New England Patriots: Tom Brady will be best QB in Week 6

We’ve seen some phenomenal performances from Arizona Cardinals veteran Carson Palmer, maligned Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Andy Dalton, and Green Bay Packers reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers this season, but if you have New England Patriots legend Tom Brady as the top quarterback in the NFL this season, then I wouldn’t be able to come up with a conclusive argument to change your mind. Even if you think another QB has been better than Brady this season (a perfectly valid take if the right argument is constructed), it’s hard to find a safer option around the league to have a monster Week 1.

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Despite the best efforts of shutdown cornerback Vontae Davis, who has been one of the best ten CBs in the league this season, the Colts pass defense has been unsurprisingly atrocious. They don’t put enough pressure on the quarterback, they allow the fifth-most net yards per pass attempt through the air, and just about the only redeeming quality is the fact that they’ve forced five interceptions.

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The turnovers won’t be a problem for the Patriots offense, because Brady doesn’t have a single pick this season, and even Rodgers has two such miscues. Yes, Brady has benefited from facing the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers defenses, but he also made mincemeat out of a Buffalo Bills secondary that has picked off seven passes, allowed the sixth-least net yards per pass attempt, and boasts an elite CB duo.

With a 72.5% completion percentage that is the third-best in the league, Brady’s lack of errors has made defending the Patriots offense a frustrating task. They consistently move the ball up and down the field, and Brady’s ability to spread the ball around a variety of quick-hitting weapons is enough to neutralize even the most vicious of pass rushes. Greg Hardy was a wrecking ball in Week 5, and yet Brady, as he always does, made the pocket his you-know-what.

Not only is Brady completing passes at a high pace, tossing touchdowns frequently, and putting up 8.7 yards per pass attempt, but he’s also racking up a higher volume of yardage than anyone else. His 346.8 passing yards per game average leads all QBs by more than 20 yards. If that’s not impressive enough, I failed to mention that his 121.5 QB Rating makes him the only QB with a QB Rating above 120.0.

This all does not bode well for the Colts, who will also have to prove to the rest of the NFL that they can stop a hard-nosed rusher like LeGarrette Blount for once. The Patriots rushing attack has produced just 3.9 yards per carry as a whole, but that average doesn’t tell an accurate story. Blount is putting up 4.7 yards per pop, and Dion Lewis has a robust 5.0 yards per carry average to his credit. Blount has 52.0 rushing yards per game, Lewis is at 45.0 yards per game, and this ground attack is not to be messed with.

That provides Brady with additional support, allowing him to have an even easier time picking apart holes in an opponent’s defense, and no quarterback is better at diagnosing those mis-matches post-snap. Quick, efficient, surgical, and precise are adjectives that come to mind when describing Brady, and he has indeed been a man on a mission post-peak DeflateGate drama.

Oct 11, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws in the pocket against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Colts have actually done a decent job at covering tight ends this season when looking at numbers provided by Pro Football Reference, but we haven’t seen a single team stop Rob Gronkowski to this point.

Heck, we haven’t seen anyone stop Julian Edelman or Lewis for that matter, and while the sample size is just four games, I have a hard time buying into anybody taking away Brady’s weapons until I see someone do it.

What makes defending the Patriots pass-catchers so difficult is the fact that Brady can find weaknesses so quickly, as well as the fact that his receivers are, for the most part, extremely adept at getting open in a short period of time.

And you can only imagine how good this offense will be when “X” receiver Brandon LaFell, who had 74 catches for 953 yards last season, returns from his foot injury.

No team has more yards of offense, first downs, or passing touchdowns than the Patriots this season, and their 7.7 net yards per attempt average ranks third. Indianapolis’s pass defense isn’t terrible, but their lack of depth at corner could prove to be especially detrimental against Brady and the Pats.

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