INJURY THROWS BRADY
Hurts hand in practice, but should play Sunday
FOXBORO — If there’s a recipe for beating the Patriots, it’s making Tom Brady uncomfortable.
Well, even though a teammate accidentally ran into him at practice yesterday, Brady should be able to play in the AFC Championship Game against Jackson- ville on Sunday but will do so with discomfort in his throwing hand.
Brady jammed the right hand, according to a source, and while X-rays revealed no structural damage, there was some residual swelling.
To borrow a popular phrase in these parts, this is not what you’re looking for. Not now, not one win from a trip to Minneapolis and a defense of your Super Bowl title.
Yes, it’s Brady, and he has superhuman powers, and maybe throws for 300 yards with three touchdowns all with a balloon-sized right hand. Because that’s who he is, and who he has been for 18 seasons.
But, having a bad right throwing hand four days before Sunday’s game against Tom Coughlin’s Jaguars still is a little disconcerting. Brady pretty much put on a clinic on Saturday night against the Titans, completing 35-of-53 passes for 337 yards with three touchdowns. You have to wonder if this is a red flag that Sunday could lead to something unexpected for the Patriots.
As it is, he’ll be dealing with the Jaguars’ awesome pass rush. He’ll be doing his best to dodge their front four and stay out of harm’s way, as they were second in the league in sacks with 55. The assumption is he’ll attempt to do so with his quick delivery and the Pats’ quickstrike offense. How much will his accuracy be impacted by the wounded hand come Sunday?
Hard to say, although sources told the Herald’s Jeff Howe that four days out Brady’s performance against the Jaguars shouldn’t be an issue as long as the treatment goes according to plan, especially in the initial 24 hours.
Brady did seem to struggle a bit with his accuracy when he was listed with an Achilles problem. He tended to throw flat-footed, underthrowing the long balls.
Right now, it’s unclear how much Brady will be able to practice during the week given the swelling that occurred immediately after suffering the injury. Brian Hoyer is the backup and only other quarterback on the roster, so he could very well be a busier man during the week.
There’s also no Jimmy Garoppolo to come to the rescue. And if this injury ultimately proves to be a bigger issue, the deadline trade of Jimmy G might very well come back to haunt them and, at the very least, once again become a hot topic no one wants to deal with.
No doubt Brady will be tended to around the clock. Yesterday, the media antennas first went up when the Patriots quarterback didn’t show up for a scheduled press conference.
The word given for his absence was that he was being tended to by medical personnel and would later show up on the injury report. The Herald learned about the mishap at practice from a source. He was hit by friendly fire, as one of his teammates ran into him.
The 40-year-old, however, has never missed a playoff start during his career. In fact, Brady is 26-9 in the postseason. And, he’s never lost to the Jaguars. He’s 7-0, having thrown 17 touchdown passes with just two picks.
For a quarterback, however, an injury to your throwing hand and dealing with the ramifications of that isn’t the best news. Brady thought avoiding pass rushers Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson, Calais Campbell and Dante Fowler Jr. was going to be hard enough.
Brady, of course, will do his best to find a way.
“He always steps it up,” tight end Rob Gronkowski said of Brady yesterday. “(He is) a big-time player and whenever the pressure is on, no matter when it is, he always steps up.”