I believe that we can all firmly agree that the 2017 Patriots’ biggest issue is their swiss cheese defense. After watching their Thursday night game against the Bucs, though, I think New England’s offensive line is an incredibly close second. After a spectacular collective performance last season by Brady’s brick wall surrounding him, that brick wall has collapsed and the enemy is absolutely feasting on the GOAT.
We all know that Brady is ageless and he’s the single-most pliable football player the world has ever seen. Even this Benjamin Button reincarnation can’t come away from these bruising hits and act like they’re nothing. Brady was seen stretching out his neck and flexing his hand on multiple occasions Thursday night; the hits are finally starting to set in. We’re extremely lucky, though. Any of the other thirty-one quarterbacks in this league would have been on a stretcher weeks ago considering the types of hits Brady has taken, and the number of them. Brady is going to continue to grind this out and recover the way he does, but that can only go so far before things take a turn for the worst.
Brady has been sacked SIXTEEN times through five games this season. Brady was sacked only fifteen times last season in 12 starts. Brady has been hit 32 times so far this season after being hit only 33 times in 2016. Before last Thursday’s game, Tampa Bay had only recorded one total sack all season long. They sacked Brady three times that night and hit him six times, for reference. The numbers are eye-popping, but they’re even more astounding if you’re witnessing just the kind of hits Brady is taking.
The most sacks he ever took in a season was back in 2001, his rookie year at age 24 when he suffered through 41 total. Brady is on pace to be sacked over 51 times at age 40 in 2017. He’s staying on the ground way too long for fans’ personal comfort and he’s visibly shaken after each one. Not to mention, each hit seems to be worse than the last. As the defenses the Patriots face get stronger and stronger, the offensive line gets weaker and weaker.
It seems to be the new norm for Brady to drop back and immediately have two or three pass rushers all up in his face and tangled around his knees. Nate Solder has reverted back to his old penalty-stricken, turnstile-self after a bounce-back 2016 for the left tackle. Brady and Solder’s blindside is one big “COME ON IN, FOLKS” neon sign. Marcus Cannon has taken a major step back from his MVP-esque 2016, not to mention missing time with a concussion and lower-body injury. The offensive line is a string of five turnstiles in front of the vulnerable, forty-year-old greatest quarterback of all time in a, thus far, down season for a nationally hated football team. Not good!
Aside from the fact that the offensive line has yet to not break down this season, Julian Edelman’s absence must be credited to the collection of big hits, as well. Brady has turned to Edelman for so long when pressure closes in or when he’s simply desperate to move the chains. Without his go-to, Brady is forced to wait longer and longer for receivers to get open, thus taking more hits in the process behind his O-line, or the lack thereof. Now, this is no knock on Danny Amendola by any means, but it’s extremely difficult to replace Julian Edelman and we all knew going into this season that it wasn’t going to be pretty trying to watch multiple guys emerge into that collective role.
Along with missing his number one guy, the focus on offense this season has been developing a downfield, vertical offense with Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan. Because of this, Brady obviously has to hold onto the ball longer to allow the routes to develop. It’s like Brady is a piece of delicious, dangling meat and every opposing defense is a wild animal. Brady is completely defenseless and doing his thing, minding his own business while each defense is a stampede of starving animals. There’s really no way to change this, though. The only offense this Patriots team can implement is a vertical offense. Without Edelman, everything changes, and we’re seeing just that unfold.
Remember when this team was going 19-0? Those were the days. Can’t say I necessarily expected to look at the AFC East standings and see the Buffalo Bills with a better winning percentage than New England. Nobody saw this coming. This defense was supposed to be historic, as well as this offense. Both are negatively historic, to say the least. Brady can handle massive hits; he’s one of the few quarterbacks in this pansy league who can take the kind of hits he has since the start of September. Even the best can only take so much before it starts to take its toll physically. All I know is that something needs to change, and something needs to change quickly.
If I had the honor and privilege of protecting Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr., I wouldn’t let even a mere spec of dust float onto his fragile skin. What does it take in order to knock some sense into these guys? Only Bill Belichick knows.
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