressions). If so, that adds up to a lot of poor plays, both physically and mentally.

Time management is on the sideline. Belichick acknowledged that in his curt presser. "They" believed they'd have time to clock it. Poor assumption. Decisions were made prior to the snap, including another one to let the clock run out prior to 2 minute. We see that a lot lately, must be some crazy Ernie trend. Simms claimed it was smart until he claimed it was stupid in hindsight.

Several my ass. And what we see as misses are generally at least 50/50 split between receiver and QB let alone in this offense. High throws/low/ are made for a reason. Brady may miscalculate on occasion but coverage largely dictates what he does because no one is ever really open on this offense unless the defense blows coverage. That's just a sad reality Brady has to continue to deal with. Vereen had a breakout game last week only hereabouts that doesn't count for enough to feature you in the next week's game plan. Maybe he practiced like crap. More likely a conservative BB just squashed any ideas that might have percolated otherwise. He was the only legit speed that had and they failed to utilize it against a team that would have struggled against it. The Ravens didn't have to double anyone, single coverage negates Brady's 3 options most of the time (save Welker who gets over targeted as a result) and that allows opponents to stuff the run.

What you suspect is driven by what you chose to believe. The tape all season has told a different tale.

 

[IllegalContact]

What you suspect is driven by what you chose to believe. The tape all season has told a different tale.

based on what you choose to believe

 

[Tunescribe]

stop blaming injuries......the ravens are without jemeel mcclain and ladarius webb.., so stop....that's why there's a 53 man roster.......you want to add some blame to BB because he had zero WR depth, that's fine (excuse me, but edleman has been hurt enough times where they should have moved beyond him to a real #3...no excuse for that, either)

go back and watch the games, but if you mean to tell me that when the chips are down and things get rough, that brady plays with the same confidence as he did 8-10 years ago, then you're just lying to yourself. the pats got lucky in the AFCC game a year ago......this time they were clearly outplayed by what I call an inferior team.......football is simply not meant to be played that carefully, that cerebrally

Are you trying to argue that Webb and McClain mean the same things to Baltimore that Gronk and Talib do to New England? Good luck there. But putting that aside, YES, Brady is playing with just as much if not more confidence now than ever before. For heaven's sake, he was an MVP candidate down the stretch, led the team to 13 wins and 500-plus points, etc., etc. Losing a playoff game doesn't make him a "choker," and it's damn hard to argue that Baltimore is "inferior" when they beat the Pats twice this year. You're going nowhere with this crazy reasoning.

 

[PatsFan2]

Time management is on the sideline. Belichick acknowledged that in his curt presser. "They" believed they'd have time to clock it. Poor assumption. Decisions were made prior to the snap, including another one to let the clock run out prior to 2 minute. We see that a lot lately, must be some crazy Ernie trend. Simms claimed it was smart until he claimed it was stupid in hindsight.

Several my ass. And what we see as misses are generally at least 50/50 split between receiver and QB let alone in this offense. High throws/low/ are made for a reason. Brady may miscalculate on occasion but coverage largely dictates what he does because no one is ever really open on this offense unless the defense blows coverage. That's just a sad reality Brady has to continue to deal with. Vereen had a breakout game last week only hereabouts that doesn't count for enough to feature you in the next week's game plan. Maybe he practiced like crap. More likely a conservative BB just squashed any ideas that might have percolated otherwise. He was the only legit speed that had and they failed to utilize it against a team that would have struggled against it. The Ravens didn't have to double anyone, single coverage negates Brady's 3 options most of the time (save Welker who gets over targeted as a result) and that allows opponents to stuff the run.
What you suspect is driven by what you chose to believe. The tape all season has told a different tale.

Great point out muscled and out coached.

 

[condon84]

We led the league in scoring even with Gronk out, scoring 35+ points a game. We then just scored 13 points yesterday with the same personnel that led the league in scoring.

