Dion in starring role
Stumps, trumps even Brady
FOXBORO — The game had been finished for about 20 minutes, the Patriots having secured a hardfought, closer-than-thescore-would-indicate 37-16 victory against the Buffalo Bills, and now the locker room was packed with media types armed with the usual questions about how it all came down.
This is when a member of the media relations staff announced quarterback Tom Brady was about to take the podium in the auditorium across the hall. This beckoning of the media usually leads to something akin to the charge of the wildebeests, for the obvious reason that Brady — greatest quarterback ever and up there on Boston’s Mount Rushmore of sports heroes with Orr, Russell and Teddy Ballgame — always, always,
always is news.
This was a little different. While it would be exaggerating to suggest Brady was playing to an empty house when he delivered his postgame remarks Sunday, it’s not unfair to say it was a soft sellout. That’s because Dion Lewis was speaking to the media in front of his locker as the Brady-isavailable announcement was being made by director of media relations Aaron Salkin, and the running back needed to be heard.
For on a day when Rex Burkhead was out with a knee injury and James White was out with an ankle injury, Lewis was out on the field having the time of his life. Literally. In carrying the ball 24 times for 129 yards, making five catches and scoring two fourthquarter touchdowns (one on a Brady pass, one on a run), Lewis submitted the finest game of his on-againoff-again NFL career.
And it could not have come at a better time for the Patriots, and not just because Burkhead and White were unavailable, but because Brady was unimpressive. Sure, he provided some fresh copy for the record book in this victory against the Bills — he now has seven seasons with 30 or more TD passes, fourth-most in NFL history — but savvy Pats followers know better. Brady establishes a record or two each time he pulls into the parking lot.
Put the records aside, though, and Brady wasn’t much in the looks department Sunday. Again. It’s not that the overall numbers were in any way bad — 21for-28 for 224 yards and two touchdowns — but this was also the fifth consecutive game in which he threw at least one interception.
Maybe it’s just me, but when Brady throws an interception, it’s usually an eye-popping, shockingly bad pass, something akin to a lucky fan being pulled from the stands as this week’s winner of the Be An NFL Quarterback Contest. This whopper, intended for Kenny Britt, was instead delivered to the mitts of Bills safety Jordan Poyer, who then galloped into the end zone for a touchdown.
Brady has been a little iffy for five weeks now. Maybe it’s the sideline absence of personal guru/trainer/dietician/buddy Alex Guerrero that’s giving Brady a case of the woes, or maybe he’s worn down some because this time around he doesn’t have the benefit of rest from a Roger Goodell-mandated four-game vacation.
No attempt will be made here to suggest the Pats are limping into the playoffs with an old, tiring quarterback. If history has taught us anything, it’s that you write off Brady at the risk of looking silly. (Paging Max Kellerman!) And while it’s Cliche City to roll it out there that a team must have “lots of weapons” to win in the NFL, we all can agree that Dion Lewis is a nice “weapon” to have as the Pats prepare for the playoffs.
Those members of the media who were able to pry themselves away from Lewis to catch some of Brady’s postgame session heard the quarterback ladle out all kinds of praise for his running back. But he also said this: “He got here, and no one really knew much about him a few years ago, and he got an opportunity and took advantage of it and played unbelievable for 10-11 weeks and then got injured and fought really hard last year to get back to full strength.”
We all know the story about that 2015 opportunity and how Lewis’ play truly
unbelievable . . . until he suffered a torn ACL during the Pats’ 27-10 victory against Washington in early November. And while it’s true we didn’t know much about Lewis when he was signed — after a couple of seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, he missed two full seasons in stints the with the Browns and Colts — before the Pats picked him up, it’s revealing that even Brady never had heard of the guy.
How anonymous a signing was Dion Lewis? This anonymous: When the Pats signed him, on Dec.31, 2014, it barely was a notebook item. Reporting for the Herald on Jan. 1, 2015, Pats beat writer Jeff Howe played it this way: “The Patriots signed defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, linebacker Rufus Johnson and running back Dion Lewis to future contracts yesterday. The players are not eligible to play this season but can join the Pats for offseason workouts.”
Other media outlets waited a few days before reporting this tiny piece of news. Some didn’t cover it at all.
Now the crowds around Dion Lewis’ locker are so big that Tom Brady must be wondering if there’s a traffic jam somewhere.