Brady in danger of big Mack attack
Tom Brady hasn’t been dropped too many times this season. He’s one of the better protected quarterbacks in the league, having only been sacked eight times through six games.
Among the quarterbacks who have played in every game, that’s third best in the NFL.
PATRIOTS BEAT Karen Guregian
Still, the warning flags should be up. Brady is headed into a danger zone this weekend.
The Chicago Bears vaunted front seven was embarrassed by Brock Osweiler, of all people, in Miami on Sunday. He was supposed to provide more road kill for the Bears awesome pass rush, which already had chalked up a whopping 18 sacks in the first four games.
With the Dolphins offensive line missing two starters, Osweiler, filling in for Ryan Tannehill, wasn’t expected to have a chance against Khalil Mack and Co.
Only the sack masters came up empty. The new Monsters of the Midway laid an egg, registering no sacks in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Dolphins.
So you can bet, the Bears defense, with Mack leading the charge, will be more than ready to atone for that unexpected dip in performance.
When reached yesterday, former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker offered the view the Bears front will be talk show fodder all week in Chicago. The pass rush is their calling card. The fact the Dolphins beleaguered line kept them at bay, and the 6-foot-7 Osweiler forced them to wilt in the Miami heat, left them red-faced.
“That will be the major focus, the major talk in Chicago this week,” said Tucker, who hosts the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. “I’m sure there will be a heightened awareness, from the coaching staff and the players in Chicago, to get pressure on the quarterback, to try and get sacks, to try and get hits. That’s something the Patriots should absolutely be aware of.
“They’ve been having so much success. I mean, when you have something like that happen, that’s what everyone in Chicago is talking about this week. So they’re gonna find a way, one way or another, to get some heat on Brady.”
The Bears went from sacking the quarterback four times a game, to a big, fat zip. They can’t have the best feature of their team silenced, especially against an inferior opponent. So they just might be extra pumped to get the pass rush going against Brady.
The Patriots might also be dealing with an uncertain situation at right tackle. Marcus Cannon left Sunday night’s game with a head injury. La’Adrian Waddle finished the game at right tackle. He’s had experience against Mack, having started at right tackle against Oakland last season.
He played well against the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month in September with five sacks, four forced fumbles, a pick-six, four tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Waddle held Mack without a sack in that game. Mack did have a quarterback hit and little else.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows the importance of not letting Mack disrupt Brady and the offense.
“He’s just a great player. They have a number of guys on this defense that are really good. And, as you game plan for a team like this, you have to take into account the guys that can disrupt you on any play and create negative situations, whether that’s tackles for loss, sacks, strip sacks, turnovers . . . you have to take all that into account as you start the game-planning process,” McDaniels said on a conference call yesterday. “Hopefully we can do the best we can to try to neutralize (Mack). We’re going to have to really play well against him . . . he’s certainly at the top of the list, but there’s a lot of guys on that defense we’re going to have to do a good job on. It’s a great unit from top to bottom.”
Indeed, Chicago’s front isn’t just Mack. They also have former Patriot Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, Eddie Goldman and Danny Trevathan fortifying the group.
“They’re very good. Akiem Hicks is one of the more underrated defensive linemen in the NFL,” said Tucker, who played one game for the 2005 Patriots. “They have Leonard Floyd, a former first-round pick. He’s got some juice on the other side. He’s not Khalil Mack, but he’s good enough . . . they’ve got a pretty good group.”
Mack did suffer a right ankle injury during the Dolphins game, but played through it. The Fins chipped at him with their tight ends and running backs. That’s not an unusual strategy.
The Patriots will likely do something similar. They’ll give either Waddle or Cannon help.
“They won’t let him wreck the game. If they need to have (Rob Gronkowski) chip on the way out, if they need to slide that way, they know Mack’s a problem,” Tucker said. “It doesn’t mean he might not get some pressure every once in a while, and get a sack, but they’re not going to leave Waddle or Cannon one-onone with Khalil Mack.”
Brady has been caught a few times uncharacteristically holding the ball a little too long. He’s had a couple strip sacks, Sunday night the latest where he turned the ball over. That led to points for the Chiefs.
He’ll have to get the ball out quicker, or simply throw it away if no one’s open.
“It just was really a mental mistake, which I am not going to have any more of those this year,” Brady said of his miscue on WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan. “I won’t do anything like that again.”
There’s no question an angry Bears front will bring it on Sunday. Dante Scarnecchia’s unit will have to be up to the task.