Forever? Not quite
Celebration was just that
NBC cameras caught an interesting moment between Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in the aftermath of the Patriots’ wild 43-40 win over the Chiefs last Sunday night, won largely because of a 39-yard con- nection between the two.
Brady and Gronkowski exchanged the typical postgame pleasantries with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce around midfield, then the quarterback grabbed the tight end.
“Are you kidding me? We’re playing forever,” Brady excitedly said. “You know that.”
Winning a game like that might make a player say something pretty extreme. Some took it literally, that Brady was never going to retire. Others simply thought he was feeling the high of a great win.
I went to the source himself. To Brady, this wasn’t a declaration on the future. It was more an expression of joy over a job well done.
It just doesn’t get old for the GOAT. Even in his 19th season, Brady still loves that feeling of accomplishment with his teammates, and with Gronk in particular.
“We’re good friends. I thought we accomplished something pretty special,” Brady told me at his locker on Wednesday. “Playing a team that’s 5-0, making the plays at the end when we needed to, I think we were both just excited in the moment. It was a great feeling.
“Any time you play with people for long periods of time, you have a deep bond with them. I’ve played with Rob for a long time, I’ve played with Jules (Julian Edelman) for a long time, Matt Slater. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. When you have those ups, it’s just a great feeling. It’s a great moment of camaraderie.”
Maybe the fact he’s still able to have those moments at age 41 added to his giddiness. He’s not supposed to be this good at this age, and he did it against the league’s next great quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
Brady didn’t want to make it about age versus youth, or any battle with Mahomes.
“I think for anyone in their job, it’s always exciting when you do something well, and you go up against ... I would say it was — I wouldn’t say it was long odds — but it was tough competition,” he said. “You put a lot into it. I think we all invest a lot of time and energy and commitment to getting it done right. And when you do it, it’s something to celebrate.”
And what did Gronkowski make of Brady’s “we’re playing forever” remark? He also took it as celebrating a dramatic win.
“It was definitely one of those in-the-moment, after-a-big-win kind of deals,” said Gronk on Thursday, prior to the news about his back injury. “You want to share it (with one of your guys), because you put all the work in together, and with a win like that, you want to share it with each other.”
Brady probably felt like he could play forever after a win like that. As the scene played out, Gronkowski didn’t argue. He wasn’t about to spoil the party.
Different animal
While I had Brady for a few minutes, I also wanted to get his view on all the record-setting numbers being put up by quarterbacks and offenses this season.
The 4,489 points scored and 504 touchdowns are the most in NFL history after six weeks. There’s been a hike in touchdown passes, quarterback rating, pass attempts, completion percentage. Name it, there’s been a bump.
What does Brady think about all these record-setting numbers?
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought much about it,” he said. “I love the sport. I love the game. I love the mental and physical toughness of the sport. And I hope that never goes away.”
Brady then talked about major differences from how the sport was when he first started. We got into the penalties now being called and how that’s affected how he plays.
“So many great players that I’ve watched that brought certain elements to the game, like Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau. Ray Lewis. That style is harder to find nowadays,” he said. “I used to worry when I was young about throwing the ball across the middle because I was worried about guys getting knocked out of the game. You just didn’t do it. I think you can throw the ball anywhere now. That’s a big difference. It favors offenses and scoring. People have to adjust.”
Gronkowski, Edelman and Chris Hogan, who still get popped pretty good and have gotten hurt on plays over the middle, might dispute that notion a bit. But in general, the point is valid.
“I agree in a way,” said Gronkowski. “I would say it’s not as reckless going through the middle. It’s more, you can throw it in the middle and you know that defender has to have good tackling form to take you out instead of being reckless and just smashing you, using just any part (of his body) and just smashing you anywhere.
“So I’d say it’s a lot more safer (to go across the middle), but I would say you can still get a nice lick in, but it’s going to be a clean lick, instead of a smash.”
All of the rules now make it much easier for any quarterback, though Brady said “easy” wasn’t the right word.
“It’s just different,” he said. “The field is bigger and wider. There’s less aggressiveness.”
Gronkowski doesn’t mind, especially with the emphasis on the rules that protect quarterbacks. And if the offensive numbers go up, so be it.
“Quarterbacks are a huge part of the game,” said Gronk, “so it’s good to be protecting them better. That’s how I see it.”
Patriots hangover
Here’s a little item. What do the Texans, Jaguars, Lions, Dolphins and Colts all have in common, aside from being the first five opponents on the Patriots schedule?
All five of those teams were losers the week after playing the Patriots. A Patriots hangover.
The Texans lost at Gillette Stadium on opening week, then lost to the Titans (and Giants) before winning their last three.
The Jaguars beat the Pats in their AFC Championship Game rematch, but lost to the Titans the next week to start a run of three losses in four games. They’ve really fallen off the map.
The Lions downed the Pats in Detroit, Matt Patricia beating his former team, then lost to the Cowboys before rebounding with a win over the Packers.
The Dolphins got smoked in Foxboro, then lost at Cincinnati. The Colts also got spanked by the Pats, then lost to the Jets the next week.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. We’ll see what happens to the Chiefs when they host the Bengals today. Sunday night’s game against the Patriots was a pretty significant regular season game. Maybe they’ll break the spell. They’re tough to beat at Arrowhead. Can Baker bounce back?
Baker Mayfield is coming off his worst performance to date, when the Chargers blew out his Browns last week. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley had some advice for his rookie quarterback, who was sacked five times for the second week in a row. For Mayfield to bounce back, he needs to get rid of the ball quicker.
“There were just plenty of opportunities where the ball could have come out quick,” said Haley via Cleveland.com. “There were plenty of opportunities where a safer decision could have been made.”
Haley said Mayfield can’t always wait for the perfect play or perfect opportunity. It’s not always going to materialize.
“The biggest learning that can come out of that game is that guys aren’t going to be as open as you want them to be,” he said. “Then it’s on him to make the decisions. You can save a lot of pain and suffering with that ball coming out quick to your first read.
“It is not going to always look perfect, but he is a good enough thrower that he is quite capable of putting the ball where it needs to go. We’ve had a good week thus far of taking that tape, breaking it down and really trying to grow from it.”
Accepting the blame
Meanwhile, the Titans are trying to recover from having Marcus Mariota sacked 11 times last week by the Baltimore Ravens. That’s not a good look no matter which way you slice it. He has to be hearing footsteps in his sleep.
“That’s where I’ve got to step in and do a better job of making sure we’ve got some throws that get the ball out of his hands, or scheme up different protections.” offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said via The Tennessean. “You know, credit to Baltimore: They did a good job and I think there’s a reason they’re the No. 1 defense right now. They’re a talented group. But bottom line, we’ve got to be better. We expect better, and we know we can be better.”
The blame pie for all of those sacks?
“Oh, it’s a collective group. And again, it starts with me,” he said. “But certainly, everybody had their spots. Whether it was, you know, up front. Whether it was quarterback. Running backs, receivers maybe not getting open and the timing of the play. So everybody played a part in that. It’s never one person. But again, I take responsibility for that, and I’ve got to be better for our guys.”