New England Patriots: Should we be worried about Tom Brady?
While the New England Patriots are at 9-1, Tom Brady has not been playing like a star. How concerned should fans be about the legend at quarterback?
Overall, the New England Patriots were able to do what was necessary on the road in Philadelphia on Sunday. The elite defense shut down the run game and, outside of Zach Ertz, limited the passing attack as well. The result was a 17-10 victory for the Patriots that moves them to 9-1 off their bye week, clearly in control of the AFC East and conference as a whole.
Make no mistake, though, it was the Patriots defense that earned them this victory. The New England offense was pedestrian at best, getting nothing going in the first quarter, scoring on three field goals in the second quarter and the only touchdown coming on a pass from Julian Edelman to Phillip Dorsett.
Absent from that scoring is quarterback Tom Brady. And that makes sense when you consider that the 42-year old went just 26-of-47 (55.3 percent) for only 216 yards, no scores and no interceptions. It was a pedestrian performance at the helm of an offense that needs a spark.
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What’s shocking about the performance of Brady was that it seemed to be a matchup primed for him to have a breakout November outing. Though they’re healthier now, the Eagles secondary has been abysmal this season. And with Edelman, Dorsett and Mohamed Sanu in tow, you would’ve thought Brady would turn it on and take advantage out of the bye.
That obviously didn’t happen and now continues a wildly mediocre season by Brady’s standards. Right now, Brady is on track to have his worst completion rate (63.7 percent) since the 2013 season. Moreover, he’s paced for 22 touchdowns, which would be the lowest total since 2001 (save for the 2008 season where he tore his ACL in the opener).
Raising more eyebrows is just watching Brady on the field. The throws aren’t as crisp as they were even last season and his playmaking just isn’t at the level it once was. He looks like a player that age may have finally caught up to, which begs the question if we should be concerned about Tom Brady after 11 weeks?
Based on everything that we’ve seen this season, the answer is yes. Brady does not look like the same player he’s been for so long. Obviously he’s not in his physical prime but he’s still shown he can be a sure hand that can dominate a game previously. We haven’t seen that this year, especially of late with four touchdown passes in his last five games.
However, my belief is that our eyes are lying to us. As of right now, Brady is playing in conservation mode. He knows that his defense is good enough to keep them in any game. Moreover, the future Hall-of-Famer knows that the Patriots don’t need to flip the switch right now. They are the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a one-game lead and are dominating the AFC East. There’s no need to turn it up a notch right now.
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Maybe this will be proven wrong and maybe concern about Brady is warranted this year. Maybe this is the year where he’s truly lost a step. But it’s just as likely that we’re being slow-played once again and, as the Patriots gear up for the postseason and in the playoffs, we’ll see the legendary Tom Brady live up to that moniker once again.