As much as I absolutely hate to say it, Brady has not been playing well this year.

[Redman443]

His best game of the year so far passing wise has actually been game 1 against the Steelers. People have been so caught up on how good the defense has been playing that they have not thought about how Tom has been playing this year. He has never had a passer rating that is below the league average in his entire 20 year career. So far, however that has been the case, his passer rating so far is actually lower than it was in 2013 which was a hard year because of the likes of Aaron Dropson and Thompkins. I really hope this isnt the cliff and it's because of the offensive line not giving him the time he has been accustomed to in recent years or the lack of reliable weapons similar to 2013. The eagles were blanketing edelman almost the entire game, Harry is still getting accustomed to the system and Sanu was not able to get much separation throughout the game. You could say that the lack of Gronk is also causing the offense to look anemic but Brady did not have Gronk for most of 2016 and thrived in the games that he played. I seriously hope it is not the cliff and Wynn comes back and we see the Brady of old late in the season and during the playoffs because if it is the cliff, Pats are in trouble. Offense playing like it did last sunday will not cut it against Baltimore or even Kansas City. If last year's offense played against this Ravens team, it probably would have been a shootout and a win but the offense is simply not what it has been and they will have to figure it out in order to compete in the playoffs against the league's best teams. Defense can only carry you so far.

 

[Dr Pain]

Chaos on line and in receiving corp. He does not seem as mentally resilient though. He has a history of getting a bit hissy but usually grounds himself again. Its been longer this time. He seems blind to why AB had to go.

 

[upstater1]

There's a whole other thread on Brady's passing performance.

But...

I'll make just a few points.

1. Passing ratings are meaningless when they overemphasize incompletions, and our QB more than any other doesn't mind throwing the football away to avoid negative plays.

2. He's throwing the ball in like 1.5 seconds because he knows the pressure on the left is coming faster than ever before. Grant Williams would be a huge upgrade.

3. What does his passer rating look like if Edelman catches that ball?

 

[Shockt327]

Brady's fine, the offense isn't. You just pointed out all the reasons why. I also hope/believe Wynn will made a big difference.

 

[Patstastic]

Redman you are spot on. It's not all on him. But he definitely deserves some blame.

 

[nabwong]

Brady needs support, not blame. I think the whole team in general needs support, not blame. They compete hard. I don’t think this team is soft like the 2009-2010 team. This team competes but is just missing talent via injuries. There’s nothing much more I can expect of them.

 

[Kdo5]

Supply him with Wynn and AB and his stats will be looking a lot different and shut y’all up. Of course he’ll shut you up regardless in crunch time in the playoffs.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

[Max kellerman and Rob parker has entered the chat]

 

[New England Pride]

Physically, I see Brady throwing the ball and moving around within the pocket better this year than last. Give him a left tackle and a center and things would be different.

 

[jah]

Chaos on line and in receiving corp. He does not seem as mentally resilient though. He has a history of getting a bit hissy but usually grounds himself again. Its been longer this time. He seems blind to why AB had to go.

This is pretty much it. I wouldn't say blind, but Brady clearly disagrees with the release.

 

[oldrover]

Physically, I see Brady throwing the ball and moving around within the pocket better this year than last. Give him a left tackle and a center and things would be different.

Agree. One other limiting factor against PHI that I don’t think was mentioned: Dorsett going out essentially neutered their ability to go no huddle, which had worked pretty well up to that point.

 

[jmt57]

I think that we as fans tend to underestimate the negative effect of lack of cohesiveness and continuity of an offensive line. That is before figuring in the downgrade in talent with having to utilize a backup at left tackle - who spent zero time in the offseason with the team.

Now add in no Gronk, and a revolving door for your top non-slot WR/taller than 5'10 WR.


Another way of looking at the importance of the Offensive Line is to do the same comparison with our RBs as we are doing with our QB. The position as a whole has dropped a full yard per attempt, from 4.3 to 3.3 ypc. Have James White and Sony Michel suddenly dropped in talent, to the point where the team should consider replacing them?


Perhaps the common factor here is the OL, rather than the players who get their hands on the ball.

 

[Kdo5]

Chaos on line and in receiving corp. He does not seem as mentally resilient though. He has a history of getting a bit hissy but usually grounds himself again. Its been longer this time. He seems blind to why AB had to go.

Brady is pretty much in love with AB the player. Like he is the most talented receiver he was ever worked with and it got snatched away. We all saw the Dolphins game. Brady zeroed in on him straightaway.

Brady had that, and now lost it. And the offense sucks and isn’t improving.

 

[Kdo5]

Agree. One other limiting factor against PHI that I don’t think was mentioned: Dorsett going out essentially neutered their ability to go no huddle, which had worked pretty well up to that point.

Wait so we can’t do no huddle with Meyers or Harry? That’s not good.

 

[NEPats1]

IMO hes playing the same as I think in 2013 when he was throwing to Dobson and the WR from TCU.

I think Ryan is correct here:

Rex Ryan skewers Patriots offense after it struggled in win over Eagles: 'Tom Brady knows they lack talent'

 

[oldrover]

Wait so we can’t do no huddle with Meyers or Harry? That’s not good.

I think Harry was more the problem... just lack of familiarity with the roles and responsibilities due to being out so long.

 

[IllegalContact]

He has been prone to panic attacks out there caused by a lack of confidence with his protection his best game was the same one Wynn played.....Wynn will help as will the learning curves of Sanu and harry

 

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

Looked pretty good early on before the changes happened. We expect this guy to play like he did in 2007 too much, regardless of his offense.

Deserves some blame for offensive woes, sure, but wayyyyyy too much is unnecessarily placed on him.

 

[Midship]

Chaos on line and in receiving corp. He does not seem as mentally resilient though. He has a history of getting a bit hissy but usually grounds himself again. Its been longer this time. He seems blind to why AB had to go.

He didn't have to go, that's the thing.

 

[Gronkowski123]

He isn't playing with the same fire. Idk...just going through the motions