What's up with all this Brady is declining crap??

[upstater1]

Have to disagree with you there. The pick by Gronk was pretty blatant. It didn't help that he threw his hands up in the air in an abvious attempt to make it seem like the guy ran into him. Pulled that move right from the NBA. The game announcers said it was a good call.

Gronk almost made a miraculous one handed catch. Wouldnt really classify it as a drop.

He wasn't moving, he can do whatever he wants. Every single analyst who saw that yesterday said it was a really bad call, and I'm talking about people who don't like the Patriots much on nfl.com. Even Steve Mariucci weighed in against the refs on that one, finally. Mariucci was a big defender of the OT penalty. Thought the pick play on Gronk was something that is considered legal 99% of the time.

 

[RIpats88]

was Brady any worse yesterday than he was in last years loss to the ravens, the loss to the Giants, or the loss to the Jets in 2010(his mvp year)?? not at all..and those teams had welker. its been a common thread against teams with strong front 7's

i'm not worried about brady quite honestly....he's spent half the year without his top 3 projected pass catchers together, no TE help basically and throwing to rookies learning on the fly/Edelman

Now, you've got the best TE in football back, and he'll only play better. Hopefully Amendola back from his concussion this week, and Vereen in a few weeks..we will see the brady of old..we saw glimpses of what amendola/Vereen brings in game 1, and of what gronk can do last game. but we've yet to see brady with his top pass catchers on the field in Amendola/Gronk/Edelman/vereen together

hopefully we see 3 of them on the field next week against miami and the rookies can be more complimentary players like they were originally meant to be

 

[upstater1]

was Brady any worse yesterday than he was in last years loss to the ravens, the loss to the Giants, or the loss to the Jets in 2010(his mvp year)?? not at all..and those teams had welker. its been a common thread against teams with strong front 7's

i'm not worried about brady quite honestly....he's spent half the year without his top 3 projected pass catchers together, no TE help basically and throwing to rookies learning on the fly/Edelman

Now, you've got the best TE in football back, and he'll only play better. Hopefully Amendola back from his concussion this week, and Vereen in a few weeks..we will see the brady of old..we saw glimpses of what amendola/Vereen brings in game 1, and of what gronk can do last game. but we've yet to see brady with his top pass catchers on the field in Amendola/Gronk/Edelman/vereen together

hopefully we see 3 of them on the field next week against miami and the rookies can be more complimentary players like they were originally meant to be

Brady was bad in 2 of the 3 games you mentioned, but I think we need to rewind the last SB. Brady broke the all-time record for consecutive completions that game. 18 consecutive pass completions. Unfortunately, Eli Manning was 30-40 for 300 yards.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

Brady was bad in 2 of the 3 games you mentioned, but I think we need to rewind the last SB. Brady broke the all-time record for consecutive completions that game. 18 consecutive pass completions. Unfortunately, Eli Manning was 30-40 for 300 yards.

He wasn't Bad in the ravens loss, he had only ahern and Lloyd. Welker had dropped 2 great passes at least, we had no gronk, Ridley was a non factor and vereen was gone. Brady had to try and carry the friggen team. We had no chance, especially loosing talib. It was injuries that killed that game.

2010, I don't want to talk about it lol.

 

[pheenix11]

Once this offense has at least Gronk + Vereen, or Gronk + Amendola (hopefully all 3 going into December, January) only THEN would it be fair to judge whether Brady is "declining". That's not even mentioning the dreadful o-line we've had this year, which Brady can't really control at all.

I think a lot of people don't realize how much of a BIG difference Vereen could make for us.

I think Vereen could be our Marshall Faulk. I can't wait until he is back.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I think Vereen could be our Marshall Faulk. I can't wait until he is back.

I want Faulk back

 

[TruthSeeker]

I think Vereen could be our Marshall Faulk. I can't wait until he is back.

He's gonna be a big help. Vereen may not have BLAZING speed, but he will give our running game a nice change of pace. Brady has not been Brady, and let's face it, it could be the start of the decline. 8 TD passes and games with UNDER 50% passing are just inexcusable at this point in the season. I know it's a brand new cast of receivers, and the Pat's brain trust has to take blame for that, but for Christ's sake, he's had 6 months to get on the same page by now, the young Tom Brady would have been on the same page by now. He's just not doing a good job, and he looks bad doing it.

