Brady’s ‘homecoming’ takes center stage
Tom Brady’s legacy is forever steeped in each of the six Super Bowl championship banners he had a part in hanging above
New England’s Gillette Stadium.
Yet, he might as well be playing in front of a mirror when he returns to face the Patriots.
Everything will be in reverse.
“I know that home locker room. I know that home tunnel. I know which way the wind blows. I know everything about that,” Brady said this week. “So, in some ways it’ll be unique. I’ve never had that experience. New England will be the first time for me being on the other sideline.”
Brady will be back in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Sunday night to meet the Patriots for the first time since he left after 20 seasons to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’ll be opposite not only former coach Bill Belichick, but past teammates who have also never taken an NFL field and looked across at Brady wearing another team’s jersey, let alone ever had a chance to tackle him.
“The opportunity is wonderful and I’m looking forward for the moment,” Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. said.
While they all have played against former teammates before, the Patriots acknowledge this time is much different. None of those other players has the institutional knowledge Brady does of their defensive schemes or tendencies.
It makes the margin for error minute against a quarterback who is a master at getting the ball out quickly and reading and deceiving defenses with his eyes.
“It’s gonna be a guy that he’s gonna know a lot of what we do,” said veteran safety Devin McCourty,
who won three Super Bowls with Brady. “So what we do, we’ve gotta do a good job of. We have to play our best football.”
This 44-year-old version of Brady is still playing at a high level after taking the Bucs to a Super Bowl title last season. He leads the league this season with 10 touchdown passes and his 362.3 passing yards per game are second to Las Vegas’ Derek Carr.
Tampa Bay’s 34.3 points per game are also tied for tops in the NFL, thanks largely to one of the most stacked offenses in the league that includes receivers Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will not play.
“This is one of those weeks where we can’t have a bunch of ‘my bads,’ ” McCourty said. “We gotta be on.”
As much as Brady knows the Patriots, they also know him. But Belichick, 8-11 since Brady’s departure, said it doesn’t mean they will reinvent themselves this week.
“Certainly, Tom has an intimate knowledge of everything that we do here, more so than any other player in the league by far. So, I’m sure he’ll use it to his advantage. I would expect him to,” Belichick said.
A victory would make Brady the fourth quarterback with wins against all 32 NFL teams, joining Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. With 68 yards passing Brady will surpass Brees’ mark of 80,358 yards, most ever in the regular season. It would add to his long list of NFL records that already includes most TD passes (591), most wins as a starting quarterback (232), most Super Bowl titles (seven), and most conference championships (10).
DOLPHINS MOVES
The Dolphins placed
Michael Deiter on injured reserve, sidelining the starting center for at least the next three games.
The team also elevated
Cameron Tom from the practice squad to the active roster. Tom will likely serve as the backup center behind Greg Mancz, who will make his team debut against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Tom’s elevation to the game-day roster will count as one of two free call-ups in which Tom can revert to the practice squad without first having to clear waivers.
Deiter sustained a foot and quad injury during Wednesday’s practice and did not participate in Thursday’s session. With Mancz, a seven-year veteran, in the lineup, the Dolphins will be using their fourth starting offensive line combination in as many games.
Dolphins linebacker
Elandon Roberts was fined $10,300 for his unnecessary roughness penalty in last week’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, according to a league source. And running back
Malcolm Brown was fined $9,722 for his low penalty, according to a source.