Tom Jackson said with a bad oline and a bad defense, Tom Brady "changed his game"

[TruBlueCowboy]

Here's my question to you folks.

A lot of people have said this year that they question the coaching and/or Drew Bledsoe because although there have been a lot of problems with the team, other teams still get by and win with the same problems, and often go to the Playoffs.

On the Pro Bowl show on ESPN, Tom Jackson said that Tom Brady had his best year not only because he leads the NFL in passing yards, but because he changed his game. Jackson said he had to change his game to cope with a bad offensive line (New England was hit just as bad as Dallas with oline injuries) and a defense that would give up too many points.

I haven't seen many Pats games, so my question is what exactly does Tom Jackson mean by saying Brady had to "change his game." Were they running a slightly different offense to account for less pocket time? Was Brady having to scramble a little more, stay more aware of his linemen? Was it just Brady being forced to pass often?

And my biggest question is why can't Drew Bledsoe do this? Why doesn't anyone ever say this about him? I know it's hard to play when your offensive line is terrible, but OTHER quarterbacks have gotten by in this league! Is this basically what we're stuck with until we find a franchise QB again and groom him in Dallas?

 

[Yeagermeister]

I don't know what he changed but as for Bledsoe he has to be allowed to change. He had to beg and plead to get BP to open up the offense.

 

[juice28]

I think Drew is trying to figure out how to be productive without an O-line. He played well against K.C., but terrible against Wash. I guess he is trying to adjust...I just don't want him to feel responsible for all of our downfalls and force the issue like Brett Farve is doing this year.

 

[joseephuss]

The Pats have better back ups. They have a deep team. Dallas does not. At least not on offense. Dallas loses Flozell and it really becomes a big drop off when the back up comes in. And keep in mind that Pettiti was the starter and is very green to that position. The Patriots have back ups that are adequate.

The Pats struggle on defense because they lost several starters and they also lost a few of their back ups. That was a little too much to handle. Now they have guys returning to the line up and are playing better. Dallas is deeper on their defense than they are on offense. Lose Henry and Glenn steps in, but what happens if Glenn goes down? It would be hard to cover for Reeves full time.

Honestly, I don't think Brady is doing anything much different than he has in season's past. He is still very efficient. Statistically he is right where he has been the past few seasons.

 

[Jimz31]

Edited...nevermind.

 

[Homerun Trot]

The Pats have better back ups. They have a deep team. Dallas does not. At least not on offense. Dallas loses Flozell and it really becomes a big drop off when the back up comes in. And keep in mind that Pettiti was the starter and is very green to that position. The Patriots have back ups that are adequate.

The Pats struggle on defense because they lost several starters and they also lost a few of their back ups. That was a little too much to handle. Now they have guys returning to the line up and are playing better. Dallas is deeper on their defense than they are on offense. Lose Henry and Glenn steps in, but what happens if Glenn goes down? It would be hard to cover for Reeves full time.

Honestly, I don't think Brady is doing anything much different than he has in season's past. He is still very efficient. Statistically he is right where he has been the past few seasons.

Great post.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Tom Brady is an awesome QB--for sure!

 

[JPM]

The Pats have also drafted well for some time. We have been handcuffed with the lieks of: Carter, Dixon, Rogers, Ross, I can go on but why ?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think more than anything in particular, Tom meant that Brady had to go from the consummate bus driver (although IMO that term is a discredit to how good he is) that managed the game and let a great defense and running game win, to a QB who took more of the team on his shoulders. For a while there when they had so many defensive injuries and Dillon was hurt, Brady had to do a lot more of the heavy lifting on that team.

 

[Clove]

The Pats have also drafted well for some time. We have been handcuffed with the lieks of: Carter, Dixon, Rogers, Ross, I can go on but why ?

And even Carter found a way. We need new QB blood, soon.

 

[RCowboyFan]

I think more than anything in particular, Tom meant that Brady had to go from the consummate bus driver (although IMO that term is a discredit to how good he is) that managed the game and let a great defense and running game win, to a QB who took more of the team on his shoulders. For a while there when they had so many defensive injuries and Dillon was hurt, Brady had to do a lot more of the heavy lifting on that team.

Yep, I agree, thats why he has had more Ints than he normally would have had. He had to take way too many chances, since he was their only weapon pretty much.