 

[pheenix11]

I don't know if Brady is in decline but I would say that he is having his worst season.

55% completion percentage, 75 QB rating, 6 yards per attempt. These numbers are even worse than 2006 when he had no weapons.

His decision making has been poor, his accuracy has been off and he locks onto certain players too often. What happened to the guy whose favorite receiver was the open one?

 

[Kdo5]

I don't think declining is the right word. Just struggling. We are used to Brady playing at a high level most of the time. I'm sure he'll bounce back but he's finally having a rough streak like many NFL players. But apparently that automatically means he is in decline.

 

[alvinnf]

He hasn't looked that good. In fairness to him, his receiving core is brand new. He'll be fine, the only thing that makes me nervous is his"locking" on to guys. I don't think JMD is doing him any favors by not running the ball. 17 targets to Gronk, not good. His coaching staff has to do a better job helping him maximize the talent around him. Unfortunately I have no faith in JMD doing so....

 

[Deus Irae]

It's too bad that Unoriginal doesn't come around much anymore, because his input would be great on this. He's the sort who'd take the time to break down the film, look at the variables, and post the screenshots while making his points.

 

[ausbacker]

It's too bad that Unoriginal doesn't come around much anymore, because his input would be great on this. He's the sort who'd take the time to break down the film, look at the variables, and post the screenshots while making his points.

He's probably too busy writing for ESPN these days.

 

[Captain Cliche]

I'm glad someone had the nuts start this thread. Brady declining...blasphemy.
Brady used to put up a stinker at least once every season. Now it seems like every other game.

I don't get to see many games so maybe it is like time lapse. This is not the Brady I remember. I remember if you could count 1-2-3 seconds he would carve up a defence. If Brady missed a wide open reciever deep he would be visibly upset with himself. Now he blames it on the receiver. I hope it is related to a sore hand, because he is way off his game.

 

[supafly]

I'm glad someone had the nuts start this thread. Brady declining...blasphemy.
Brady used to put up a stinker at least once every season. Now it seems like every other game.

I don't get to see many games so maybe it is like time lapse. This is not the Brady I remember. I remember if you could count 1-2-3 seconds he would carve up a defence. If Brady missed a wide open reciever deep he would be visibly upset with himself. Now he blames it on the receiver. I hope it is related to a sore hand, because he is way off his game.

When all is said and done we may find out that this is one of Brady's best seasons of all-time, not numbers wise, but as an on-field coach and mentor to the 3 new receivers of Thompkins, Dobson, and Collie. I would be very curious to see what great QB's like Manning, Brees, or Rodgers would be looking like with their top 5 targets from last year gone. How would they be looking with 3 new young guys, the replacement to Welker gone about 70% of the time so far, and one game with their pro bowl TE?

Did you know that Thompkins recently stated in an interview that Brady "calls and texts him directly after practice and all through the evening just about every single day" talking about routes, film that they watched, things that went right, and things that can be improved upon? Talk about dedication....

These current receivers are finally starting to make some plays, which shows some improvement, but they're still a group of total misfits compared to what most real NFL QB's have to work with. Brady has had to babysit this group, and is being asked to do way too much in my opinion.

Thompkins dropped 2 more passes yesterday, and Dobson dropped 2 very key passes in last week's game. Even more importantly, they are both continuing to run the wrong routes (as shown by NFL films last week on the Brady INT when Dobson was supposed to clear out the other CB), run improper/poorly run routes (as shown by Dobson's refusal to stop and come back on the back shoulder throw that could've won the game in OT yesterday), and also on Thompkins' poorly rounded off route on the deeper sideline throw that should've gone for huge yardage yesterday.

Sure, maybe some of it is on Brady, but the majority of it is still due to a lack of targets, him being forced to hold onto the ball too long, and the inability of these rookies to do their damn jobs properly. Like I said, maybe they are continuing to progress, but there are a ton of obvious situations where they are still continuing to make the exact same mistakes in key situations too.

 

[Efstratios]

When all is said and done we may find out that this is one of Brady's best seasons of all-time, not numbers wise, but as an on-field coach and mentor to the 3 new receivers of Thompkins, Dobson, and Collie. I would be very curious to see what great QB's like Manning, Brees, or Rodgers would be looking like with their top 5 targets from last year gone. How would they be looking with 3 new young guys, the replacement to Welker gone about 70% of the time so far, and one game with their pro bowl TE?

