Far as he can throw
Success will hinge on Brady’s right arm and how much offense it can produce
TAMPA — You look at the man and wonder what is so special about him.
It’s not the speed, it’s not the arm. It’s not the footwork, it’s not the size.
Maybe, after all these years, it is more about the people surrounding him.
Take away Bill Belichick and who is Tom Brady? (The Super Bowl 55 champion and MVP.)
Take away two of his top receivers and both of his running backs and what kind of performance will you get out of Brady in the postseason? (A 78.3 completion percentage, 271 yards and two touchdown passes against the
Eagles.)
Stomp on the ankles of two of his offensive linemen, then put him on the field against Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles pass rush and what will you get?
All these playoff games later, it is still possible to marvel at Brady’s unprecedented ability to remain standing long after most of the NFL is relaxing on the couch.
Beating the Rams in the division round on Sunday with a battered offensive line and no Chris Godwin as well as no Antonio Brown would not be the most remarkable thing Brady has ever done in the postseason, but this
stuff cannot be as easy as Brady makes it look.
“It’s Tom Brady. He does everything well,” said Rams linebacker Von Miller, who was 1-1 with the Broncos against Brady in the playoffs.
“Everybody knows the way he throws the ball, the decisions he makes, how he plays up for big-time games. The thing that stands out to me is the way he elevates the play of his teammates. He somehow is able to elevate the play of his teammates to a level they wouldn’t normally play at.”
Technically, the Bucs and
Brady are three-point favorites against the Rams, but it doesn’t necessarily feel that way.
For much of the season, you’ve had the sense that the Bucs have been constantly bailing water from the deck of the Raymond James pirate ship.
The game against the Rams will be no different. Facing what may be the most impressive defensive front in the league, the Bucs have right tackle Tristan Wirfs and center Ryan Jensen on wobbly ankles.
The conventional wisdom has always been that the way to beat Brady is to knock him down early and knock him off his game.
Most teams are reluctant to challenge him with a blitz, so that means a fierce rush from down linemen.
And few are more fierce than Donald.
“Find ways to keep him bottled up, keep the pressure in front of him as far as collapsing the pocket so he can’t step up to make some of those throws,” Donald said, explaining the line’s responsibility.
“You do that with any quarterback, [and] you can affect him and get him a little rattled. When you’re playing against a guy like Tom Brady, that’s a must to have success.
“We know what to expect; we know what we’ve got to do.”