BRADY SHOWING CRITICS
Patriots star at center of Deflategate playing like a man out for vengeance
ARLINGTON, TEXAS As he fixed his tie and threw on his jacket at his locker stall Sunday evening, Tom Brady did not look like a man who was sacked five times.
Actually, the New England Patriots star looked rather fresh after a 30-6 rout.
No visible bruises. No limping. Barely a sweat. GQ stuff.
Guess this is the result of ingame adjustments. Brady was sacked five times in the first half and zero times in the second half, after offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made some quick adjustments and gave left tackle Nate Solder help in dealing with Greg Hardy and the Patriots fig- ured out a counter plan to the unusual defensive scheme the Dallas Cowboys threw at them.
Brady took the Cowboys’ best punch and survived. Since he became a starter in 2001, he’s been sacked five or more times just five times, and Sunday was the fifth occasion as Hardy — the man who caused such a stir in the days before the game with his wisecracks about Brady’s wife, Gisele Bundchen — demonstrated what a lightning rod he can be on the field.
Hardy had two sacks and five hits on Brady.
The trash-talking from Hardy last week represented some more new ground, on the heels of Deflategate, for the 16th-year veteran. But he’s been rather cool about it, at least publicly.
For a man who is so adept at compartmentalizing issues while keeping his focus, this, too, was seemingly deflected with ease.
“I’ve seen a lot,” Brady told USA TODAY Sports. “Just like
you have. You just try to focus on whatever you can for football.”
Yeah, I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve heard Brady tell me things like that repeatedly over the years, no matter what the buzz or crisis is at the moment.
But there’s another twist at work this season, with Brady, who passed for two touchdowns and posted a 130.9 passer rating at Jerry World, off to one of the best starts of his career.
Through four games, all wins, he has fired 11 TD passes with zero picks, which is new territory, even for him.
He’s been more efficient than normal, which is saying something about Brady.
Interestingly, this comes after an offseason dominated by the NFL’s case against Brady and the Patriots over the matter of deflated footballs.
Brady surely doesn’t need any extra motivation, but he strikes me as the type of guy who will take it when he can get it.
So far, he’s having some hellacious revenge on the NFL, critics and naysayers. Playing with fully inflated footballs, he won the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Month award for September and is undoubtedly on the early short list of MVP front-runners.
Maybe he’s not out for revenge and it’s just about winning, as he’d tell you. But if it were about making a particular statement, he’s on his way.
Sunday, he wore a black suit that fit a certain theme.
Brady just made another stop on his Scorched Earth Tour. Next stop: Indianapolis. The whole Deflategate case was ignited when the Colts complained about the Patriots’ footballs during the AFC title game. And now comes a rematch.
When I mentioned the Scorched Earth theory to Brady, he flashed a big smile.
Then he responded like Brady would.
“I’d rather be 4-0 than 3-1,” he said.