Did you know that Thompkins recently stated in an interview that Brady "calls and texts him directly after practice and all through the evening just about every single day" talking about routes, film that they watched, things that went right, and things that can be improved upon? Talk about dedication....

These current receivers are finally starting to make some plays, which shows some improvement, but they're still a group of total misfits compared to what most real NFL QB's have to work with. Brady has had to babysit this group, and is being asked to do way too much in my opinion.

Thompkins dropped 2 more passes yesterday, and Dobson dropped 2 very key passes in last week's game. Even more importantly, they are both continuing to run the wrong routes (as shown by NFL films last week on the Brady INT when Dobson was supposed to clear out the other CB), run improper/poorly run routes (as shown by Dobson's refusal to stop and come back on the back shoulder throw that could've won the game in OT yesterday), and also on Thompkins' poorly rounded off route on the deeper sideline throw that should've gone for huge yardage yesterday.

Sure, maybe some of it is on Brady, but the majority of it is still due to a lack of targets, him being forced to hold onto the ball too long, and the inability of these rookies to do their damn jobs properly. Like I said, maybe they are continuing to progress, but there are a ton of obvious situations where they are still continuing to make the exact same mistakes in key situations too.

It's frustrating seeing Dobkins still making these mistakes 7 weeks into the season, but horrifyingly enough, I'm even more concerned about the state of the O-line. Even if our two rookies limit their errors, it doesn't fix the fact that Brady's been getting sacked at an alarmingly high rate.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

When all is said and done we may find out that this is one of Brady's best seasons of all-time, not numbers wise, but as an on-field coach and mentor to the 3 new receivers of Thompkins, Dobson, and Collie. I would be very curious to see what great QB's like Manning, Brees, or Rodgers would be looking like with their top 5 targets from last year gone. How would they be looking with 3 new young guys, the replacement to Welker gone about 70% of the time so far, and one game with their pro bowl TE?

Did you know that Thompkins recently stated in an interview that Brady "calls and texts him directly after practice and all through the evening just about every single day" talking about routes, film that they watched, things that went right, and things that can be improved upon? Talk about dedication....

These current receivers are finally starting to make some plays, which shows some improvement, but they're still a group of total misfits compared to what most real NFL QB's have to work with. Brady has had to babysit this group, and is being asked to do way too much in my opinion.

Thompkins dropped 2 more passes yesterday, and Dobson dropped 2 very key passes in last week's game. Even more importantly, they are both continuing to run the wrong routes (as shown by NFL films last week on the Brady INT when Dobson was supposed to clear out the other CB), run improper/poorly run routes (as shown by Dobson's refusal to stop and come back on the back shoulder throw that could've won the game in OT yesterday), and also on Thompkins' poorly rounded off route on the deeper sideline throw that should've gone for huge yardage yesterday.

Sure, maybe some of it is on Brady, but the majority of it is still due to a lack of targets, him being forced to hold onto the ball too long, and the inability of these rookies to do their damn jobs properly. Like I said, maybe they are continuing to progress, but there are a ton of obvious situations where they are still continuing to make the exact same mistakes in key situations too.

I think you make a lot of good points Sup.
I'm not one to gloss over bad performances even if it is a proven star player. If a guy plays bad then he plays bad, doesn't matter to me that he is well loved (but a bad performance does not mean someone is "losing it"). I am reminded of the Bledsoe days when some would always have an excuse for him when, overall, his performance was in fact not good enough. Yet I don't think that is the case with Brady. As of right now the issue remains the trial and tribulations of complete newness. Something chalked up to Brady's whole equilibrium for the past several years being based on a mechanism that no longer exists (2 very good TEs and a slot pass catching machine). Then couple that with the OL playing less consistent than I'd expect and I can understand why Brady looks, at times, less than his past self. Further, many tend to paint the past rose colored. They seem to forget that Brady (just as with every QB) would have his clunkers from time to time. Yes even Brady would have some struggles at some points in seasons past -- seasons that some seem to remember as nothing but pure passing magic every week.