 

[jay cee]

I think more than anything in particular, Tom meant that Brady had to go from the consummate bus driver (although IMO that term is a discredit to how good he is) that managed the game and let a great defense and running game win, to a QB who took more of the team on his shoulders. For a while there when they had so many defensive injuries and Dillon was hurt, Brady had to do a lot more of the heavy lifting on that team.

The man reason Brady can be effective without a great o-line is because his strengths are his quick decision making ability, quick release and accuracy on the short to intermediate passes.

Those are Bledsoes main weaknesses IMO.

 

[visionary]

The Pats have also drafted well for some time. We have been handcuffed with the lieks of: Carter, Dixon, Rogers, Ross, I can go on but why ?

darn, just when i had almost convinced myself that was just a bad dream. i dont need this cold shower after this weekend. why dont you just shoot me while youre at it?

 

[Future]

the change in brady's game is that he is getting rid of the ball quicker. i was at the game in buffalo and that thing was flying out. i think he could just sit in the pocket longer last year and the year before that etc. Although his game has changed i dont think his talent has. He is still the same player but now that the Oline is not as good, we are seeing that he can make more plays with his legs and get rid of the ball quickly. bledsoe doesnt have that ability which is why he hasnt been able to change his game

 

[visionary]

so did bledsoe, from bad to worse.

 

[jlust22]

Brady has been an incredibly consistent QB over the last 4 years. His overall numbers really haven't changed much. He just does whatever it takes for his team to win. While, he might not put up Manning like numbers, his stats are still very impressive. Unlike Bledsoe, Brady has a great pocket presence, a good feel for the rush and knows exactly when to get rid of the ball. Brady makes his OL look better while Bledsoe makes his look worse.

2002: 3,764 yds., 62.1% comp., 28 TD's, 14 Int's, 85.7 QB rating

2003: 3,620 yds., 60.2% comp., 23 TD's, 12 Int's, 85.9 QB rating

2004: 3,692 yds., 60.8% comp., 28 TD's, 14 Int's, 92.6 QB rating

2005: 3,888 yds., 63.5% comp., 23 TD's, 12 Int's, 93.3 QB rating

 

[Mr Cowboy]

I haven't watched all the Pats game, but they started two rookies on the left side of the line, and never used it as an excuse. The thing is they have a real O-line coach while we use a TE coach. They also had no running game for most of the year because of injuries, but they adjusted. Our adjustments are to keep running Jones for anywhere between -2 yards and +2yards, and wait til the fourth quarter to unleash Barber.

We lose Adams and the season stopped there.........use that as an excuse the rest of the year. It's not Bledsoe's fault, he is playing with the cards he is dealt. I think if it was up to him, he would have had a wide open attack the whole year.

I'll stop there.................

 

[Asklesko]

All of the great ones have an extra, hidden gear. When the going gets tough and a particularly difficult task presents itself, the great ones have the uncanny ability to reach within themselves and ascend to an entire different level of athletic and mental greatness. That's what Brady did. With the team around him crumbling, Brady reached within himself and became the last column by with the entire team would stand or fall. He carried the team by himself. Bledsoe will NEVER do that. The team must carry Bledsoe.

 

[Clove]

I haven't watched all the Pats game, but they started two rookies on the left side of the line, and never used it as an excuse. The thing is they have a real O-line coach while we use a TE coach. They also had no running game for most of the year because of injuries, but they adjusted. Our adjustments are to keep running Jones for anywhere between -2 yards and +2yards, and wait til the fourth quarter to unleash Barber.

We lose Adams and the season stopped there.........use that as an excuse the rest of the year. It's not Bledsoe's fault, he is playing with the cards he is dealt. I think if it was up to him, he would have had a wide open attack the whole year.

I'll stop there.................

And I'll keep going. The guy flat out waits for certain parts to come opened no matter how long it takes. - He has no idea of who's close to him defensively, and he keeps taking sacks which stalls drives and causes fumbles.

Maybe the play calling is bad, but maybe when someone is blitzing from a certain side, I can see us slipping Polite right behind the blitz and picking up huge yardage.

We're going to see what happens this Saturday, but to me , anyone can throw behind a great line if you give them all day to throw it. The great ones find a way.

 

[conner01]

bottom line
brady is one of the best qb's in the nfl, he is better than drew, but he was'nt availible when we signed drew
we have drafted poorly and thats why there is no depth, i think we have gotten better but it takes years to build up what you lost with the qc drafts and the likes. i'm not talking about picks like gurode that everyone thought was a good pick. but who thought dixon and qc was a good pick? those are the types of picks that kill you. everyone misses but those type are not misses, there just dumb