Brady says little when quizzed on hurt hand
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady is staying mum on his status for Sunday’s AFC championship game after injuring his right hand earlier this week.
Speaking during his news conference Friday, the veteran quarterback and five-time Super Bowl winner was a bit contentious when asked whether he would play in New England’s home game against Jacksonville. “We’ll see,” he answered. Brady wore red gloves and responded to several other questions about how much he practiced or how the injury to his throwing hand happened with “I’m not talking about that.”
Brady is listed as questionable for Sunday after being a limited participant in practice Friday. He was also limited Wednesday. He sat out practice Thursday but wore a glove on his injured hand during the stretching period open to reporters. He usually wears a glove on his left hand, though not his right.
One thing Brady was clear about was the test the Patriots (14-3) can expect from the Jaguars (12-6), whose defense ranked second in the NFL in total and scoring defense this season.
“It’s a very unique challenge,” Brady said. “I think their front three, their linebackers, are very instinctive and very fast. And great cover guys in the secondary. Ball-hawking defense. They strip it off you, they sack you. … So they’re a good defense.”
Brady appeared on the Patriots’ weekly injury report several times during the latter half of this season with injuries to both his Achilles’ tendon and his left shoulder. The four-time Super Bowl MVP has never missed a playoff start during his 18-year career.
“Tom always tends to show up in big games. This is a big game,” New England receiver Danny Amendola said. “(He’s) super tough. The toughest. He’s a warrior, he’s a competitor and there’s really only one reason why he’s here, and that’s to play football. “
Jacksonville is preparing as if Brady will be in the huddle as usual. Jaguars defensive tackle Marcell Dareus said typical methods of rattling a quarterback don’t apply when it comes to him.
“You can hit Brady, but hitting him isn’t what’s going to get to him. It’s constantly being that gnat in his face. He just hates that gnat just always around,” said Dareus, who might be the Jacksonville player most familiar with Brady, having spent more than six seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who play New England twice each season as an AFC East team.
“You sack him, he’s going to get up and just keep rolling. He’s that competitive spirit, like, ‘OK, you got me. Now I’m fixing to go throw this touchdown the next play. Forty yards. You happy about that sack? But there you go.’ That’s just his mentality. I like it. I love playing against the guy. He’s phenomenal to watch.”
If for some reason Brady can’t go — no, the world won’t stop rotating on its axis and New England still would show up to play — the Patriots would look to backup Brian Hoyer. His last playoff start was the antithesis of a Brady performance. Playing for Houston in its AFC wild-card matchup with Kansas City in January 2016, Hoyer completed 15 of 34 passes for 136 yards with no touchdowns and five turnovers (including four interceptions) in a 30-0 loss.
Hoyer, who is in his second stint with New England, was acquired at midseason when the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco.
“I’m always preparing to play,” Hoyer said Thursday, “because the truth of reality is you never know when your name’s going to be called.”
For the Patriots, no quarterback’s name has been called in the playoffs other than Brady’s since the 1990s.
Including the postseason, the Jaguars have scored eight defensive touchdowns this season, three more than any other team. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey had four interceptions during the regular season and one in the wild-card win over Buffalo.
He expects to see Brady on the field Sunday.
“He’s going to be out there, he’s going to play,” Ramsey said, “he’s going to play to his best of ability and do what he does.”