With that said, let's not forget one thing about all QBs (an underrated quality): His first job is to win, the stats on how that W unfolds is ultimately just ink and paper. If the team needs 7 in the fourth quarter to win, he gets them 7. If they need 3 he gets them 3. If they need 10 he gets them 10. He may not look stellar in Quarter 2 or 3 but he overall gets it done for the W, the only stat that matters. A perfect example of this right now is Alex Smith. He's doing what it takes within the framework of each game to get the win. I think you can even put Wilson from Seattle in there too (although he is a more potent scorer than Smith, he is a guy who seems to find a way to get the W even as he sometimes struggles throughout the game). For Brady, if these middling/unimpressive game stats still result in his leading a score(s) for the victory? I'm good with that given the newness of 2013.

I remain upbeat about the passing game as the season goes on. To me it seemed like the overall offense was a little out of whack with Gronk back. That which was working for the Patriots against Atl and NO was not being done so as much with the Jets (IMHO). I'm hoping it was a case of more growing pains from the new passing offense that has just added yet another new wrinkle (remember that Gronk was never a part of the JE-KT-Dobson passing game, and add in Collie too). I'm hoping that BB and JM need a week or two to blend the elements together optimally, to get everyone on the same page, to see how the new guys can benefit from different plays/routes/whatever that the presence of Gronk can open up even more. Then getting our best, by far, backfield receiver on the field in a few weeks? The passing game being more potent should be axiomatic (assuming the OL can raise their consistency a bit). Yet if these elements all come into place and the lack of potency continues without improvement? It will then be a fair time to wonder where the issue is which includes the play of Brady.

 

[BrickPat]

The folks who deny that Brady's play has largely been sub par are actually insulting him. By that I mean can you remember another season where Brady made so many inaccurate passes? To infer there has been no decline this season is to infer he has always been inaccurate.

Obviously the new WRs and OL have been a factor in the offensive struggles but Brady has made more than a few shockingly poor throws. I don't remember Brady making so many inaccurate passes during the Reche Caldwell / Doug Gabriel era.

Having said all that I don't think his play has permanently declined...I think there its more of a mental thing this season because of ongoing frustration with the unreliable rooks and the oft injured Ras I Amendola. I have a feeling that the front office will be active in the off season WR market like they were after '06. If that happens I think Brady will revert back to unstoppable beast mode.

 

[Kontradiction]

The folks who deny that Brady's play has largely been sub par are actually insulting him. By that I mean can you remember another season where Brady made so many inaccurate passes? To infer there has been no decline this season is to infer he has always been inaccurate.

Obviously the new WRs and OL have been a factor in the offensive struggles but Brady has made more than a few shockingly poor throws. I don't remember Brady making so many inaccurate passes during the Reche Caldwell / Doug Gabriel era.

Having said all that I don't think his play has permanently declined...I think there its more of a mental thing this season because of ongoing frustration with the unreliable rooks and the oft injured Ras I Amendola. I have a feeling that the front office will be active in the off season WR market like they were after '06. If that happens I think Brady will revert back to unstoppable beast mode.

Which season did Brady spend such a large part working without his #1 target in the passing game and instead throwing to two rookies, one of which an undrafted FA and decent slot receiver who also went undrafted? This is the hardest offense to master. The WR's have either been running the wrong option routes, rounding their routes off, or dropping the ball when they do run the right routes. Not excusing Brady for the bad throws he's made, because he has made them (the INT late against New Orleans was a bad decision and throw, the pick-6 vs. the Jets was a bad throw that should have had more air under it, just to provide two examples). But he's been given very little to work with to this point and has to rely on young pass catchers mastering the hardest offense to learn in the league, which is a shame at this point in his career.

 

[Observer]

Don't know if he is declining or not but he is definitely not good enough to overcome deficiencies that the receivers may have and still play at elite level. Add to that the fact that the O-line's long standing weakness is getting very exposed because the ball is not coming out as fast any more. If that wasn't enough they decided the best receiver on the team was not worth keeping and we are left with this mess.
Brady is good but not as good as our management thought.

 

[Kontradiction]

Don't know if he is declining or not but he is definitely not good enough to overcome deficiencies that the receivers may have and still play at elite level. Add to that the fact that the O-line's long standing weakness is getting very exposed because the ball is not coming out as fast any more. If that wasn't enough they decided the best receiver on the team was not worth keeping and we are left with this mess.
Brady is good but not as good as our management thought.

Brady's good but BB the GM has made some awful mistakes since winning his last Super Bowl. Replacing the amount of yardage and production we had in the passing game last season with two rookies and a guy that's a walking injury is just one of them.