Brady 1st QTR INT's in the Playoffs - Concern or just Coincidence?

[TedyB54]

So, looking back now at 4 playoff games (Ravens '09, Jets '10, Broncos '11 and Ravens '11), in each of them Brady has thrown 1st Quarter INTs that have taken points off the board for the Pats and led to scores for their opponents.

It's odd to see that happen given how infrequently he throws picks, but for some reason in the playoffs he's made that mistake early and it has sometimes set the tone for the game.

Granted they were able to overcome it pretty easily against Denver this year, but in the other 3 the point swing and the momentum shifts were crucial to the final outcome.

It was good to see the Patriots overcome the mistakes last night and not let things get out of hand. Ravens were a formidable opponent and the Pats really showed some character and determination to pull that one out.

INTs are bad any time during a game, so here's to a clean start (and finish) in the Super Bowl!

Go Pats! :rocker:

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Well, lets face it..... He was playing a pretty good defense out there. They were EVERYWHERE on coverage and Brady was very much struggling with it. Giants aren't even remotely close to as good of a coverage team and the key to that game will be the Offensive Line protecting Brady.

Brady will be fine.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

After starting lose in the playoffs - Colts, Denver, Giants, Ravens, Jets - Brady has gotten tighter in his play - I guess that happens when you have 3 SB wins and you expect it of yourself..

 

[Mike in 333]

I'm much less worried about his 1st quarter interceptions than about the type of throw like the 4th quarter interception in the end zone. Whatever was behind the design of that play was deeply flawed given the score, field position and time left. The fact that Tom threw the ball has to be a little concerning, Slater was in double coverage from the get-go. The 1st quarter interception was a really ugly play but there's time to recover, late game interceptions are usually far more damaging.

 

[Belichicknumber1]

Brady seems to struggle vs Pro Bowl safeties he seems gun shy to throw certain in routes when there is smart safties on the field

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

On the INT into the end zone it didn't even seem like (Slater?) was under the ball to catch it anyhow. You'd think he would have been in line with the pass unless he knew it was to far and tried pulling the defender away?

 

[Guts]

Don't know, but 4 straight postseason games with int is concerning...he seems to impatient at times needs to breathe and relax.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Anyone listening to Suggs on the Bayless show? Was it me or did Suggs say Brady had "four interceptions"?

 

[NEP4Life]

One very interesting stat is that Brady hasn't had a zero-interception playoff game since returning from the knee injury.

Before the injury, in 17 playoff games, Brady had 10 zero-interception games, more than half his games.

Since the injury, Brady has not had a playoff game with a passer rating above 90. Before, 7 of 17 playoff games with a passer rating above 90.

Added: For comparison, in their respective Super Bowl championship years, Rodgers was above 100 in 3 of 4 playoff games and Brees was above 100 in all 3 of his.

 

[Mike in 333]

Don't know, but 4 straight postseason games with int is concerning...he seems to impatient at times needs to breathe and relax.

Agreed, he always plays best when he looks like he's having fun, yesterday he just seemed a little tense and while he was pretty effective against a really tough defense, I think the Tom Brady of legend wasn't completely there. You have to give the Ravens D a lot of credit because they did a lot of the things that have rattled Tom in the past but you have give Tom a lot of credit because he was able to play through it.

 

[Haley]

I think opposing teams must decide that the only way to beat Brady is to shake him by ball hawking an early interception. I honestly believe it part of these defensive game plans to give up some coverage in the hopes of an int in Q1.

 

[Mark.]

Anyone listening to Suggs on the Bayless show? Was it me or did Suggs say Brady had "four interceptions"?

I think he did have 4-One was overturned on a defensive holding penalty. Can't remember if the other one was actually caught or dropped.

 

[Dr Pain]

He has not been the same since he became the greatest of all time. Too much pressure to live up to that ideal. Last night was a good example. I don’t know where those floaters came from and that int in the 4th. Brady is the best when he uses his laser short and mid range. This totally wears down the other teams defense and strengthens our defense. I am glad to see this being talked about. Psychology is a huge part of performance. Bombs and floaters haven’t worked since Moss was at his peak.

 

[Bostonian1962]

Anyone listening to Suggs on the Bayless show? Was it me or did Suggs say Brady had "four interceptions"?

I think he's referring to Brady throwing 4 ints in the game overall, but 2 of them were called back because of penalties. Thus, it was 2 officially.

 

[robbomango]

There's 4 WR's(3 not including slater) behind Branch that totaled 23 receptions over the regular season. Using guys like Slater in a game like that with 1 reception all season was risky, same goes for Edelman 4 receptions.

They need to get comfortable catching the ball with some easy passes, Fooling the ThugBirds with rusty receivers out of the blue seems illogical.

 

[NEP4Life]

The bomb is a low return pass in the playoffs unless you have a receiver who can make a play on the ball.

Plus, for a qb who doesn't get a lot of reps throwing successful bombs in game conditions to trot one out during the Afc cg seems the height of idiocy.

With this group of receivers, Brady needs to focus on ball security (ie no picks) and the short -intermediate passing game.