 

[BSR]

Time management is on the sideline. Belichick acknowledged that in his curt presser. "They" believed they'd have time to clock it. Poor assumption. Decisions were made prior to the snap, including another one to let the clock run out prior to 2 minute. We see that a lot lately, must be some crazy Ernie trend. Simms claimed it was smart until he claimed it was stupid in hindsight.

Several my ass. And what we see as misses are generally at least 50/50 split between receiver and QB let alone in this offense. High throws/low/ are made for a reason. Brady may miscalculate on occasion but coverage largely dictates what he does because no one is ever really open on this offense unless the defense blows coverage. That's just a sad reality Brady has to continue to deal with. Vereen had a breakout game last week only hereabouts that doesn't count for enough to feature you in the next week's game plan. Maybe he practiced like crap. More likely a conservative BB just squashed any ideas that might have percolated otherwise. He was the only legit speed that had and they failed to utilize it against a team that would have struggled against it. The Ravens didn't have to double anyone, single coverage negates Brady's 3 options most of the time (save Welker who gets over targeted as a result) and that allows opponents to stuff the run.

What you suspect is driven by what you chose to believe. The tape all season has told a different tale.

One of the most lucid and well written assessments I've read on here in a while. The good news is that it is correctable. The bad news is that we've had the same issues for several years in a row, especially without Gronk.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Welker, Hernandez, Lloyd isn't chopped liver.

Welker is over worked, including on punts given his age and importance. Hernandez is just another TE absent Gronkowski. His focus wavers and teams can match up easier. He runs flat footed these days whether that's lingering injury related or being mentally overloaded under pressure. Lloyd is closer to chopped liver than caviar. He craves more focus but he's not consistent enough or productive enough to warrant it. He had a big drop last night everyone seems to have overlooked. Also finally had a catch with YAC. Doesn't do enough in the middle of a clogged field to fit this talent limited offense. Nor does he do enough to warrant playing him exclusively on the outside. Someone like a Smith or Bolden would work wonders. We have no legit middle deep threat nor do we have anyone (absent pre injuries Gronk) who can outmuscle coverage in tight quarters. Been that was for a long time.

 

[IllegalContact]

Are you trying to argue that Webb and McClain mean the same things to Baltimore that Gronk and Talib do to New England? Good luck there. But putting that aside, YES, Brady is playing with just as much if not more confidence now than ever before. For heaven's sake, he was an MVP candidate down the stretch, led the team to 13 wins and 500-plus points, etc., etc. Losing a playoff game doesn't make him a "choker," and it's damn hard to argue that Baltimore is "inferior" when they beat the Pats twice this year. You're going nowhere with this crazy reasoning.

the pats scored plenty of points without gronk......as for talib, webb is a better corner......end of story

you'e just making excuses........you should start working on next year's....tell yourself whatever you need to

 

[IllegalContact]

Welker is over worked, including on punts given his age and importance. Hernandez is just another TE absent Gronkowski. His focus wavers and teams can match up easier. He runs flat footed these days whether that's lingering injury related or being mentally overloaded under pressure. Lloyd is closer to chopped liver than caviar. He craves more focus but he's not consistent enough or productive enough to warrant it. He had a big drop last night everyone seems to have overlooked. Also finally had a catch with YAC. Doesn't do enough in the middle of a clogged field to fit this talent limited offense. Nor does he do enough to warrant playing him exclusively on the outside. Someone like a Smith or Bolden would work wonders. We have no legit middle deep threat nor do we have anyone (absent pre injuries Gronk) who can outmuscle coverage in tight quarters. Been that was for a long time.

LMAO....not one word about brady.......because he did all the right things......tell me another one

 

[Tunescribe]

the pats scored plenty of points without gronk......as for talib, webb is a better corner......end of story

you'e just making excuses........you should start working on next year's....tell yourself whatever you need to

you'e just making excuses........you should start working on next year's....tell yourself whatever you need to regarding Brady.

 

[the Patriot]

I didn't see a lot of guys open.