Tom Brady says he is more comfortable with receivers this year
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| Marc Lebryk/USA Today Sports |
There was a lot made going into last season about how Brady might struggle with a brand new group of wide receivers, and the skeptics were right for a time.
This season looks like it's going to be much different, as Brady said he is ready to "let it rip" on Sunday against the Dolphins. By all accounts, that would seem to mean that Brady is much more comfortable with the group that he has.
Returning this year is a healthy Danny Amendola, the always-reliable Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins. Bringing up the rear is newly acquired receiver Brandon LaFell, who has the potential to have a great first season under Brady if his pass catching issues don't show up.
On his receivers this year, Brady said the following:
“Every week you hope it’s good enough to win the game,” Brady said during a news conference on Wednesday. “So I hope we are in a better place than we were last year because we were starting pretty fresh last year.
“We have had some new players, some new additions and doing different things, guys are playing in different spots, but everyone has to find a role for themselves, and we will let it rip and see where we are at. And if it doesn’t work, then we re-evaluate. And if it works, then we will keep doing it.”
Don't be fooled by his comments. Brady may sound humble on the outside, but he knows what he's got and he won't be afraid to show it on Sunday. Brady seems to be on the same page with everyone, something he puts a lot of stock in.
“The more we are on the same page, the better we are going to be,” Brady said. “Offensive football is about anticipation and having a lot of trust and confidence in one another, so I think we built on that. We are always going to make mistakes out there because football is not really a game of perfection, but we try to do it as perfectly as we can.”
Brady's stats last year (4,343 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, with a passer rating of 87.3) weren't exactly great, at least by the standards we are accustomed to holding for him. But he was still very effective considering what he was working with.
One would have to figure that this season, he will be much improved thanks to a (we hope) healthy Gronkowski, and sophomore receivers who have had a full year to work with him.
I've gone back and forth with trying to determine who I think the X-factor in the receiving corps is, but for now, I'm going to go with Brandon LaFell. We know his deficiencies, but as training camp and the preseason progressed, the bad really didn't show up.
He's not Randy Moss by any stretch, but he is a tall receiver who can go up and grab the deep ball. Brady hasn't had a receiver as tall as LaFell (6' 3", 210) since Moss.
We'll see what happens on Sunday, but it would seem that we have every reason to believe Brady and his receivers will be much better this season, something the rest of the league should be very concerned about.
Do you expect Brady and his receivers to be better this year? Tweet me your thoughts - @JesseGaunce
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