PERFECT SCENARIO With Brady in the wings, Pats eager to cap 4-0 start
With Brady in the wings, Pats eager to cap 4-0 start
FOXBORO — Some fans would have gladly taken a 2-2 record and been happy about that mark with the Patriots playing the first four games without Tom Brady. Even a 3-1 record would have been cause to rejoice given the circumstances.
Only, Bill Belichick won’t be satisfied with any blemish on the card, and neither will the Patriots. That’s why today is a big deal.
With a victory over the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills, the Patriots have an opportunity to pull off a clean sweep with their best player serving his Deflategate suspension.
That allows a vengeful Brady to jump back in with an unbeaten team Week 5. As scenarios go, it couldn’t play out any better than that.
So with that as a backdrop, Belichick’s message to the players during the week of preparations for the Bills likely boiled down to three words: Finish the job.
While a 3-1 start wouldn’t hurt, considering the twogame cushion they have over all three foes in the division, Belichick won’t let the players off the hook. And, by the sound of it, the players are thinking the same way. They want to be unbeaten at the quarter pole. Or, as defensive captain Devin McCourty put it, they just want to win ... period.
“I think all our guys, every time we step on the field, we want to be unbeaten, either with Tom, or without Tom,” McCourty said. “I think we still have that same mentality of going out there and wanting to win. We’re not looking for moral victories.”
Of course, longtime nemesis Rex Ryan would love nothing better than to spoil the party. The Bills (1-2) certainly aren’t going to roll over and make it easy, not with Ryan’s job in jeopardy. Win, and they’re back in the AFC East race and feeling pretty good with victories over the Pats and Cardinals. Lose, and they’re practically sunk, three games out.
Ryan, of course, is banking on the fact not having to face Brady will make his job easier today, regardless of the mystery over who will be starting. “The one thing I do know for sure is Tom Brady’s not the quarterback, and I feel good about that,” Ryan said Wednesday in his conference call with New England media.
Wonder if he’ll be feeling good about that quote being used as bulletin-board material?
Thus far, the Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett tandem have managed to steer the ship pretty well in Brady’s absence. Both are nursing injuries with Garoppolo returning from a sprained shoulder and Brissett coming back from a thumb injury.
Either quarterback could start today, although Garoppolo did look pretty good tossing the football around during the week and would be the likely choice if he can throw accurately. And while Ryan won’t have to worry about Brady, he’ll have to worry about everyone else, just as the Texans found out Thursday night. It was a collective effort between the offense (Brissett used his legs for a 27-yard touchdown scamper), defense (pitching a shutout) and special teams (forcing two turnovers that were converted into touchdowns) that got the job done without Brady.
The Patriots know it will take another effort like that to take down the scrappy Bills.
“With these guys it’s never easy. They know us well. Rex Ryan, between being in Buffalo and New York, since I’ve been here, we’ve played him numerous times. There’s not much we can do to come out and trick ’em,” McCourty said. “They’ve seen everything we have. We’ve seen everything they have. So, it’s a game where high execution is needed. So you realize, it’s just going to be a dogfight.”
Danny Amendola, who has contributed with some clutch receptions in his limited role coming back from injury, concurred.
“It’s always a tough task. They play hard. They’re a division opponent. They’re always ready to play,” Amendola said. “Rex does a good job getting those guys ready, so it’s going to be a tough matchup.”
And yet, as much as Ryan brags, boasts and predicts greatness for his teams, he’s fallen short time and time again. He still hasn’t solved the Patriots. Belichick and Brady remain his obsession.
No wonder. He’s 4-11 against the Patriots, with losses in nine of the last 10 games against the only team that’s won the AFC East title since he took over as Jets coach in 2009.
In contrast, Belichick refuses to gloat or be satisfied about anything, even while being in a position to go undefeated without Brady.
“We’re focused on getting ready for Buffalo this week. What’s in the past is in the past. We don’t really care about anything past Buffalo right now,” Belichick told Buffalo media during a conference call, when asked about doing so well without the three-time Super Bowl MVP. “We just have our hands full preparing for the Bills. They played great last week against Arizona, a team that we played two weeks ago. We know what Arizona is and they really handled them, so we’re going to have to play our best game of the year to be competitive with Buffalo (today). We know that. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Belichick won’t stray from his winning script. The Patriots have been on a mission. Now it’s time to finish the job before taking it up another notch when No. 12 returns.