Trusting Tom:
At 41, Brady continues to embolden players to thrive in the Patriots’ offense.
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Matthew Slater has heard it all before, again and again, for the last nine offseasons.
“Ever since Randy (Moss) left here,” the 11th-year Patriots wide receiver and special teams ace said during a quiet moment in front of his locker, “I feel like the story has been the same: We’re not good enough; we don’t have enough pieces. We just kind of brush that aside.”
Slater chuckled and rolled his eyes at the recurring theme. Then he explained why he’s never surprised that regardless of the lack of star power, someone from the New England wide receiver unit always emerges as a go-to for quarterback Tom Brady.
The two reasons were simple: hard work and, of course, Tom Brady.
In the Patriots’ season-opening 27-20 win over the Texans Sept. 9, Slater’s young teammate Phillip Dorsett filled that go-to role for Brady and Company, recording seven catches for 66 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.
It served as quite the season debut for the fourth-year player, who was traded to New England just before the start of last season and had just 12 receptions for 194 yards and no touchdowns in 2017. But the performance didn’t at all come as a surprise to Slater, coach Bill Belichick or anyone else in the locker room.
Dorsett spent the offseason putting in extra time to learn the offense and work on his passcatching skills. He logged additional minutes catching passes from Brady after the mandatory offseason sessions the quarterback attended and following training camp practices.
So despite all the comings and goings at wide receiver this offseason (Brandin Cooks was traded, Danny Amendola signed with the Dolphins, Julian Edelman was suspended, Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt were cut and Eric Decker retired), Dorsett always felt ready.
“Tom plays a big role in instilling confidence in guys,” Slater explained. “Guys buy in, and Phil has definitely been a guy that’s bought in.”
Brady validated Slater’s assessment a short time later.
“It’s kind of what (Dorsett) has been doing all camp, all spring, and it was good to see it show up. … If you’re out there, I trust you, the coaches trust you, the team trusts you,” said Brady, who finished the game with 26 of 39 passing for 277 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
“That’s why we’re putting you out there. So guys that usually we don’t trust don’t get much opportunity out there. So Phillip did a great job with his opportunity today.”
Dorsett repeatedly dismissed the notion that the game served as his coming out party. The Patriots offense is so diverse, he explained.
“This is a really complex offense. It’s always changing. Something that’s your role today, you might not have tomorrow,” he said. “We game-plan a certain way, and you never know what’s going to be in it. It’s always changing. So you study. That’s all it is. Keep learning and studying and that’s how you execute.”
The Patriots’ skill-position players’ roles change with as much frequency as their many formations, and none of them know when the offense will feature them. For example, seven other players caught passes from Brady in Week 1. Among that group: fullback James Develin, who had four catches for 22 yards despite having just six receptions all of last season.
“They move people around so much,” Houston safety Tyrann Mathieu explained. “So it’ll be a different formation, but it’ll be the same play. You have to work to stay in-tune with that. … That’s what they do; that’s what they’ve always done. They always play next-man-up ball. We have to be conscious of that next time we see them because they can do that: come out here with three wide receivers and run the ball and accomplish just what they want.”
Of course, Brady did have one mainstay: tight end Rob Gronkowski (seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown).
“It’s a lot of practice, no doubt,” Gronkowski said. “A lot of practice, and it’s never letting up. A lot of consistency on the practice field, doing it every week, doing it the offseason, doing it in camp. You can’t just get on a page like that. You’ve got to put work and time in, and that’s what we do.”
Dorsett works hard, too. But it all boils down to one thing: Regardless of the pedigree of the pass catchers, the Patriots have Brady. Thus, they always have a chance.