Brady buggin'
find great joy in Tom's frustatiom
IF we’re being honest: The locals haven’t had much to cheer for in this sad-sack New York football season, which has devolved into one of the worst in our history.
While the Giants were losing their eighth consecutive game Sunday at MetLife Stadium, overmatched by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, the Jets inexplicably were serving themselves up as the Bengals’ first victims of the season after an 0-11 start in Cincinnati.
So, admit it, Jets and Giants fans: As you suffered through one of the worst collective football days on Sunday, you took some delight in seeing Tom Brady melt down on the New England sideline later in the evening en route to the Patriots’ 28-22 loss to Texans in Houston.
The sight of Brady — the overprivileged golden boy of the league — angrily flipping his helmet toward the bench in frustration with an exasperated look painted to his magazinecover face after a failed offensive series in the first half was pure, unadulterated eye candy to you.
A short time later, the sight of Brady screaming at his receivers on the sideline, imploring them to “be faster, quicker, more explosive’’ with New England down 14-3 and losing a grip on the game, made you giddy.
It’s human nature for fans whose teams stink (in this case, the Giants and Jets) to take pleasure in another team’s failure and struggles — particularly when that team is the Patriots, who have won so often in the past two decades, it’s enough to make you sick with envy.
And, when you’re a fan of the 2-10 Giants or 4-8 Jets and you see Brady angered and frustrated when his team owns an NFL-best 10-2 record, their firstworld, Tiffany problems become even more maddening to you.
Brady’s frustration over the Patriots’ inconsistent offense has been simmering for weeks, highlighted by his terse postgame interview after a struggle of a win over the Eagles, a press conference he cut off after less than two minutes.
Brady’s concern about the offense is not without some merit. It’s been out of sync and devoid of the usual top talent — so much so that the Patriots were desperate enough to sign the toxic Antonio Brown earlier this season (before releasing him amidst a litany of sexual assault and intimidation allegations).
Remember all the talk of the Patriots going 16-0 this season just a few weeks ago when they were halfway there at 8-0?
A month ago, they looked like a lock to sew up the No. 1 overall playoff seed in the AFC. Now, with the loss to the Texans, coupled with the Ravens’ win over the 49ers, the Patriots fell to the No. 2 seed in the playoffs (oh, the humanity) behind Baltimore, which also is 10-2 but beat the Patriots last month.
Many New England detractors are quick to speculate (and hope) these are signs of the beginning of the end for the 42-year-old Brady and the Patriots. Not so fast. If you’re going to be objective about this, you must take history into account. This isn’t the first time the Patriots’ struggles have raised questions about whether their dynasty is about to crumble.
The Patriots and mastermind head coach Bill Belichick usually figure these things out. No coach is better at fixing problems on the fly — whether it’s adjusting in a game or reversing the trend of a slump — than Belichick.
The Patriots lost two of their final four regular-season games last year when they fell to the Dolphins and Steelers, two teams that did not get to the playoffs in 2018, in Week 14 and 15, respectively.
Then they went on to win the Super Bowl.
So, panicking Patriots fans might take a cue from Aaron Rodgers’ famous rant of a couple years ago and R-E-L-A-X.
“We’re learning as we go,’’ Brady told Boston’s WEEI during his weekly local radio call-in spot Monday. “We’re not 2-10. We’re 10-2. I know there are very high expectations, as there are for us. I think the expectations for our team are often at a very, very, very high level. I understand that.
“But at the same time, I think there are realistic expectations with our circumstances and incorporating different elements and players and injuries. We’re just trying to do the best we can do.’’
New York is behind you, Tawmmy.
NOT!