Tom Brady didn’t have to say much after the New England Patriots’ 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11. He made his message clear: He’s unhappy with where the offense has progressed — or regressed — to this point in the 2019 season.
Brady said very little during his postgame press conference at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia Sunday, but he didn’t seem to be reveling in the team’s win. He barely smiled when asked about Julian Edelman’s perfect passer rating. “We needed that,” Brady said Sunday. Perhaps Brady was concerned a trick play produced the only touchdown on the day.
During his weekly interview with WEEI on Monday, Brady addressed some of his concerns.
“It’s just frustration with the offense. Just trying to grind them out. I am happy we won on the road, but at the same time just wish we would have scored more points,” Brady told “The Greg Hill Show.”
New England was 5 of 16 on third downs, and averaged a paltry 4.2 yards per play. Brady completed 55.3% of his passes – his second-lowest percentage this season – for 216 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. After receiver Phillip Dorsett suffered a head injury, the quarterback was forced to work on chemistry with new wideouts like Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also seemed to be pushing Sony Michel into a bigger role in the passing game — with mixed results. With so many players in new or growing roles, the offense looked like it was going through growing pains.
In the meantime, Brady is an accessory to his defense, which is winning games. So long as the Patriots quarterback and his offense avoid turnovers, New England can keep winning games. But as the competition gets better, particularly in the playoffs, the Patriots might be in more trouble. They might need their offense to be better.
“I just think to win the game ultimately you just have to score more points than the other team,” he told WEEI. “That goes without saying. I don’t know what it is going to be on a particular week. We won the Super Bowl 13-3, that was pretty good. We lost the Super Bowl 41-33, that wasn’t good. I don’t know how many points it is going to be. The reality is it is a team sport. It’s complementary football.
“The strength of our team is our defense and our special teams. On offense we just have to take advantage when we get opportunities and understand where our strengths lie and try and play to them — not giving any short fields, not turning the ball over and try and take advantage when we get into the red area to score touchdowns. That is kind of where our offense is. That is kind of where our team is.”
It seems Brady isn’t comfortable putting the game in the hands of his defense. He’d prefer the offense gets its act together and works as in complement with and not just a dependent upon the defense.
